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Baltic Sea-Nordic Competition Programme
2025 archive

Discover the fresh spirit of the Northern animation! Dive into a vibrant mix of award-winning shorts from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Germany. From stop-motion to sand animation, these films explore heartfelt stories of life challenges, adolescence, and variety choices. It’s a perfect pick for animation fans and curious cinema lovers alike — come laugh, reflect, and discover fresh voices from the Baltic Sea-Nordic!

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Jury:
Benjamin Massoubre

Benjamin Massoubre

Animation director, Baltic Sea-Nordic Competition Jury · France

Benjamin Massoubre fell in love with animation when he discovered its richness and variety at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. He started as an editor and had the chance to work on many animated feature films which earned him membership of both the A.C.E and the AMPAS. He collaborated with Jérémy Clapin on I Lost My Body, with Rémi Chayé on Long way north and Calamity: A childhood of Martha Jane Cannary and with Patrick Imbert on The Summit of the Gods. His first feature film as director : Little Nicholas happy as can be ! was selected at the Cannes Film Festival and also received the Cristal for best feature at the Annecy international animation Festival in 2022.
Lucia Dubravay Trautenberger

Lucia Dubravay Trautenberger

Co-founder and owner of Bear With Me Distribution, Baltic Sea-Nordic Competition Jury · Slovakia

Lucia Dubravay Trautenberger is based in Bratislava, Slovakia and studied Cultural Management. She has a background in translation and journalism, and has led several international cultural projects. Previously, she served as Executive Director of the Biennial of Animation Bratislava. Lucia is one of the co-founders and owners of Bear With Me Distribution, where she also serves as Managing Director and Head of Sales and International Distribution. In addition, she manages multiple European projects focused on culture, creative industries, and democracy.
Gabrielė Cegialytė

Gabrielė Cegialytė

Project manager at "Lithuanian Shorts" agency, Managing Director of the Vilnius Short Film Festival, Baltic Sea-Nordic Competition Jury · Lithuania

Gabrielė Cegialytė has been working in the film industry for more than 10 years. In 2016, she joined the Lithuanian short film agency "Lithuanian Shorts” and works there as a projects manager. She has been an integral member of the Vilnius Short Film Festival team for a decade, ascending Managing Director position in 2022. She is the manager of the Baltic short film industry event Baltic Pitching Forum. G. Cegialytė is a guest lecturer at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and participates at various short film industry events as industry professional, jury member or panelist.
Participants:
Lin Jo Skytte

Lin Jo Skytte

Director · Denmark

Lin Jo Skytte graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in June 2025 as an animation director. Her graduation film, Korean Bloom, has been selected for several festivals including GENERATION, OFF, BLON, and VAF, and was shortlisted for a ROBERT AWARD. Inspired by Korean and Japanese non-linear storytelling and authors like Han Kang and Haruki Murakami, Lin creates surreal, poetic worlds focused on human emotions. Her work celebrates the peculiar, intimate, and unexplainable.
Andreas Granér

Andreas Granér

Director · Sweden

Andreas Granér (b. 1986) is an artist and animator from Stockholm, Sweden. With a background in drawing and music, he discovered animation as a natural fusion of his creative interests. He studied at Animationsakademien in Stockholm, where he began exploring storytelling through a playful DIY spirit, combining hand-drawn animation with his own music compositions. His debut short film Siri Wonder premieres at BLON this year.
Juho Maurinen

Juho Maurinen

Director · Finland

Juho Maurinen is a filmmaker, visual artist, animator and musician from Helsinki Finland. He has deep roots in DIY culture and he’s been described as an “unstoppable genre bending creative force”. Maurinen believes in sincerity and personal intuition in all his work and he enjoys finding new ways of creating.
Santeri Laasanen

Santeri Laasanen

Animator · Finland

Santeri Laasanen is a Helsinki-based animator, writer, audiovisual artist and teacher of graphic design & animation. He is the director of several short films and music videos, and has dabbled in theatre, poetry and prose. Artistically Santeri is driven and inspired by gonzo, punk & sentimentality, and loves to find beauty in weird and underappreciated genres.
Jakub Bożydar Dolny

Jakub Bożydar Dolny

Director · Poland

Jakub Bożydar Dolny (born 1998) is a Polish director, animator, and screenwriter of animated films. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and currently a V year student of the Film School in Lodz, majoring in animated film and special effect. In his work, he avoids a moralizing tone, focusing instead on storytelling and the relationships between characters. His debut film Championsheep was recognized at the OIAF festival in Ottawa and received numerous awards, including Best Polish Animated Film at the Animafest Gdańsk. In addition to directing, he collaborates on screenwriting projects and is active in various artistic endeavors.
Julia Dworakowska

Julia Dworakowska

Illustrator · Poland

Julia Dworakowska – Polish graphic designer and illustrator, a graduate of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń with a degree in computer graphics. On a daily basis, she creates posters, illustrations, and backgrounds for animations. Her work incorporates typography, a variety of elements, and textures. She often explores lighthearted and carefree themes.
Martinus Klemet

Martinus Klemet

Director · Estonia

Martinus Klemet is an Estonian animation director known for blending surrealism, pop art, grotesque, and humor. He holds a BA in Fine Arts and an MA in Animation from the Estonian Academy of Arts. His animated shorts have screened internationally and won awards. Besides films, he directs music videos, commercials, museum projects, and more. Martinus has spoken about his work worldwide and mentored students at the Estonian Academy of Arts. He is currently pursuing a practice-led PhD exploring new narratives combining animation and improv theatre.
Nawojka Wierzbowska

Nawojka Wierzbowska

Director and screenwriter · Poland

Nawojka Wierzbowska – director and screenwriter of animated and live-action films, graduate of the Film School in Katowice. Her diploma film A Fairytale for a Restless Night was acclaimed at Polish festivals, while Evil Never Sleeps brought further awards, including FRAPA and the Silver Koziołek. She developed her skills at La Poudrière and Young Horizons Lab, and collaborated with the Munk Studio. Currently, she is working on her feature debut Till Death Unite Us.
Partners:
Lenkijos institutas Vilniuje
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Kafka. In Love
Kafka. In Love

2024 / Czech Republic, Latvia / 10 min 11 s Franz and Milena – between them a distance, her husband and loads of letters – it is love that fills Kafka’s life with light and hope and at the same time illuminates the fears and darkness in him. Inspired by Franz Kafka’s Letters to Milena Jesenská, “Kafka. In Love” explores the multidimensional experience of falling in love. Directed by Zane Oborenko Producers: Sabīne Andersone, Edmunds Jansons, Martin Vandas, Alena Vandasová Company: Atom Art, Maur Film

Maybe Elephants
Maybe Elephants

2024 / Norway, Canada / 16 min 43 s In the ’70s, three rebellious teenage daughters, a restless mother, a father struggling with potatoes, and maybe some elephants, find themselves in bustling Nairobi. The family will never be the same. Directed by Torill Kove Screenwriter: Torill Kove Producers: Lise Fearnley, Maral Mohammadian, Tonje Skar Reiersen Company: Mikrofilm, National Film Board of Canada

Tenderland
Tenderland

2024 / Finland / 12 min 29 s Two friends navigating a world of fantasy and hanging out. The stakes are low and moral is high. Directed by Juho Maurinen Screenwriters: Juho Maurinen, Santeri Laasanen Producer: Juho Maurinen

Cycle of violence: Puppy Please!
Cycle of violence: Puppy Please!

2024 / Germany / 6 min 6 s Giggling as she hops between hills of fluffy pink cotton wool, Bunny tries to charm and seduce us. The relationship, at first so intimate and lustful, suddenly breaks down and turns to a furious escalation of accusations and violence. Directed by Felicia Anna Aurora Bergström Screenwriter: Felicia Anna Aurora Bergström Producer: Felicia Anna Aurora Bergström Company: Filmuniversity Babelsberg Konrad Wolf

Goddammit
Goddammit

2025 / Norway / 4 min 18 s Concrete poetry and frustrated typography in dramatic choreography. The words may be foreign, but their temper is universal. Adapted from «The Goddammit-poem» (1969) by treasured Norewegian poet Jan Erik Vold. Directed by Kristian Pedersen Based on a poem by Jan Erik Vold Producers: Lise Fearnley, Tonje Skar Reiersen Company: Mikrofilm

I Am Not Here Anymore
I Am Not Here Anymore

2025 / Poland, France / 14 min 59 s A grandfather dies and tries to leave his home. Unfortunately, his family don't want to believe that he's gone for good. Every time he tries to run away, they take him back to them. Directed by Nawojka Wierzbowska Screenwriter: Nawojka Wierzbowska Producers: Aneta Zagorska, Robert Sowa, Delphine Schmit

Ovary-Acting
Ovary-Acting

2025 / Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom / 12 min 32 s A harried thirty-something woman is forced to decide whether she wants to be a mother after unexpectedly giving birth to her reproductive organs at her sister’s baby shower. Directed by Ida Melum Screenwriter: Laura Jayne Tunbridge Producers: Michelle Brøndum, Johan Edström

I Am A Flower
I Am A Flower

2024 / Germany / 13 min 15 s At a fancy flower spa, Sam—a queer artist and proud flower-person—prepares for their blooming and bodily transformation. Their mother, however, isn’t quite ready to let go. On their final day together, between petal pampering, quiet conversations, and echoes of childhood, tension and fear rise, but something tender begins to take root. Directed by Ariel Victor Arthanto Screenwriter: Ariel Victor Arthanto Producer: Maritza Grass Company: Carousel Film

Freeride in C
Freeride in C

2024 / Latvia / 10 min 12 s The white tranquility of mountains is disturbed by colorful winter sports enthusiasts who enjoy downhill skiing. The short film is an audiovisual experience, an abstract dance of freedom that reflects the joy and fragility of being. Directed by Edmunds Jansons Screenwriter: Edmunds Jansons Producer: Edmunds Jansons

Korean Bloom
Korean Bloom

2025 / Denmark / 8 min 37 s Mina, a Korean-Danish woman, runs an exclusive spa on the Danish west coast. Every summer, white guests flock to the place to find peace, indulge themselves, and be attended to by the hotel's staff – mystical, unknown creatures that seem to float between reality and fantasy. But when one of the guests makes an awkward, discriminating gesture, it takes her by surprise and her dark hair begins to grow. Directed by Lin Jo Skytte Screenwriter: Lin Jo Skytte Producers: Rosa Flindt Riis-Hansen, Maja Foss Hagerup Company: The National Film School of Denmark

Bliss
Bliss

2025 / Denmark / 4 min 40 s Surrounded by the roots of a withering tree, the soul of an old woman departs from her former body. Unsure of where to go next, she finds guidance in a mythological snake who patiently leads her towards the afterlife. Directed by Freya Zoharah K. Sørensen Screenwriters: Freya Zoharah K. Sørensen, Emma Nørholm Hansen Producer: Freya Zoharah K. Sørensen

With You Forever
With You Forever

2025 / Poland / 7 min 20 s A lonely sailor finds a mysterious envelope on the deck of the ship. A letter full of sorrow and reproach brings back memories of a overprotective mother, who, at all costs, doesn't want to let go of her beloved son. The man must confront his own desires with a deeply hidden sense of guilt. Directed by Jakub Bożydar Dolny Screenwriter: Jakub Bożydar Dolny Illustrator: Julia Dworakowska Producer: Jakub Bożydar Dolny Company: The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Lodz

Siri Wonder
Siri Wonder

2025 / Sweden / 13 min 35 s Siri is a bicycle on the run from her sadistic owner. She dreams of reaching the city of bikes (Copenhagen) but to get there, she must face her greatest fear: the highway. Directed by Andreas Sven Granér Screenwriter: Andreas Sven Granér Producer: Andreas Sven Granér Company: Animationsakademien

Yummy
Yummy

2024 / Estonia / 8 min 45 s Julia works as a dog food tester. However, after a breakup, dog food will never taste the same. Directed by Martinus Klemet Screenwriter: Martinus Klemet Producer: Aurelia Aasa