Black Room 2024 mentors (from the left): Uli Hanisch, Lollo Urbansdotter, Marco Bittner Rosser

The Black Room, part of Discovery Campus, the international education programme taking place at Industy@Tallinn & Baltic Event, welcomes eight emerging production designers from across Europe for this year's edition. The four-day programme includes in-depth masterclasses by established production designers Uli Hanisch and Marco Bittner Rosser.

The participants include a student Edzhe Ziyaeva (Bulgaria), multidisciplinary artist Maria Rosa Thornhill (Malta), production designer Slobodanka Pilic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), freelance costume designer Johanna Helen Baumann (Germany), production designer Freda Purik, art director Elizabet Lisitsin (Estonia), production designer and art director Amalia Mititelu (Romania) and scenographer and visual artist Ermina Apostolaki (Greece).

This year's Black Room programme, themed Creative Collaboration, focuses on practical skills: presenting one's artistic ideas, teamwork between creative HODs and within the industry. In addition to insightful lectures and workshops, talents will be encouraged to network with other emerging professionals participating in the programme, as well as with all industry professionals attending the event in Tallinn.

The masterclass "Developing an Idea" by Uli Hanisch, known for his work on The Perfume (2005), The Queen's Gambit (2019) and Babylon Berlin, will guide participants through the process of developing ideas and turning them into a production-ready and presentable document - the booklet. Another in-depth masterclass, “Exchanging Ideas”, will be led by established production designer Marco Bittner Rosser, who has worked on international feature films with directors such as Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), Guilermo del Toro (Hellboy), Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive) and Steven Spielberg (Bridge of Spies).

In addition to the masterclasses for Black Room participants, the programme has teamed up with another part of the Discovery Campus, Frame within the Frame, for a workshop called "Crafting Visual Texture: The Art of Bringing Depth and Detail to the Screen", which will allow cinematographers and production designers to explore the collaborative process of creating visually rich, textured films. The workshop will cover techniques, materials, lighting and digital effects contributing to a tactile, immersive visual experience.

The Black Room programme will also include a presentation ”Talent + Agent” by Lollo Urbansdotter, owner of one of Sweden's first film agencies, Magnolia Agency, who will provide valuable insights into navigating the dynamic film industry, the role of an agency in nurturing talent and the keys to building lasting, successful partnerships with both clients and collaborators. The event is also open to all Industry@Tallinn& Baltic Event accredited guests.

Read further about the mentors