Ten Series Compete for €50,000 Award at Tallinn TV Beats Market

Ten series from nine European countries plus co-production partner Canada will compete for the €50,000 ($56,000) Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award at Tallinn's TV Beats Co-Financing Market on November 16-17, the event's co-heads announced.

Picked from 50 submissions across Eurimages member states, the lineup pairs Polish film veteran Dariusz Jabłoński's spy thriller "Fortel" with Estonia's Soviet-occupation drama "Stormbird" from Kadri Kõusaar, plus Spain's supernatural political thriller "When Devils Rule" from the "Patagonia" team and Belgium's "The Inheritance" from Panenka, the producer behind "This is Not a Murder Mystery."

"Never before have we welcomed that many big names and companies," said Petri Kemppinen, who co-heads TV Beats with Roosa Toivonen.

What is driving this year's submissions?

The 2025 slate hails from Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, and co-production partner Canada. Three territories — Czechia, Finland, and Estonia — topped the application list. Toivonen said the geographical spread reflects TV Beats' core mission: "to act as a bridge between the Baltics, Central Eastern Europe, and the Nordics."

A larger share of this year's projects is in early development, making their first pitch in Tallinn. "Obviously the hefty €50,000 development award from the Council of Europe is a major draw in today's tough times for indie producers who struggle to gather development money when commissioners and public funders are cutting back," Kemppinen said. "They need co-production partners to lift their projects."

How are the 10 projects stacking up thematically?

Espionage runs through three entries — "Tanner," "Fortel," and "The Woman Who Roared" — a reflection, organizers said, of an industry responding to Baltic and Central-Eastern European proximity to Russian military pressure. Oppressive regimes, systems or leaders, sometimes disguised as devils, drive the rest, alongside durable Nordic crime formats.

Which projects are in the lineup?

• "Breaking the Ice" (6×45', Estonia) — YA drama from Zolba Productions ("Von Fock," "My Dear Mother"). Co-created by Leana Jalukse and German screenwriting expert Joachim Friedmann. A Russian hockey prodigy and an Estonian figure skater fall in love across a national divide. Producer Jevgeni Supin: "Our series looks beneath the polished surface of youth sport, where abuse by parents and coaches is often disguised as pursuit for excellence."

"Fortel" (8×45', Poland) — Spy thriller created and showrun by Jabłoński ("The Pleasure Principle"), scripted by U.S. writer Marc Grey of Apple TV's "Tehran." Apple Film Production produces for Polsat. The action centers on Rzeszów, a Polish town near the Ukrainian border that has become a hub for espionage and arms trafficking. Jabłoński said: "Rzeszów is a city that woke up one morning to find itself at the center of the war, with no instruction manual and no way out."

"Happy New Year!" (10×21', Lithuania) — Created by Montis Norvaisis for Big Drama, with producer Lineta Lasiauskaitė. The drama follows a young woman drugged at a New Year's Eve party, with her best friend seeking justice when guests look away.

"Kalmann" (6×45', Iceland/Finland/Estonia) — Adaptation of Joachim B. Schmidt's Icelandic-Swiss crime novels, written by María Heba Þorkelsdóttir and directed by Kristófer Dignus. Kontent produces with Síminn, Snapper Films and Cuba Films attached. Producer Sara Djeddou Baldursdóttir said the show "sits within the internationally established Nordic crime space, but brings warmth, humor, melancholy and humanity." Production is set for fall 2027.

"Intimacy on Prescription" (8×60', Czechia) — 1970s-set tragicomedy directed by Jiří Havelka, based on the real-life work of sex therapist Stanislav Kratochvíl. Producer Karolina Zalabáková: "For us, 'Intimacy' is not only about sex, but about the courage to speak honestly about desire, fear, shame, power and the need to be seen by the person closest to you."

"Stormbird" (5×42', Estonia) — Historical thriller from Kadri Kõusaar, director of Cannes Un Certain Regard selection "Magnus" and Estonia's Oscar submission "Mother." Set in 1949, the series follows 18-year-old Lee, who becomes a fugitive after killing Soviet soldiers who attack her family. Producer Aet Laigu called the series "a story about people trying to survive and forced to make impossible choices under occupation."

"Tanner" (6×50', Ireland/Canada) — From Fíbín Films and Rhombus Media, the latter attached to HBO's "The Sympathizer." Created by Keith Hodder with Damian McCann and Sarah Gordon. Producer Bernie Hoban framed the show as a story of "the Irish intelligence services operating in a country whose prosperity is increasingly intertwined with some of the world's most powerful multinational corporations."

"The Inheritance" (6×45', Belgium) — Panenka produces for VTM. Psychological thriller created by Alexandra Jans with Jan Van Dyck, set in the world of animal welfare and hunting against the backdrop of Belgium's Hoge Kempen national park.

"The Woman Who Roared" (4×45', Finland) — Pamela Tola ("Ladies of Steel") directs. A recently widowed 65-year-old discovers the Helsinki Zoo doubles as a gathering point for international spies. Producer Mete Sasioglu of Sons of Lumière will seek co-producers from France, Eastern Europe and the Nordics.

"When Devils Rule" (6×35', Spain) — From Atlantika Films, the team behind Movistar Plus' "Patagonia." A group of women uncovers a demonic force operating at the highest level of society in a fractured political landscape.

What else is on offer in Tallinn?

Beyond the co-financing market, more than 20 additional series seeking distribution and sales will screen at TV Beats Screenings and TV Beats Coming Soon, with titles to be announced later. The TV Beats Forum sits inside Industry Tallinn & Baltic Event, which runs November 9-20 as part of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

The selection underscores how Eastern European and Nordic producers, squeezed by tightening public funding, are leaning harder on international co-financing forums — and how stories about espionage, authoritarianism and contested identity now dominate pitches from the region.