SUBMIT YOUR DOCUMENTARY PROJECT TO BALTIC SEA DOCS
The call for projects for Baltic Sea Docs is now open. Baltic Sea Docs is an international pitching and co-production forum for feature-length creative documentary projects from and about the Baltic Sea region, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus.
It is the only pitching forum in the Baltic region focused exclusively on documentaries. Established in 1997, the event is organised by the National Film Centre of Latvia. This year’s edition will take place in Riga on 6–11 September 2026, with pitching sessions scheduled for 10–11 September 2026.
The 2026 industry programme is an in-person event and includes a pitch training workshop for 18–20 selected projects, followed by the pitching of 18–20 projects and individual meetings. The programme will also feature a “Coming Soon” session (up to four films in post-production from previous BSD editions) as well as a film programme.
Submissions are open not only to feature-length creative documentaries, but also to cross-media projects and documentary animations. Each producer may submit up to three projects, and a project may be submitted for selection up to three times. Projects pitched in previous editions are eligible only for the “Coming Soon” session and may take part in it once. Priority will be given to projects that have already secured some financial commitment from broadcasters or film institutions, however this is not a requirement. First-time filmmakers are also welcome - debut projects are eligible and encouraged.
Key dates
6 May 2026 – project submission deadline
4 June 2026 – announcement of selected projects
27 July 2026 – observer registration
Applications are submitted via an online form, which is already active. Alongside the industry activities, Baltic Sea Docs will present a programme of selected documentary films screened on 8–13 September 2026.
An integral part of the event is the pitch preparation workshop. The Pitching Training Workshop for new projects will take place on 6–9 September 2026 (for “Coming Soon” projects, the workshop will take place on 9 September only). Participants will work intensively on their project presentations under the guidance of six international tutors with extensive industry experience.
More detailed information and the application link can be found here.