Participants have a month to submit a film lasting 1 to 5 minutes, and are encouraged to reflect on current facets of the Baltic Sea, and how to best present it on film. The competition is open to both professional and amateur filmmakers, provided they are citizens of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark , Germany, Iceland, Russia – inhabitants of Kaliningrad and the St-Petersburg area– and Poland. (The registration link can be found at the bottom of the page)
Dr Włodzimierz Pessel, expert on Scandinavia, writes:
“It’s been 25 years since the Baltic Sea ceased to be a buffer for Europe (…). The great transformation of Central and Eastern Europe freed the region and allowed the Baltic Sea to serve its natural function from a cultural standpoint – it is now inland, a regional basin and as such it serves the local communities.
Indeed, the Scandinavians and Germans call it a lake (Swedish ‘Östersjön’, German ‘Ostsee’), traditionally it is called ‘The Mediterranean Sea of Northern Europe’. It seems that this tradition has been brought back (…). The time has come for young filmmakers to think about the consequences that stem from this neighbouring sea.
Films can be sent until August 25 and should be sent through the form available on Culture.pl. The best films will be chosen by the following jury:
- Leszek Kopeć – head of jury - director of the Film Festival in Gdynia and chairman of the board of the Pomeranian Film Foundation.
- Magnus von Horn – Swedish film director living in Poland. Graduate and lecturer of the Polish Film School in Łódź. His last film The Here After had its world premiere at the 68th Film Festival in Cannes.
- Jerzy Rados - deputy director of the Gdynia Film School.
- Olga Wysocka – deputy director at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
- Grzegorz Skorupski – film expert at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
- Jenifer Malmqvist - Swedish film director who studied at The Polish National Film School in Łódz. Her movie Birthday was shown at the Sundance Festival.
The award ceremony will be held at the 40th Film Festival in Gdynia. Common Baltic is part of the cultural programme carried out by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and Culture.pl. After projects in the countries of the Eastern Partnership and Asia, the Institute's cultural activity now turns to Poland, Russia , Lithuania, Latvia , Estonia, Finland , Norway, Sweden , Denmark, Germany, and Iceland.
Details and contest regulations available on Culture.pl. To register, click here.