<\/p>\n
In a move to boost series from the Baltics and their ties to Europe\u2019s market, the Series Mania Institute has launched Serial Bridges Baltics, a new workshop for Baltic screenwriters and series producers, staged in partnership with the Institute Fran\u00e7ais and Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.<\/p>\n
The inaugural session, due to roll out Nov. 13-17 at Tallinn\u2019s TV Beat Forum, will reunite six writer\/producer duos, including some of the Baltics\u2019 hottest names in serialised drama: Estonia\u2019s Raoul Suvi, writer of the Berlinale Series Market 2025 title \u201cMy Dear Mother\u201d and the acclaimed \u201cTraitor,\u201d Latvia\u2019s wrier\/director Juris Kursietis (\u201cSoviet Jeans\u201d, \u201cThe Exhalted,\u201d \u201cOleg\u201d), as well as Lithuania\u2019s actor\/writer\/producer Gabija Siurbyt\u0117 (\u201cTroll Farm\u201d).<\/p>\n
More from Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe are delighted to be organising such a workshop in Estonia for all Baltic talent,\u201d said Pierre Ziemniak, director of programs at the Series Mania Institute who oversees other international workshops under the \u2018Serial Bridges\u2019 banner. \u201cDespite tighter budgets than in Western Europe, Baltic series are increasingly recognized and appreciated by the international market, as exemplified by \u201cSoviet Jeans\u201d from Latvia, which was presented at Series Mania in 2024. This is a dynamic that we want to support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBuilding this bridge between TV Beats and Series Mania Institute was a quick but smooth and exciting process,\u201d added Petri Kemppinen, co-head of TV Beats Forum who also welcomed the chance for Baltic series creators to be recognized internationally. \u201cI am convinced that the workshop format, bringing together several experienced experts and including a final pitch in front of professionals, will help develop new skills and open doors for future co-productions.\u201d<\/p>\n Mentors assigned to the Baltics duos take in Hungarian writer\/producer Gabor Krigler, former HBO Europe creative executive, and Finnish writer Jemina Jokisalo (\u201cMoney Shot\u201d). Further expertise will come from Emmanuelle Guilbart, About Premium Content co-CEO, as well as Emmanuel Eckert, former deputy director of acquisitions, Mediawan Rights, and French-Swedish producer Patrick Nebout (\u201cWhiskey on the Rocks\u201d).<\/p>\n Speaking to Variety about the first batch of Serial Bridges Baltics projects, Ziemniak said: \u201cWe were pleasantly surprised by the diversity of the projects submitted, particularly in terms of series genres. While thrillers and dramas reflecting the geopolitical situation are well represented, we also had the pleasure of reading comedies, fantasy stories and horror stories.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cSeveral submissions showed a certain ingenuity in seeking to connect local stories with the international market by targeting the right partners, which is entirely in line with the spirit of Serial Bridges: building bridges while respecting local DNA, overcoming the constraints of local markets with limited funding, by partnering with other European companies and aiming for universality while remaining faithful to cultural specificities.\u201d<\/p>\n On the closing day of the workshop Nov. 17, the Baltic teams will pitch their project to a professional jury and the winning show will get an entry ticket to Series Mania Forum 2026.<\/p>\n Serial Bridges Baltics is backed by the Estonian Ministry of Culture, the Estonian Film Institute, the platform Elisa Eesti in Estonia and Latvian pubcaster LRT. \u201cAurora Newsroom,\u201d<\/strong> (\u201cAurora.Redakcija,\u201d 6X52\u2019, Latvia, Estonia, Finland)<\/p>\n Created by Gints Gr\u016bbe Contemporary spy thriller from \u201cSoviet Jeans\u201d\u2019 co-helmer Juris Kursietis, who shares the writers\u2019 room with co-national Osvalds Zebris, Finland\u2019s Katri Manninen (\u201cShadow Lines\u201d) and Estonia\u2019s Martin Algus (\u201cTraitor,\u201d \u201cKalev\u201d). Journalist Guna Vilka who goes by the undercover name of \u201cLynx\u201d and works for the media outlet \u201cAurora,\u201d investigates an explosion at a newly opened wind farm in Latvia, where an Estonian teenager from a nearby youth camp has died. Gr\u016bbe says the show \u201cexplores the behind-the-scenes world of politics, intelligence services, and media in the context of today\u2019s hybrid warfare, highlighting processes that can be influenced at the political level.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCodename: Lighthouse,\u201d<\/strong> (\u201cSalas\u00f5na: Majakas,\u201d 6X42\u2019, Estonia)<\/p>\n Created by Tomas Ili Latest TV effort from the creators of the smash hit \u201cTraitor\u201d (\u201cReetur\u201d), best series at Serial Killer and Estonia\u2019s EFTA awards. \u201cThe fall of the Soviet Union is a well-known landmark period in European history, still covered with many secrets and mystery. If you add a nuclear device briefcase to it, an entertaining roller-coaster is guaranteed,\u201d says producer Jaan Laugam\u00f5ts who will also showcase in Tallinn the completed drama series \u201cIn Darkness\u201d by Ove Musting.<\/p>\n \u201cMidnight Stories,\u201d<\/strong> (\u201c\u0160iurpnak\u010dio istorijos,\u201d 8X25\u2019, Lithuania)<\/p>\n Created and written by Gabija Siurbyt\u0117, Ernestas Jankauskas Dansu Films co-founder, actor-showrunner Gabija Siurbyt\u0117, co-producer of Netflix\u2019s \u201cClark\u201d and TV4 Sweden\u2019s \u201cWe Come in Peace,\u201d has teamed up again with \u201cTroll Farm\u201d helmer Ernestas Jankauskas on a young adult-oriented thriller about a seemingly idyllic youth scout farm hiding a dark underbelly. \u201cMidnight Stories\u201d offers a rare blend of psychological horror and Lithuanian folklore, creating a fresh and cinematic anthology for a teenage audience,\u201d says Viktorija Rimkut\u0117.<\/p>\n \u201cShadows of the Swamp,\u201d<\/strong> (6X52\u2019, Latvia)<\/p>\n Created and written by Raitis Abele, Zanda Zeidaka from a story by Guntis T\u0101lers Crime and supernatural drama from hot up-and-coming Abele brothers, behind this year\u2019s Latvian entry in the international Oscar race, the animated \u201cDog of God.\u201d \u201cThe Outskirts,\u201d<\/strong> (\u201cNomale,\u201d 8\u00d750\u2019, Latvia)<\/p>\n Created by Lelde and Vlads Kovalovi Thriller, mystery drama in which a family holidaying in a seemingly perfect remote woodland hotel, soon realises that no one ever checks out, except those willing to cross a deadly moral line. The series is \u201cinspired by my favorite series \u201cSquid Game,\u201d \u201cLost,\u201d and \u201cWhite Lotus,\u201d \u201cThe Outskirts\u201d fuses survival drama with psychological and moral depth,\u201d says Kovalova, co-creator of the recent Latvian hit detective show \u201cThe Uninvited Guests.\u201d \u201cBeyond the mystery, [the show] explores the illusion of freedom and what remains of humanity when all modern certainties vanish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTherapies,\u201d<\/strong> (\u201cTerapijos,\u201d 7X30\u2019, Lithuania)<\/p>\n Created and written by Birut\u0117 Kapustinskait\u0117 Drama about a sharp-tongued professor who checks into a remote hospital, expecting peace and privacy during chemo. But she ends up in a six-bed cancer ward full of loud women, including an old colleague. Bravely addressing cancer, the show doesn\u2019t avoid the pain but actually brings it closer through \u201ca combination of warm humor and irony,\u201d says Dagn\u0117 Vild\u017ei\u016bnait\u0117.<\/p>\n Best of Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a move to boost series from the Baltics and their ties to Europe\u2019s market, the Series Mania Institute has launched Serial Bridges Baltics, a new workshop for Baltic screenwriters and series producers, staged in partnership with the Institute Fran\u00e7ais and Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. The inaugural session, due to roll out Nov. 13-17 at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2029532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[401878,379368,401884,401875,401882,401881,401877,401880,401876,401883,401879,345675],"class_list":["post-2118097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-baltics","tag-estonia","tag-estonian-film-institute","tag-juris-kursietis","tag-martin-algus","tag-pierre-ziemniak","tag-raoul-suvi","tag-serial-bridges","tag-serial-bridges-baltics","tag-serial-bridges-baltics-projects","tag-series-mania","tag-tallinn"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/In-Black-Rabbit-Jason-Bateman-and-Jude-Law-are-brothers.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2118097"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2118098,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118097\/revisions\/2118098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2029532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2118097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2118097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2118097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A fuller rundown of the Serial Bridges Baltics projects:<\/p>\n
Written by Juris Kursietis, Katri Manninen, Osvalds Zebris, Martin Algus
Directed by Juris Kursietis
Produced by Mistrus Media\u2019s Gints Gr\u016bbe, Inese Boka-Gr\u016bbe, El\u012bna Gedi\u0146a-Ducena, with partners Riina Sildos from Estonia and Petri Kemppinen from Finland<\/p>\n
Written by Raoul Suvi
Produced by Jaan Laugam\u00f5ts for Downtown Pictures<\/p>\n
Directed by Ernestas Jankauskas
Produced by Viktorija Rimkut\u0117 and Gabija Siurbyt\u0117 for Dansu Films<\/p>\n
Directed by Lauris Abele, Raitis Abele
Produced by Raitis Abele, Sebastian Weyland for Tritone Studio<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a misty Baltic village every year people vanish into the swamp \u2015 fishermen, hikers, even a millionaire. A detective and a psychic uncover a WWII Nazi atrocity, where meth-fueled soldiers massacred locals. Villagers hide dark secrets and something ancient and unseen still pulls the living into the bog,\u201d runs the logline. \u201cBalancing crime investigation with supernatural myth, [the show] lives precisely in a tension between the rational and the uncanny; that\u2019s exactly what a week spent in the Baltics\u2019 winter swampy forests feels like,\u201d quips Raitis Abele.<\/p>\n
Written, directed by Vlads Kovalovs
Produced by Lelde Kovalova<\/p>\n
Directed by Kapustinskait\u0117, Marija Kavtaradz\u0117, Egl\u0117 Vertelyt\u0117
Produced by Dagn\u0117 Vild\u017ei\u016bnait\u0117 for Just a Moment<\/p>\n