Baltic Women in Film Mentorship (BWiFM) is the first 8-month mentorship program exclusively for women in all areas of film and TV industries in the Baltic states. Through mentorship activities, the BWiFM seeks to increase the exchange of best practice, knowledge, contacts and interest in the Baltic film culture and pay attention to gender equality. The core of the mentorship program is building an effective contact-exchange and matchmaking marketplace where women, working in the Baltic audiovisual industry, would have an opportunity to be mentored by the industry experts. The third edition of the Baltic Women in Film Mentorship will be held between October 2024 and April 2025. The BWiFM is organised by Lithuanian Short Film Agency Lithuanian Shorts and Women in Film & Television Lithuania association in partnership with Riga International Film Festival.
Rimantė Daugėlaitė has been the co-founder and managing director of the Lithuanian Short Film Agency, Lithuanian Shorts, since 2012, and the head of the Vilnius Short Film Festival since 2009. Rimantė has been working in the audiovisual industry for more than ten years, coordinating multiple audiovisual and film promotion projects and producing several Lithuanian short films. R. Daugėlaitė also works as an expert in European and national audiovisual and cultural funds. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, MAIA Workshops, and Audiovisual Women Leadership, and is a member of the EWA Network and the European Film Academy.
Gabrielė Vaičiūnaitė, once a cultural manager, now pioneers in documentaries and animation. Beginning with art department in 2007’s Defiance, she’s traversed various film crafts. Her works include the Emmy-winning Generation War and children’s short Thump Thump. Her documentary Delta Zoo marked a notable venture into animation and storytelling. Also, Gabrielė the head of Women in Film & Television Lithuania with the main goal of helping young talents returning or (re)entering the industry.
Monika Jaselskytė is a self-taught camera operator, currently working primarily on social media content and small-budget commercials. Originally she studied marketing and sales but chose to pursue a completely different path. With a focus on style and storytelling, she brings creative ideas to life while consistently delivering high-quality visuals.
Kotryna Ramanauskaitė is an aspiring young producer based in Vilnius, Lithuania. After completing her degree in Communication, she spent 8 years working on various projects, including films and TV commercials, ultimately, finding her passion in film. Since 2020, she has produced 5 short films. Her recent film “Left-handed Pen” was awarded Best Short Film in the Lithuanian National Silver Crane Awards 2024. Currently, Kotryna is actively involved in several new projects, working both as a producer and a project manager.
Džiuginta Gabrielė Radavičiūtė completed Creative Communication Bachelor studies at Vilnius University (Lithuania), specialized in Filmmaking at ESCAC (Spain), and now continues Film Directing Master’s studies at KIMO, LMTA National Film School (Lithuania). In 2024, she joined Fralita Films as a junior producer. Since 2020, she‘s worked on various film education, stage arts, and music projects for companies like the Audiovisual Arts Industry Incubator, Art’s Printing House, the international music festival CONTACT, etc
Ana holds a Legal Master’s degree from Vilnius University (2017) with additional studies in French, Arabic, and religious studies. After working as an art department coordinator at Dansu and production manager/line producer at Grandma Production House, she shifted to a creative director role at a kids’ mobile game startup. Now pursuing film directing, Ana has completed a documentary directing course at Youngblood Film School. She’s developing her first short film and seeking mentorship from an experienced director to guide her in this journey.
Vaiva Botyriūtė is a Lithuanian filmmaker, cinematographer, and photographer, with a degree in photography from London Metropolitan University (2022). Professionally active since 2017, she combines her passion for documentary storytelling with a growing interest in directing and writing. Her debut short film “Preserved Time” premiered in France (2023), and she has exhibited work at Free Range Festival in London.
Juta Jākobsone is an emerging screenwriter and director currently in her first year of film school in Berlin. In 2022, she represented Latvia at the Venice Film Festival as part of 27 Times Cinema. Since then, she has collaborated with the LUX Audience Award and has worked for the Reykjavik Film Festival Talent Lab. With multiple short films to her name, Juta is now completing the screenplay for her feature film, “Always Returning,” and is actively seeking funding for the project.
Katrīna Karple has received a BA in Audiovisual Art Production program at the Latvian Academy of Culture. Since 2022, she has been a member of the White Picture production studio team. She has produced several short films, including the documentary “Ksenia” (2023), directed by Renāte Saulīte. The film was selected for Riga International Film Festival, Beast International Film Festival, and 2ANNAS Short Film Festival. It was nominated for the Latvian National Film Award Lielais Kristaps. Currently, Katrīna continues to work on the upcoming projects with White Picture.
Marta Šleiere is a young producer and emerging talent in film and theatre production. She graduated from the Latvian Academy of Culture’s National Film School with a degree in Audiovisual and Theatre Production. With over four years of experience in various roles on film sets, Marta currently works at Sunday Rebel Films, a daring production studio based in Riga. She has produced several short films and is currently developing two more while seeking partners for multiple feature projects on behalf of the company. Marta enjoys works that blend irony with social themes, crafting stories that entertain yet offer fresh perspectives.
Līna Brauna has just graduated from the audiovisual arts programme in the Latvian Academy of Culture. The documentary short film “I’ll knock, you talk!” is part of her Bachelor’s work. Previously, she has edited a number of student films, including this year’s national short film competition nominee at Riga International Film Festival – “The North Pole” (2024). Currently, she’s working as an assistant editor on a feature film project.
Betija Zvejniece graduated bachelor studies in Film Directing at Latvian Academy of Culture in 2023. Her films have a strong connection with poetry, meanwhile being interested in analog experimentations. Her short documentary “Einarrative” (2022) received nominations for Latvian National Film Award in 6 categories and won the special jury award for innovation. Her most recent short film “Experts of Youth” (2023) was screened at “Boston Baltic film festival” (2024) and will be screened at “RIGA IFF” 2024. After studies, she did an internship at the analog lab “Filmwerkplaats” in Rotterdam, reenacting Malcolm Le Grice’s expanded cinema performance “Horror film 1” (1971).
Karmen Mai Karus is an Estonian actress and filmmaker. Her career began in acting, which sparked her curiosity for the TV series and filmmaking process. This led Karmen to pursue a master’s degree in Television at the Baltic Film, Media and Arts School, where she gained hands-on experience in production and direction. Today, she continues to explore both worlds—acting on screen and creating behind the camera.
Mariann Jüriorg is a film director and producer from Estonia. She graduated from Baltic Film and Media School as a writer-director and since then has been finding and building her community in film and arts. Mariann is mostly interested in the stories of marginalised groups within the queer communities. Her goal is to give a voice and a platform to stories and characters that have not had much representation in the Baltic film world yet.
Merili Laur graduated with a BA in film production in 2022 from the Baltic Film and Media School of Tallinn University. She has worked on different local and foreign features, as well as short film projects, while being with a project from the development phase to distribution. Currently she is working as a production manager and coordinator, while also developing her own projects as producer. Merili is inspired by people with their unique stories and how they relate to the surrounding world and environment.
Agnes Milla Bereczki is an animator and animation director whose newest animated short “Stuck In a Wasp Nest” is set to release at the end of 2024. Her work explores themes of phobias, social taboos, nature and mythology intertwined with an experimental approach to bodily expression and caricaturesque design. In creating her filmic space, she often employs a mixed media approach, combining footage, puppetry, VFX, and drawn animation.
Katharina Kala is a culture critic who writes film reviews and articles for several Estonian cultural magazines. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art history and semiotics, and a master’s in communication and media. Her work explores the connections between culture, media, politics and society, with film serving as a key lens through which she examines these interwoven influences.