Tallinn University is a modern and dynamic research university in Estonia with a leading role in promoting an intelligent lifestyle through education, research, and a unique collaboration across disciplines. We view an intelligent lifestyle as making research-based decisions to improve society in general and the well-being of its citizens.

Baltic Film, Media, and Arts School is a competence center for communication and audio-visual knowledge and expertise, focusing on various positions in film production, TV, new media, communication, choreography, art, and music. Its Centre of Excellence in Media Innovation and Digital Culture (MEDIT) was established in 2015 to study cultural change and innovation processes that accompany digital media. MEDIT aims to apply theoretical knowledge to experimenting with new and innovative forms of digital media and believes that interpreting and participating in contemporary cultural change requires cultural, economic, and technological dynamics to be viewed as a single system.

Research Themes

WP1 aims to ensure the smooth execution of the project within the specified timeframe and budget as outlined in the Grant Agreement. This involves managing project administration, including reports to the European Commission, and providing centralized support to the consortium to ensure the desired levels of quantity, quality, and interdependency for each work package's objectives and deliverables. Effective communication channels are established to facilitate active dialogues among the EC, consortium members, linked third parties, and external partners, ensuring everyone remains well-informed to facilitate progress. Additionally, utmost attention is paid to upholding principles of human rights, ethics, gender equality, and diversity throughout all project activities.
The work package will organize the pooling of data on European film industries and markets from multiple public and private databases. It will develop novel data integration and analysis methods. By combining cross-sectional datasets, it will enable us to study industry dynamics and market relationships in unprecedented ways. In dialogue with stakeholders, we will create a web application (‘dashboard’) - a data analysis and simulation tool — for easy visualization of analytical findings. While the tool will service stakeholders across Europe, its focus will be on the knowledge interests of institutions in smaller countries. A sustainable governance model for the tool and for further data pooling will also be developed. The WP will also make recommendations on the adoption of data standards necessary to ease data sharing and data trade and to increase the effectiveness of film industry operations across Europe.
WP3 lays the foundation with a robust conceptual framework, illuminating the intricacies and challenges of small film markets. It fosters a dialogue with WP2, employing a multi-level comparative analysis of crucial industry data. The objective is to delineate the competitive landscape of individual small nations’ film industries within the broader European context and against major content exporters like the UK and the USA.
By offering an integrative view of the film industry’s value chain, WP3 facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the European value chains in small film markets. The policy toolkit, piloted with screen agencies, aims to enhance public funders’ comprehension of competition dynamics and the evolving film and audiovisual ecosystems.
WP4 delves into the film-related innovation systems within small EU territories. It addresses structural and coordination challenges, aiming to instigate systemic change with a focus on green strategies, IPR management, and novel financing and business models. Interventions and pilots, rooted in knowledge from WP5-7, are developed and tested in collaboration with stakeholders to foster cross-sectoral innovation systems.
WP5 scrutinizes film production, financing, and training ecosystems in small European nations, with a special focus on the lingering impacts of COVID-19. It aims to identify barriers to talent development and proposes educational and industrial measures to overcome them. The WP also explores cooperative production alliances to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among small European nations.
WP6 is tasked with generating insights into the sub-sectors of distribution, exhibition, and marketing. It develops strategies to bolster these sub-sectors both within small EU markets and on a global scale, enhancing the international reach of content originating from these markets.
WP7 aims to unveil European film audiences’ preferences and the barriers to accessing films from small European countries. It explores audiences’ discovery paths and designs strategies to attract and engage diverse audience groups. The insights gleaned support the development of business models and policy innovations, emphasizing the role of small countries as testing grounds for innovative audience engagement strategies.
WP8 is committed to disseminating the project’s outcomes to various stakeholders, building a community around the future of the European Audiovisual Industry. It establishes the State of European Film platform updated annually, offering data, insights, and case studies to foster a data-driven approach within the audiovisual community. Moreover, it devises strategies for the exploitation of project results and supports all WPs in communication, outreach, and exploitation efforts.