The 10th edition of the European Genre Forum, the only European training programme for up and coming genre filmmakers, will present its eight projects from eight production countries during the final lab in Tallinn. For the first time, one of the projects will receive an award of 25,000 euros, consisting of one day rental of an LED stage, preceded by one day of pre-lighting for the production of a selected film. 

The award, presented by a virtual production studio ATM VIRTUAL, will be handed out to the project that could use the virtual production services the best. 

“We are thrilled to add a prize to the programme where it has a strong impact. European Genre Forum is supporting the emerging genre and fantasy filmmakers for whom it is often difficult to match the needs of the project with the first-film-budget,” says Marge Liiske, the head of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. “It also helps the producers to take advantage of the benefits of virtual production, enabling them to explore cutting-edge technical developments and to realize the creative possibilities these technologies bring to genre cinema”.

Radosława Bardes, the managing director of ATM VIRTUAL believes the future of filmmaking lies in empowering visionary creators with cutting-edge technology, and the European Genre Forum is a platform that champions innovation in the industry. “By partnering with EGF, we’re giving genre filmmakers the tools to push the boundaries of storytelling with virtual production, providing them with access to resources that can turn their bold ideas into reality. We’re excited to support emerging talent and help shape the next generation of genre cinema,” he adds.

The project selection of the 10th European Genre Forum brings together projects from various genres including dystopian sci-fi, folk horror, thriller, fantasy, psychological drama, mystery and supernatural stories combined with drama are reshaped in the projects of up-and-coming producers and directors. As usual, the projects present a broad geographic spread, with eight production countries represented. 

European Genre Forum 2024 projects include:

• Elle – Maya Korn - producer | Adva Reichman - director (Germany)
• Godling - Ashley Horner - director (United Kingdom)
• Monstro - Laura Doval - producer (Spain)
• Inheritance – Stanislav Bytiutskyi - director, screenwriter | Inna Lastochkina - producer (Ukraine, Ireland)
• Neighbour - Oskar Lehemaa - director, screenwriter | Evelin Penttilä - producer (Estonia)
• The Dark Architect – Ilkka Matila - producer | Risto Tuominen - director, screenwriter (Finland, Estonia)
• The Kids Are Feral – Ben Thompson - director | Matthias Pachner - producer (United Kingdom)
• Vrykolax – Achilleas Gatsopoulos - director, co-writer | Geoff Dupuy-Holder - screenwriter | Vassilis Economou, producer and Minos Nikolakakis - producer (Greece)

Earlier this year, the projects were part of the Screenwriting and Directing Lab during the Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival, which focused on script development and other artistic aspects. The Producing Lab during the Imagine Fantastic Film Festival focusing on business skills, will run from 29 to 31 October in Amsterdam. In Tallinn, during the Black Nights Film Festival, the final event of the programme, the Marketing and Packaging Lab, looks at pitching, packaging, marketing and distribution.

The European Genre Forum (EGF) is a collaboration between the Imagine, Fantastic Zagreb and Black Nights film festivals. The training programme aims to boost the careers of future European players working on their first or second film. 

The presenter of the award ATM VIRTUAL is a professional virtual production studio based in Warsaw, Poland that provides a wide range of services for creating virtual stage designs, leveraging the power of Unreal Engine and displaying them on specially designed LED screens. Their extensive portfolio includes clients such as Netflix, Disney, Sony Pictures, Viaplay, Canal+, HBO, and TVP, making it one of the most experienced virtual production studios in Europe.