Estonian casting-technology startup IRIS Casting Ecosystem has received nearly €150,000 from Enterprise Estonia to develop its automated casting workflow platform.
The funding was announced by Tehnopol, which is supporting the product within its Film and Multimedia Accelerator. IRIS is building a digital workspace that brings directors, producers, casting directors, actors, and agents into a single process.
IRIS is designed to bring briefs, audition videos, availability information, selections, and feedback together, rather than leaving them spread across email, WhatsApp, file-sharing links, and spreadsheets. The company is targeting the administrative work surrounding auditions while leaving creative decisions to the people running each production.
IRIS brings the casting process into one workflow
Founder Ronja Kissa said the idea grew from almost 20 years of experience in casting. Auditions once took place mainly in studios, with direct communication between actors and casting directors. The pandemic moved much of the process online, making it more flexible but also more fragmented.
Actors now record auditions at home or in studios, while casting teams exchange briefs, video files, comments, availability details and feedback through separate tools. Kissa said the industry lacks a standardised all-in-one system that meets the needs of everyone involved.
“Across my two casting companies, we calculated that last year alone nearly 200 working days were spent purely on administrative tasks before the creative work could even begin,” Kissa added. IRIS aims to reduce that administrative burden by putting communication, file sharing, availability, selections and feedback into a single workflow.
Protecting audition files and creative time
The platform is also being built with data protection and GDPR requirements in mind. Actors, or their agents, can track when audition files are opened or downloaded and delete them when they are no longer needed. That gives performers more control over video material that might otherwise remain in several inboxes and file-sharing services.
IRIS gives each participant access to the information needed for their role while keeping the wider process visible to the team. Directors and producers can create briefs and manage submissions, while casting teams can follow decisions without having to chase updates across disconnected channels.
“This allows teams to focus on the creative work and the tasks that truly require human judgement, attention and intuition,” Kissa said.
Preparing for first-user testing
Tehnopol said the first fully functional version was due to be ready by mid-September, after which IRIS planned to begin testing with its first users. The startup’s goals for the year include attracting new investors and securing its first paying customers.
During the summer, IRIS presented the platform at Cannes Next, held as part of the Cannes Film Festival, where the team attracted interest from film-industry professionals. In the longer term, the company plans to develop a centralised talent database that casting companies can use to find suitable performers for projects around the world.
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