For the first time ever, the New Nordic Films market in Haugesund, Norway, is rolling out its red carpet to a 30-plus delegation of Baltic industry reps to bolster partnerships between the Nordic and Baltic film industries and find new paths for already escalating collaborations.
“The Baltic Focus [in Haugesund] is not just an ordinary program. It’s a milestone. An affirmation that the creative exchange and artistic alliance between the Baltics and Nordics is evolving into something deeper, more strategic and enduring,” says Edith Sepp, CEO at the Estonian Film Institute (EFI), setting the tone for the joint political and industry efforts, already standing on firm ground.
Historically, due to its stronger audiovisual sector and close proximity to Finland, Estonia has been the closest Nordic production ally among the Baltics. “Finland remains a strong and close partner, with decades of shared production history, but in the last five to seven years, we’ve seen growing interest from other Nordic countries,” says Sepp and EFI head of production Viola Salu.
Indeed, based on figures from Film Estonia, which administers the country’s cash rebate, over 20 co-productions between Estonia and Nordic partners were initiated in the last five years, growing from 4 in 2020 to 11 in 2024. Recent co-productions include the Finnish films “Never Alone” by Klaus Härö, “The Missile” by Miia Tervo, “The Swedish Torpedo” by Frida Kempff, and chiller “The Home” by Mattias Johansson Skoglund.
Lithuania, which enjoys the biggest domestic market-share in the Baltics (20.5% in 2024 versus 19.5% for Latvia, 17.7% for Estonia) and state film support worth $12.8 million for 2025 (vs $23.4 million in Estonia, $8.7 million in Latvia), has rapidly caught up with Estonia regarding Nordic collaborations. According to the Lithuanian Film Centre, since 2020, the public organisation, through its selective co-production funding scheme, has backed seven minority and four majority co-productions with the Nordics.
The Lithuanian Film Centre highlights in particular the upswing in long-term collaborations between Nordic producers and their Baltic counterparts. “Instead of one-off projects, producers are returning to trusted partners. This stronger collaboration is built on mutual trust, a better understanding of local talent and past success.”
One case in point: Lithuania’s M Films which partnered twice with liked-minded Swedish auteur-oriented Garagefilm International, first on Marija Kavtradze’s sophomore drama “Slow” (2023 Sundance best director), and then on Vytautas Katkus’s debut “The Visitor” (2025 Karlovy Vary best director).
Through Garagefilm, Norwegian co-producer Elisa Fernanda Pirir of Stær Film was invited to join “The Visitor,” and the immediate connection between Tromsö-based Pirir and M Films’ CEO Marija Razgutė enticed them to team up on Stær Film’s upcoming “Also a Life” by Anders Emblem. Both Pirir and Razgutė stressed their shared film taste and working practices. We made a beautiful human connection,” says Razguté, one of the most active co-producers in Lithuania, named a Producer on the Move at Cannes 2020.
Other regular Nordic/Lithuanian partners take in Vilnius-based Studio Nominum and Iceland’s Axfilms, co-producers of the 2020 documentary “Lobster Soup,” which is now partnering with Spain’s Pepe Andreu and Rafa Molés on their upcoming doc “La Pieta.”
The Visitor
Courtesy M Films
Latvia meanwhile has beenlagging behind in Nordic exchanges. “Co-productions between Latvia and the Nordic countries over the last 30 years have been relatively few,” admits Dita Rietuma, head of Latvia’s National Film Centre. She stresses, nevertheless, some fertile partnerships.
Within animation where Latvia reigns supreme – attested by the country’s first ever Oscar with “Flow” – Rietuma cites the Annecy winning docu-animation “My Favorite War” by Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen, co-produced by Latvia’s Ego Media and Norway’s Bivrost Film.
Most recently, Norwegian single motherhood drama “Solomamma,” which brought home the Ecumenical Prize from Locarno, was structured by Bacon Pictures as an exemplary five-country Nordic-Baltic co-production with partners Mistrus Media in Latvia, Dansu Films in Lithuania, It’s Alive in Finland and Bacon’s Danish outpost.
“We first got the support from the Latvian Film Centre. Once we got that, it was very smooth to get the Lithuanians on board,” Bacon Pictures producer Gary Cranner tells Variety.
Dynamic Nordic-Latvian partnerships in documentary include Latvia’s VFS Film’s Uldis Ceculis with Norwegian producer Morten Traavik, both involved in the 2016 film “Liberation Day,” and “North South Man Woman,” which just premiered at the U.K.’s Sheffield Festival.
Financial Gains
In the indie production sector, where every cent counts, especially in today’s challenging micro-economics, the financial attractiveness of the Baltic region, thanks to competitive tax rebates (up to 30% of eligible production costs, topped with regional coin for Latvia) have been key in boosting Nordic co-productions and filming activity. At the same time, growing professionalism have spurred cross-regional interest.
High-profile Finnish producer Kaarle Aho of Making Movies, a regular Baltic co-producer is behind Klaus Härö’s BAFTA-nominated “The Fencer,” which fully shot in Estonia, and the comedy “Heavier Trip”, co-produced with Lithuania.
“There used to be a ‘big brother’ attitude from us in the Nordics towards our Baltic colleagues; This is not the case anymore,” Aho says about his experience. From go-to filming destinations, the Baltics are now a place where industry skills have developed tremendously. They are close to us culturally, geographically, and over the years, we’ve learned to work together and trust each other.
Estonia and Lithuania in particular have great incentives with easy and fast refunding processes, which makes them attractive production hubs, especially after COVID,” says the producer who is lining up Härö’s next feature “Blue Baby” with Lithuania’s Filmas.
Matila Röhr Productions’ Ilkka Matila (“Never Alone,””The Eternal Road”), another long-standing Finnish partner to the Baltics, especially with Estonia’s Taska Films and Latvia’s Film Angels, concurs with Aho. “A few years back, when you would put together crews to film in the Baltics, you had to wait until an A-list head of department (HOD) was available, but now we can choose.
The pool of crew has widened and skills have improved,” he observes, underscoring at the same time, some collateral: Higher demand from Hollywood and European producers, has led to higher wages for top HODs and higher production costs.
At the same time, the overall economic health of the region has taken a hit with war in Ukraine, denting the region’s attractiveness, according to Matila. The latter estimates that costs in the Baltics – including living spend, energy, wages – have gained 15-20% in the last five years. “Ultimately Finland, where inflation is much lower than in the Baltics, is probably as advantageous as a shooting location today as the Baltics,” he reckons.
Talent Wave
The fast-expanding wealth of Baltic talent that have made a splash at festivals and national awards in recent years, has further boosted cross regional exchanges. Besides the aforementioned festival hits, the Estonian Film Institute cites local costume designer Eugen Tamberg and makeup artist Kaire Hendrikson, distinguished at this year’s Swedish Guldbagge film awards for their contribution to “The Swedish Torpedo.”
Stær Film’s Pirir is particularly impressed by the new generation of Lithuanian filmmakers such as Katkus. “I had followed Vytautas for many years with his shorts and was so pleased when I was invited to board “The Visitor.” He is an exceptional filmmaker, trained as a cinematographer, with a beautiful eye for visual style.
Lithuania is clearly enjoying a cinema boom,” she insists, referring as well to the country’s double presence at the latest Karlovy Vary Festival, with “The Visitor” as well as Gabrielė Urbonaitė’s debut “Renovation.”
“Lithuania offers much more than attractive incentives and striking locations,” adds Garagefilm producer Anna-Maria Kantarius. “There’s a vibrant creative community with fresh, daring voices, and working with them expands the scope of what Nordic co-productions can be. It’s an inspiring environment where bold cross-border collaborations can truly thrive.”
The Swedish Torpedo
Credit: Hannes Krantz
The Future
Looking into possible ways to further enhance Baltic and Nordic collaborations on a broader scale, the Estonian Film Institute’s Sepp and Salu list a range of areas, ranging from documentaries, animation, green production and innovation, talent exchange and training, to high-end series to serve audience appetite for streaming content.
The Lithuanian Film Centre for its part, estimates that Baltic producers could gain from the Nordic countries’ more advanced know-how in sustainability practices. “Strengthening ties with Nordic partners can help us integrate more environmentally conscious methods into our own productions and contribute to building a greener industry across the region,” says the film centre.
Meanwhile Cranner urges public organisations and politicians to consider new measures to stimulate Nordic-Baltic co-productions. “If the Baltics were part of – or affiliated to – Nordisk Film & TV Fond for instance, it would be a game-changer for Baltic projects trying to access Nordic public funds,” he says, adding”: It could really unleash co-productions between the Baltics and Nordics in a new wholly way.”
Questioned about this prospective, the key parties concerned express diverging views, underlining that an earlier request from the Baltics to join Nordisk Film & TV Fond was rejected in 2019.
Rietuma and her counterpart Laimonas Ubavičius, CEO at the Lithuanian Film Centre remain sceptical due to the complex greenlighting process and extra financial contribution that would be needed to join the pan-Nordic top-up financing body, which is backed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the five Nordic film institutes and as many as 11 broadcasting and streaming partners in the Nordics.
“Currently we are not discussing the idea to join Nordisk Film & TV Fond,” Ubavičius sums up. “The Baltics were recently discussing the idea of a specific Baltic Film and TV Fund, but this hasn’t either come to a final decision due to the financial, operational, and other related issues such as the role and the position of the broadcasters within this fund.”
Without a formal request from the Baltics to join, Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s CEO Liselott Forsman told Variety: “I’d rather not comment.”
Petri Kemppinen, high profile Finnish executive, producer and former head of Nordisk Film & TV Fond does however believe in more favourable circumstances today: “In practical terms, collaborations between Nordic and Baltic countries have increased in recent years because of the Baltic rebates but also because of their skilled professionals. Putin’s invading Ukraine has brought us even closer.
Between producers, there are excellent connections but financing for co-productions is still difficult to raise. Maybe today is the time to explore if a political will would exist to build a totally new financing structure for Baltic-Nordic co-productions. A soft start for funds could be to better align the spend requirements and deadlines to match transnational production realities,” Kemppinen suggests.
Sepp for her part also firmly believes in building on the Baltics film momentum. “The idea of joining Nordisk Film & TV Fond has always made sense to the Baltics – culturally, geographically, creatively,” she insists. “Years ago, we called it the arc of goodness, a vision of regional cooperation built on shared values and trust. Although the moment passed, the idea never faded. Today, as Baltic cinema stands stronger than ever, perhaps it’s time to revisit that vision and not to look back, but to explore how this arc could be built for the common future.”
