For the first time at the Northern Lights FF—Debuts Competition! During the festival, the international jury will review 13 full-length films from Northern Europe and the Baltics that became the first or second independent films of young directors. The winning film will claim the title of Best Film, and at the same time, the jury can mark other movies in the competition program with Special Mentions. Join the screening of the Debuts Competition to learn about the new big names in world cinema!

international debuts competition jury

Vytautas Puidokas is a freelance documentary filmmaker based in Vilnius, Lithuania. Has a degree in Media and Film studies at the University of Surrey (UK). His career started on Lithuanian National Television, where he has worked as a scriptwriter and director. His debut feature-length documentary 'El Padre Medico' premiered in Camden IFF (USA) and was nominated for best documentary in Lithuania. His mid-length film 'Before They Meet' is part of the six-country co-production 'Borderline' and has been nominated for the best Flemish docuseries. He also initiated the production of a collective documentary film, 'A Letter to Ukraine', which was joined by more than 100 Lithuanian filmmakers. In 2022, Vytautas received the Vilnius Film Festival / Kino Pavasaris award for emerging local filmmakers. His films have been screened at festivals around Europe and the USA. Apart from documentaries, Vytautas is also creating music videos and video installations. His work covers topics related to migration, history, and identity.

Vytautas Puidokas

Director, producer

Lithuania

Originally from Belarus, Anna lives and works in Belgium. She holds a degree in documentary film directing from the DocNomads master program. Mainly interested in creative documentary, hybrid, and experimental cinema, Anna directed and edited several shorts and feature documentaries that were screened at different festivals around the world. She worked on the "Borderline" documentary series (2021) with Off World Production in Belgium, directing "Where The World Ends" and editing "Before They Meet" episodes. With Off World Production, she also worked as an editor for the "We Will Remember Them" documentary, which was the closing film of the Visions Du Reel Festival in 2019. Savchenko also edited the documentary "Touche" and the episode of "Draw for Change" documentary series, both released in 2023. Anna is an alumni of EsoDoc, CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator, Baltic Sea Docs, EurasiaDoc, and B2B Doc film training programs.

Anna Savchenko

Film director and editor

BELARUS

Viktor Nordenskiöld is an award winning Swedish director, producer and international news journalist. He has made many films for Swedish TV and his short Out of This World (2014) premiered at Berlinale. His first released feature The Feminister (2019) premiered at CPH Dox in 2019, and the second Behind The Swedish Model premiered at GIFF Gothenburg Film Festival and a version at CPH:DOX. He has a Master of Arts (MA) from Stockholm University of the Dramatic Arts and a Bachelor (BJ) in Journalism from The Netherlands and Denmark. He also works with international news, for Swedish Arts Grants Committee and B2B Doc.

Viktor Nordenskiöld

Director, producer

Sweden