Participants can submit films lasting 1 to 5 minutes, which tackle the subjects connected with the Baltic region — its culture, cultural identity, history, society, transformation. The participants have almost eight holiday weeks to prepare the film — holiday time is associated with the Baltic Sea by many inhabitants of this region. We encourage to use this time to reflect on the faces and identity of the region, and subsequent translation of these reflections into the language of film. The competition is open for both professional and amateur filmmakers from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. Participants can register via this form up until 4th September 2016.
During this year’s edition, four awards will be presented: three laureates will be chosen by the Jury; the fourth award will be given by web users. For the first time, an audience award will be presented. Due to the popularity the contest enjoys, the Jury will make a preselection — 10 chosen finale films will be available on Culture.pl, and the web users will be able to vote for a chosen film.
As dr Włodzimierz Pessel, an expert on Scandinavia, wrote:
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 and creators to think about the consequences of sharing this sea by several countries. Is the Baltic region a realization of Czesław Miłosz’s postulate that the Nobel Prize winner expressed in his book Native Realm. A Search for Self-Definition?
This year the films will be chosen by the Jury consisting of:
- Leszek Kopeć – head of jury - director of the Film Festival in Gdynia and chairman of the board of the Pomeranian Film Foundation.
- Michał Oleszczyk – artistic director of Gdynia Film Festival
- Olga Wysocka – deputy director at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
- 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, and has been awarded two crucial prices — for screenwriting and directing — during Gdynia Film Festival in 2015.
- Jerzy Rados - deputy director of the Gdynia Film School.
- Grzegorz Skorupski – film expert at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
The award ceremony will be held in September during the 41st Film Festival in Gdynia. The laureates who will come to the Festival on the invitation of the organizers will be able to see the latest Polish movies and fully participate in the Festival. They will also meet with the contest’s patron, Magnus von Horn, and take part in directing workshops.
The contest Common Baltic is a part of the cultural programme in the Baltic region carried out by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute under Culture.pl brand. After the projects realized in Eastern Europe and Asia, the Baltic region is the next part of the world where the Institute’s activity will be particularly vivid. International cultural and sociocultural programmes will be held in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland.
Details and contest regulations available on Culture.pl. To register, click here.