Black Hole Spring event 26.4.2022 | Speakers

An experienced film festival programmer and founder of international and independent film focused website ScreenAnarchy.com (originally TwitchFilm.com), Todd Brown joined XYZ Films in 2009 as Head of International Acquisitions. In his time at XYZ, Brown has shown a strong focus on emerging talent and territories and has served as a producer or executive producer on a wide range of Cannes, Toronto and Sundance selected titles such as The Raid, Spring, Bushwick, XX and many more.

Livia Ulman and Andris Feldmanis, based in Tallinn, have been writing together for almost 15 years. Starting with successful local TV shows in Estonia, they moved on to feature writing. Their debut feature “Pretenders” (2016) premiered at San Sebastian Film Festival official programme and a French remake is currently in the making (BAC Films). They have collaborated with a number of feature film directors (Compartment No 6 written together with Juho Kuosmanen won the Grand Prix at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival). In 2022 two new films of theirs will be premiered (children’s film Erik Stoneheart, and Dark Paradise written in collaboration with Estonian director Triin Ruumet).

Andris and Livia also write fiction, mostly short stories. In 2016 Andris penned an existential sci-fi novel The Last Thousand Years, for which he won the Estonian Betti Alver Debut Award.

Currently they are awaiting the publication of their debut childrens’ novel, which they collaborated on (based on Erik Stoneheart) and are working on several TV and film projects.

An author and a family man, a mathematician by education, studied also literature, philosophy and business administration. Writes funny but weird novels about offices and goblins.

Katja Törmänen is a writer and creative writing teacher from Oulu. She is a history teacher by training. Törmänen writes because it opens up vistas she could never see in real life and adventures she would probably never dare participate in, even if given the chance. She writes fantasy because it lets her approach what is true in this world. Most fundamentally, she writes because when writing, she is free. Törmänen is currently writing the third part of her series that began with “The Bear’s Bride” (Karhun morsian).

Livia Ulman and Andris Feldmanis, based in Tallinn, have been writing together for almost 15 years. Starting with successful local TV shows in Estonia, they moved on to feature writing. Their debut feature “Pretenders” (2016) premiered at San Sebastian Film Festival official programme and a French remake is currently in the making (BAC Films). They have collaborated with a number of feature film directors (Compartment No 6 written together with Juho Kuosmanen won the Grand Prix at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival). In 2022 two new films of theirs will be premiered (children’s film Erik Stoneheart, and Dark Paradise written in collaboration with Estonian director Triin Ruumet).

Andris and Livia also write fiction, mostly short stories. In 2016 Andris penned an existential sci-fi novel The Last Thousand Years, for which he won the Estonian Betti Alver Debut Award.

Currently they are awaiting the publication of their debut childrens’ novel, which they collaborated on (based on Erik Stoneheart) and are working on several TV and film projects.