{"id":17195,"date":"2026-02-18T11:11:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T11:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/17195\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T11:11:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T11:11:20","slug":"hollywood-glamour-estonia-studios-catalonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/17195\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood Glamour, Estonia Studios, Catalonia\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTALLINN, Estonia \u2014 Has Estonia\u2019s Tallinn Film Festival ever had it so good? Since Festival Director Tiina Lokk<\/a> launched the event in 1997, it has emerged as one of the fastest-growing film events in Northern Europe, recognized by its receipt of an A-list general category status, shared with the likes of Cannes, Berlin and Venice, from 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe festival held strong in 2025, buoyed by a powerful Catalan Focus, new talent discoveries and a vibrant industry arm. One question now is if there are headwinds ahead for the enterprising local Baltic national film industries. <\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing are six takeaways from this year\u2019s fest edition:<\/p>\n

\n\tHollywood Glamour at Discovery Campus
A proof of Tallinn\u2019s ace reputation as a training ground for the next gen of film professionals from around the world, its star educational program Discovery Campus attracted this year world class mentors \u2013 from Hollywood costume designer Debra McGuire<\/a> (\u201cFriends,\u201d \u201cThe Morning Show\u201d) to hairstylist Nina Paskowitz (\u201cPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,\u201d \u201cMob City\u201d), Emmy-winning composer Miriam Cutler (\u201cLove, Gilda,\u201d \u201cRBG\u201d) and renowned Austrian helmer Jessica Hausner<\/a>. Over 40 rising talents split into the Script Pool, Black Night Stars, Music Meets Film, Black Room and Frame within a Frame workshops, got a chance to be inspired and trained over four days. \u00a0\u201cAll we want [as costume designers] is to be in actors, directors\u2019 heads, see what they see, therefore communication is key; if we get a bible early on [from producers], we\u2019ll know what to do, where to go, and if there are issues, you\u2019ll need to find solutions together,\u201d were some of McGuire\u2019s tips. Meanwhile Hausner and her husband composer Markus Binder shared their creative collaboration, from concept to final mix, using \u201cClub Zero\u201d as case study. \u201cWe want our rising talents to learn from the mistakes our mentors make, so that they don\u2019t make them themselves,\u201d said head of Discovery Campus Triin Tramberg.<\/p>\n

\n\tEstonia Braces for New Studios, More Coin for Foreign Shoots
The tech-oriented country where Skype was born is turning its dream to lure other \u201cTenet\u201d tentpoles into reality. The state-of-the-art Ida Viru studios in North-Eastern Estonia, plugged as the largest studio complex in Northern Europe, will open its doors in July 2026. At the panel Step into the Wild Wild East-Where Creativity Meets Courage, Teet Kuusmik, head of the studios and the Ida-Viru<\/a> Investment Agency, said the \u20ac16 million ($18.6 million) complex is \u201ca unique concept\u201d as a new film eco-system, combining studio infrastructure, local production expertise, a multimedia accelerator and next gen film tech solutions for producers who can tap into the country\u2019s regional (40%) and national (30%) cash rebates. One of the most recent international pics backed by Estonia\u2019s attractive cash rebates, the Finnish-U.S. actioner \u201cSisu-Road to Revenge\u201d(opening Nov. 21 in the U.S. via Sony Picture Releasing) was almost fully shot in Estonia. At another panel, First AD Hanna Hedengren, Estonian line producer Johanna Trass (Allfilm), and film commissioner Nele Paves explained how the production used 105 local crew over 44 intense shooting days, on top of complex SFX.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther good news for foreign shoots: next year Film Estonia\u2019s annual budget of \u20ac6 million ($6.9 million) will be upped to \u20ac10 million ($11.5 million).<\/p>\n

\n\tCatalonia: Punching Far Above Its Weight<\/p>\n

\n\tCatalonia won four awards at Friday night\u2019s prize ceremony, including the biggest one on offer, the Tallinn Black Nights Festival\u2019s Grand Prix for J\u00falia de Pax Solvas\u2019 main competition entry \u201cThe Good Daughter.\u201d \u00a0A film which announces another potentially major voice on the Catalan film scene \u2013 who already co-wrote drama series \u201cQuerer,\u201d which won this year\u2019s top prize at Series Mania, Europe\u2019s biggest TV fest \u2013\u00a0 \u201cThe Good Daughter\u201d (\u201cLa Buena Hija\u201d) sums up much of what the world has found so exciting about much Catalan film in the last decade: a near new female writer-director and a film grounded in place and a social and psychological realism which talks, however, of universal issues.<\/p>\n

\n\tLead Kiara Arancibia\u2019s empathy-inducing performance won her best actress. The film also took Tallinn\u2019s coveted Audience Award.\u00a0Lead produced by a budding Barcelona production house, Astra Pictures, and receiving support down the whole of chain of value from the Catalan government, \u201cThe Good Daughter\u201d is also made with Avalon in Madrid and Krater Films in Belgium as Catalonia emerges as a pan-regional and international co-production force in Europe and Latin America. Another Catalan title, Carlos Solano\u2019s \u201cLeo & Lou,\u201d scored Tallinn\u2019s Children\u2019s Jury Best Film Award: There is a wider range of talent in Catalonia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSurvival Tips for Producers
As underscored by Tallinn Industry Head Marge Liiske, one of the overarching themes of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event (I@T&BE) was how to finance stories amid rising costs and shrinking public funds. \u201cWe\u2019ve looked at how to mitigate this by cutting corners, notably through the clever use of AI, cash rebates, post-production through an ApostLab presentation, new tech solutions offered by the IDA Hub Film and Multimedia Innovation Centre, as well as private investment,\u201d she said.
At the panel Private Financing in Film: Between Promise and Illusion, venture capital funders Jes\u00fas Mart\u00ednez (Moby Dick, Spain), Alexandra Lebret (Together Fund, France), Patrick Fischer (Creativity Capital, U.K.) and Rain Rannu (Tallifornia Film Fund, Estonia) shared some tip with producers:
*Attract U.S. creative partners and convert A-list-driven content into Euro-U.S. co-pros to tap into the plethora of local tax incentives, soft financing, talented and cheaper workforce.
\u201cIt\u2019s a good time to bring U.S. films into Europe,\u201d said Lebret, whose \u20ac50 million ($57.5 million) fund invests in indie producers: \u201cThey are the talent,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve converted two U.S. movies with big stars into Spanish co-productions,\u201d noted Mart\u00ednez, specialized in A-list talent-driven commercial fare.<\/p>\n

\n\t*Protect your asset \u2013 which is your IPs; this is what we bet on,\u201d said both Martinez whose VC fund invests directly in IP, as well as Fischer.
*Share the rights and build strong alliances with co-production partners, offered Lebret.
*Consider setting up a vertical structure and be innovative in business models, advised Fischer.<\/p>\n

\n\t*Stand on multiple content legs, whatever the genre or format, including vertical narratives, to diversify revenue streams, said Lebret, while Fischer advised to also look into the creator economy.<\/p>\n

\n\tBaltic Film Boom Threatened by Cuts in Culture
At P\u00d6FF, Estonia confirmed its strength particularly in documentary filmmaking (\u201cEdge of the Night,\u201d \u201cMy Family and Other Clowns\u201d) and daring new voices such as Eeva M\u00e4gi with her Mo movement, Estonian answer to Dogma 95. Lithuanian dominated the awards list, with new wins for \u201cThe Visitor,\u201d \u201cRenovation,\u201d \u201cChina Sea\u201d and \u201cHoly Destructors\u201d after their successful world premieres in Karlovy Vary (for the two first films), San Sebasti\u00e1n, and IDFA respectively. Meanwhile Latvia continues to shine in animation with \u201cDog of God,\u201d a double contender for a European Film Awards, and second Latvian Oscar contender after last year\u2019s phenomenal winner \u201cFlow,\u201d although in a totally different genre.<\/p>\n

\n\t However, war in Ukraine affecting budgets for culture across Europe, is having potentially dramatic effects on the small Baltic nations. While the Lithuanian Film Institute is still waiting for its 2026 budget to go through parliament, the Estonian Film Institute\u2019s 4% cuts in its core running costs will \u201cdirectly affects our capacity to make Estonian film visible around the world,\u201d warned the EFI\u2019s CEO Edith Sepp<\/a>. The institute honcho also lamented the freeze to local films , staying at \u20ac7 million ($8.1 million) to $8 million ($9.2 million), while cash rebates for foreign shoots will increase from \u20ac6 million ($6.9 million) to \u20ac10 million ($11.5 million) . \u201cThis is a historic change,\u201d she said. \u201cEstonia has always taken pride in keeping national authors in the priority position, but not anymore. This is truly sad because it places foreign productions above our own cultural survival. We have reached a point where the economy is allowed to come before our culture, and that is a truly dangerous choice to make for any small nation,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

\n\tP\u00d6FF Deals
Sales and pick-ups on festival films as reported by Variety:
*Lithuania\u2019s \u201cThe Activist\u201d by Romas Zabarauskas, sold by Alief to nearly 20 territories including TLA Releasing for North America, the Baltics via WBD International Content LLC for HBO Max and French-speaking territories to Optimale.
*French-Nepalese doc \u201c18 Hopes to Paradise\u201d by Jo\u00e3o Nuno Pinto snapped up by Alpha Violet
*Norway\u2019s \u201cNo Comment\u201d by Petter N\u00e6ss boarded by TrustNordisk
*Spain\u2019s \u201cUnder Your Feet\u201d by Cristian Bernard picked up by FilmSharks
*Denmark\u2019s \u201cPretty Young Love\u201d sold by LevelK to Germany (Splendid Film), Encripta (Latin America), South Korea (Husky Films)
*Lithuania\u2019s \u201cHunger Breakfast Strike\u201d by Karolis Kaupinis boarded by Alief.
*Commenting on Tallinn, Tine Klint, head of LevelK who hadn\u2019t attended P\u00d6FF in a while said \u201cin the future, I will prioritise this event because of the packed industry program and networking possibilities across areas. We always submit films because it is a festival that can help with additional visibility and it\u2019s a great festival where the filmmaker can experience a premiere with a fantastic audience.\u201d
Nikolai Korsgaard of TrustNordisk who repped \u201cNo Comment\u201d and \u201cMy First Love\u201d in the Official and First Films competitions respectively, said both titles were already benefiting from their festival buzz. But due to the tough market, he came home empty handed. \u201c2025 has been a challenging year like no other, so we are more cautious with selecting the exact right projects that we can sell and believe in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tJohn Hopewell contributed to this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLINN, Estonia \u2014 Has Estonia\u2019s Tallinn Film Festival ever had it so good? Since Festival Director Tiina Lokk…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[89],"tags":[12398,12399,167,12400,12401,166,4541,11605],"class_list":["post-17195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallinn","tag-debra-mcguire","tag-edith-sepp","tag-estonia","tag-ida-viru","tag-jessica-hausner","tag-tallinn","tag-tallinn-black-nights-film-festival","tag-tiina-lokk"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}