Questions of transnational cinema: the Baltic case from culture to branding

ENAlthough Baltic Cinema is nowadays acclaimed as an industry full of g reat potential, its international success is still dependent on and limited by some factors that are worth being explored. It is undeniable that huge efforts have been made in the past years with regards of cooperation beyond the national borders of th e involved countries, promoting transnational productions, festivals and debates; though, it seems that Baltic Cinema as a unity, model, or even genre, is not yet achieved. The paper aims to explore starting from the cultural, economic and political dive rsity of the players the reasons why the works produced within this area are not always perceived as parts of the same cinematographic paradigm. In fact, the idea of Baltic Cinema as a whole clashes with a plethora of different interpretations and persp ectives, so that it is possible to distinguish in the first place between narrow and broad acceptations of the adjective Baltic and the geographical range it stands for. Furthermore, the paper presents a reflection on some concepts and common habits typica l of the mainstream cinema industry, such as product placement, synergy, cross media entertainment, in relation to their presence in the Baltic film production (or the lack thereof). The ultimate goal of the paper is to provide the reader with some elemen ts that might be useful to characterize, (re)define and come up with a preliminary idea about Baltic Cinema as a profitable, internationally appealing and unique brand. Keywords : Transnationalism, regionalism, branding, transnational cinema, Baltic cinema, Global cinema, regional cinema.