Little Italy Mac

Kallis sõber läks ära New Yorki. Ütles, et tahab saada tõeliseks filmirežissööriks ja pakkis asjad. Nüüd on ära kaugel ja elab põnevat elu. Tuult tiibadesse Sulle! Kel huvi, tsekagu tema tegemisi siin. Dreams can come true!

Eesti lugude esilinastusel - ja olen oi, oi kui kriitiline!

Pean ütlema, et olin meeldivalt üllatanud avastades, et siia leheküljele satuvad ka praegu veel inimesed...mis sest, et viimase sissekande tegin kuid tagasi. Igatahes mõtlesin, et üllatan neid inimesi, kes seda siin tsekkavad ja kirjutan midagi uut.
Nimelt teemat ei pidanud kaugelt otsima. Üle-eile helistas mulle sõber ja ütles, et temal kutsed Eesti lugude (ETV tellimusel Eesti elu kajastavad dokid) esilinastusele, äkki olen huvitatud? Miks ka mitte. Polnud juba tükil ajal kinno Eesti "asju" vaatama sattunud.
Kino Sõprus oli pea-aegu rahvast täis. Kõigile tuttavatele tere öeldud, sättisime siis end filmielamuseks kohtadele istuma. Ja esimene dokk oli Vormsi saarel elavast naisest! Või vähemalt nii ma arvan. Pealkiri oli "Kahe Näoga Saar" (autoriks Kertu Soans). Poole filmi pealt küsis mu sõber(kes samuti ise filminduses tegev) , et millest see film räägib?! Mõtlesin ja ütlesin pea-aegu veendunult, et olen pea-aegu kindel, et film räägib ikkagi saarest - läbi saarenaise elu. Mitte vastupidi. Kuigi film oli väga ilusti ülesvõetud (siinkohal plusspunktid operaatoritöö eest Erik Norkroosile!), ei saanud ma filmist midagi uut teada. See et Vormsi saar on talvel inimtühi ja suvel pilgeni rahvast täis, oli selge juba enne filmi vaatamist. Paraku tundus see olevat üks põhilisi filmi toetuspunkte. Kuigi filmis oli liigutavaid hetki oleks filmi väärtus olnud suurem, kui oleks mingeid uusi ja huvitavaid fakte välja suudetud tuua.
Nii järgmine film oli "Polaarrütmid" (rež. Katharina Grepp). Film, mille suurimaks väärtuseks oli ebaharilik esitusviis - ornitoloogi tekstiga pealelugemine tõi filmi värskust, samas ei suutnud ka see päästa nõrka lugu. Salsatants ise-enesest ei ole väga igav teema, aga kui seda räägitakse igavalt ja üheks tegelaseks on naljakas, aga siiski igav soomlane, võib tõesti teema haigutama panna. Ja kui taustaks näidatakse ka pidevalt ainult tantsivaid paare, hajub tähelepanu sootuks.
Kolmandana näidati Olev Remsu filmi "Nagu Noor Jumal". Filmi peategelasteks üdini õnnelik ja töökas perekond. Algus oli reibas ja hoogne. Mulle see perekond täitsa meeldib, mõtlesin. Armastav ema, ettevõtlik isa ja hulk usinaid lapsi -positiivne lugu. Isegi nii positiivne, et ühtäkki film ei pakkunudki enam pinget. Kaua sa ikka vaatad, kuidas neil hästi läheb. Mitte, et ma oodanuks halba, aga oleks tahtnud näha filmis seda konflikti või murdepunkti, mis paneks mind mõtlema ja arutlema teema üle. Paraku kellegi ideaalne pereidüll seda teha ei suuda, vähemalt selle juhtumis puhul mitte.
Ja viimaseks looks oli film nimega "Ma Olen ju Naine". Nii-nii... teema provokatiivne missugune! Ja olgem ausad, selles filmis leidus vast ka seda head looalget kõige rohkem. Huvitavad karakterid ja ootamatu temperament eestlase jaoks. Paraku oli autor Kert Grünberg justkui mingil hetkel loobunud uute lähenemisnurkade otsimisest teemale ja lõpptulemuseks oligi lugu naisest, kes on rahul, sellega et ta üksi on ja et tal ei olegi meest vaja. Ei midagi rohkemat! Ma tundsin, et oleksin tahtnud teada rohkem selle ise-teadva naise hingest - miks ta nii tunneb, nagu tunneb. Igal asjal on põhjused ja tagajärjed. See film paraku puudutas ainult ühte neist. Ja sedagi ainult pinnapealselt.
Lahkusin saalist segaste tunnetega. Ühelt poolt hea meel, et taaskord on mõned Eesti lood ära nähtud. Teisalt oli kahju, et midagi silmapaistvat ei õnnestunud näha. Äkki järgmised lood on paremad?!
Mõni päev hiljem kohtasin sõbrannat, kes samuti näeb vaeva filmi valmimisega Eesti lugude jaoks ja mis peaks detsembris linale jõudma. Küsis, kuidas Eesti lood olid? Ütlesin, et ei midagi erilist. Selle peale läks sõbrantsi nägu naerule ja ütles, et oeh, hea seegi - siis äkki kannatab meie film ka kriitikat! Eks paistab, edu talle vähemalt - tean, millist vatti nad selle tegemisega näinud on.
Hmm, tegelikult võib tunduda, et olen siin õudsalt kriitiline ja mida kõike veel. Aga õnneks võivad kõik huvilised juba varsti - alates 27.septembrist neid lugusid ETV ekraanilt näha ja ise arvamuse kujundada. Need filmid tasuvad vaatamist, tegelt ka, kui siis võibolla see salsafilm välja arvata ;-) Häid filmielamusi!

Bush Gets on a Way of Estonian Feature Film

George W. Bush’s visit to Riga (our dear neighbour country's capital) on 6th and 7th of May messed up the shooting schedule of Estonian-German feature film “All Fed Up”. One might ask how is that possible?! Well…it all started because Riga doesn’t have enough hotel vacancies (hmm, seems rather strange considering it has population of more than 700,000 people and it’s not even tourist season?)…and then it was decided that while Bush will need to stay in a hotel, some of the toursits will have to move to SiljaLine’s ship Finnjet for one night.
SiljaLine cancelled all its earlier bookings and also reservation from film crew who had booked the ship for film-shooting starting from the end of April til 9th of May. Now the film crew just had to finish up sooner than planned. Artur Talvik, the producer of “All Fed Up” seems rather upset. “We have managed to overcome storms and any other difficult conditions and still keep up with the tight schedule. But now some Bush comes along and creates a mess…” reports today’s Kroonika.
Film team hoped to use the ship at least for it’s trip from Rostock to Riga on this Friday yet Bush demands that the ship arrives in Riga all empty. So the film-crew had nothing else to do than to make the most of the time they had with the ship and instead of 35 days they shortened the schedule by week to 27 days.
The film directed by Peeter Simm will be released in the autumn 2005.


Maarja Jakobson in "All Fed Up!" filming under difficult weather conditions

”Shop of Dreams” is open

We just made it to the cinema by the time “Shop of Dreams” opened. Although I was afraid of having to watch a real chick flick, then for my relief I was wrong. I remember my friend saying before : "Even if it is a chick flick it’s still worth watching an Estonian film....so let's go!" (and my friend is he rather than she). But in the end neither of us was disappointed. The film was a surprise in a positive way. And I have to say that it’s been a while since I saw a good Estonian feature film.
The film has English subtitles so all the non-Estonians can go and check the film out as well.
The actors do a good job. Newcomer in film Maarja Jakobson is very appropriate for the role of sweet and a little bit sad (but not in a depressing way) Alice. She is accompanied by Evelin Pang and Anne Reemann, who I think plays one of the best roles in the film. Three of them make a good company.
The build-up of the overall plot and characters was enough intriguing so I did enjoy it and I was amused for most part…but then 10 minutes before the ending, something happened and the final end was quick and confusing. Me and my friend were both sitting there thinking – what the hell just happened? As if the director had gotten too tired to make the good ending so he decided to just throw some pieces together. From my point of view, Peeter Urbla could have come up with the better ending.
They say it’s better to leave the party while the party is still great. I felt the same way about the “Shop of Dreams”. I could have left earlier and I would have felt more satisfied.
I guess it’s not always smart to wait around until they close the shop, even if it’s the shop of dreams and you feel like staying there forever. But leaving gives you the option to have your own dream ending…tempting isn’t it?!
If you can, go and check this shop... sorry I meant to say the film out.



Making of Shop of Dreams

“Stiilipidu” võib alata

Jõudsime täna kinno just täpselt "Stiilipeo" alguseks. Olgugi, et arvasin, et tegu on puhta naistekaga, ei olnud see aimdus (loe: kartus) päris tõene. Mu sõber ütles veel, et isegi kui on naistekas, siis Eesti filmi peaks ju sellegipoolest vaatama. Ja pettuma ma ei pidanud, sest film üllatas mind positiivselt ja ainult positiivselt. Nimelt on üle pika aja üks suht korralik eesti mängufilm kinodesse jõudnud ja kohe päris vaadatav teine.
Olin kohe alguses meeldivalt üllatunud, sest peale venekeelsete subtiitrite oli ka inglisekeelne tõlge all – see tähendab, et võin ka oma välismaa sõpradele "Stiilipidu" soovitada.
Kõigepealt kiidan häid näitlejaid. Maarja Jakobson oma armsuses on igati sobilik mängima habrast Alicet. Talle sekundeerivad väga oskuslikult nii Evelin Pang kui ka minu arust filmi ühe parima rolli autor Anne Reemann. Ja üleüldse moodustavad nad tubli kolmiku.
Filmi areng ja ülesehitus oli igati põnev ja sisugi ei muutunud kordagi igavaks... aga siis ühtäkki - umbes 10 minutit enne filmi lõppu algas kiire allaminek. Justkui lõpu tegemiseks ja läbimõtlemiseks ei oleks enam rezissööril aega olnud. Muidu hea töö teinud Peeter Urbla sai kätte sealt ka oma miinuspunktid. Sellise lõpu peale läks nii minul kui ka mu sõbra kulm kortsu…et mis see siis oli nüüd?! Kiire ja vähemalt minu jaoks mõistetamatu lõpp ei õigustanud end. Tihtipeale öeldakse, et peolt on kaval lahkuda just enne lõppu, et ei peaks olema tunnistajaks, kuidas heast peost on saanud ebmäärane ja tihtipeale nukker vaatemäng. Stiilipeolt oleks ka ehk pidanud lahkuma just hetk enne lõppu, et mitte lasta kaotsi positiivset üldmuljet.
Ent siiski igati hea filmikogemus ja seda enam, et kodumaine…Eesti film areneb ja huvitav on seda arengut kõrvalt jälgida.

Another friend on his way to the big world!

I know this news might not have much to do with Estonian Film as such, yet I have to keep reporting about my school-mates achievements to keep you all posted... So one of my many talented course mates Juris Kursietis (hope Juris you don't mind me spreading the word ;-) is doing post-production of documentary of R.E.M fans. The documentary follows two fans from different age groups and film culminates at R.E.M. concert in Riga 2005.
You will learn more about what's going on if you click here. And you can even check out the documentary's trailer here...The film should be finished by May 2005.


R.E.M fan Agnija (19) is one of the two main characters in Juris' documentary

"Afanassi" - mis see veel on?

7. aprillil, ehk siis juba homme kl 18:00 esilinastub kinos Sõprus Liina Triškina uus dokumentaalfilm „Afanassi“ . See on film vene vanaisast ja eesti lapselapsest. Huvitava perspektiiviga filmi märsõnaks on kontrastid - kaks erinevat maailmavaadet, kaks erinevat tausta...
Liina Triškina on noor filmitegija, kes haridust omandanud nii Ebeltofti Euroopa Filmikolledžis Taanis kui ka Kataloonia Kõrgemas Filmikoolis Hispaanias. Liina on töötanud režissööri, stsenaristi ja monteerijana erinevate filmiprojektide juures nii Eestis kui Hispaanias. Seni viimane dokumentaal „Elluastujad” linastus Eesti Filmi Sihtasutuse ja Eesti Televisiooni koostööprogrammi „Eesti lood” raames 2004. aasta sügisel.

Ove Musting ja "30 minutit vaikust"

Viimasel üha enam on hakanud Sõpruse kino näitama välismaiste filmide ees kohalike noorte talentide lühifilme. Nii näiteks sattusin üle pika aja kinosse Sõprus ja nägin Ove Mustingu lühifilmi “30 minutit vaikust” François Ozon’i filmi “5 x 2 – viis korda kaks” ees. Ja olin meeldivalt üllatanud.
“30 minutit vaikust” valmis “Large” projektiraames, mis koondab 8 erinevate maade noorte filmiprofessionaalide koostööfilmi. Lühifilmide sisu on erinev, kuid neid ühendavad kolm märksõna - igas filmis peab olema kajastatud telefonikõne, sms ja raudteejaam. Esilinastusel on ainukordne võimalus näha kõiki kaheksat projekti raames valminud filmi...nii et nii kaua kui võimalust, minge tsekage!

Make a visit

You might want to check out "Shop of Dreams" fabulous new web-site, before the movie will be released on April, 15th.

Manifest Film Week from April 1st

So this is something that all film-students have been waiting for... In movie theatre Sõprus the Manifest Film Week will take place from April, 1st - April, 6th. The audience can see the first and student-years' films (from period of 1993-2005) of today's top Estonian film directors such as Jaak Kilmi, Marko Raat, etc. Also, all the film directors are present themselves at the premieres to introduce and discuss their first attempts of film-making. And on the final day April, 6th works of currently graduating students will be premiered to the audience...!So if that falls any way to the field of your interests, you should definitely be present...The films start at 9.p.m on April, 1st- April, 6th...It should be interesting for everyone... I know I will try to attend some of the nights!


"Limbo" is Kristin Kalamees Bachelor film that will be premiered on April, 6th in Sõprus

Sildvee Parema Elu Nimel

Märt Sildvee "Parema elu nimel" on stressist ja depressioonist rääkiv dokumentaalfilm, mis tõstatab küsimuse, kas stress on ikkagi normaalne nähtus või anomaalia. Piisavalt huvitav teema ja kuuldavasti ka päris intrigeerivalt käsitetud Sildvee poolt. "Parema elu nimel" uurib lähemalt, mida tähendab elada medikamentide mõju all. Kas uurimine on edukas olnud, seda võivad kõik ise vaatama minna kinno Sõprus, kus filmi alates 30.märtsist näidatakse.

Baltic Film and Media School established today

Maybe the new school will enhance film-making in the Baltics?!

So finally this has happened…the Baltic Film and Media School was established and the official agreement was signed today, on March, 28th 2005. The BFMS is initially a joint institution of current Concordia Audentes University Media department and Tallinn Pedagogical Media department. The board of new school consists of representatives of Tallinn University, Estonian Film Foundation, Estonian TV and Culture Ministry of all the Baltics.
The new school is said to hopefully boost the media education in the Baltics. The school will start its courses and accept first students in September, 2006.

Link of good Estonian films

Just today I came across an interesting link, which gives you all the information you need to know about good Estonian films. If interested, definitely check this link of good Estonian films out!

Shop for Dreams...with style !

That poster caught my attention today in CC-Plaza, when one of my foreign friends asked: Who is that on the picture? Gwyneth Patrow?!
Well, it's actually a poster of the new Estonian film that will be released on April, 15th. The English title is "Shop of Dreams".

(Oh, and it's not Gwyneth Paltrow, but an Estonian actress called Maarja Jakobson and she along with Anne Reemann and Evelin Pang will be the main cast of that upcoming film...so I am happy I got that clear :-)

"Kõrini!"

30. märtsil algavad Eesti-Saksa ühistööna valmiva uue mängufilmi “Kõrini!” võtted, mis kestavad 4. maini. Režissöör Peeter Simmi käe all valmiv road-movie esilinastub esialgse plaani kohaselt Eestis selle aasta oktoobri lõpus.
Film “Kõrini!” jutustab tragikoomilise loo keskeakriisis vaevlevast saksa pikamaa-autojuhist Kaminskyst (mängib Heio von Stetten), kes teeb oma viimase reisi Eestisse, et enne endale lõpu tegemist tasuda auvõlg Eesti sõbra ees. Teel liituvad temaga Saksamaale õnne proovima tulnud eestlannast tšellomängija Stella (Maarja Jakobson) ja äpardunud eesti soost pangaröövel Hunt (Rasmus Kaljujärv) koos veidrikust matusebüroo autojuhi Manfrediga (Thomas Schmauser). Teekond toob kummalise seltskonna Saksamaalt laevaga Eestisse, kus omavahelistes suhetes tekkinud sasipundar lahti harutatakse. Film valmib Eesti produktsioonifirma Ruut ja Saksa filmiproduktsiooni-firma Saxonia Media koostöös.
Filmi Eesti esilinastus on planeeritud 27. oktoobrile 2005, Eesti televaatajani jõuab mängufilm ETV vahendusel 2006. aasta lõpus või 2007. aasta alguses. “Kõrini” rahvusvaheline esilinastus toimub rahvusvahelise Berlinale filmifestivali ajal Berliinis 2006. aasta veebruaris.

All Fed Up

The shooting of a new Estonian feature film will start on March, 30th 2005 until May, 4th 2005. Estonian-German collaboration film's preliminary title is "All Fed Up". Film will be directed by Peeter Simm, and such Estonian actors Maarja Jakobson, Rasmus Kaljujärv will act among others in the film.The film is said to be a road-movie, shooting locations include Estonian as well as Germany."All Fed Up" will be released in cinemas at the end of October, 2005.

The Total List of Priit Pärn's Films

Animated films of Priit Pärn:

1977 IS THE EARTH ROUND?
1978 AND PLAYS TRICKS
1980 SOME EXERCISE IN PREPARATION FOR INDEPENDENT LIFE
1982 THE TRIANGLE
1984 TIME OUT
1987 BREAKFAST ON THE GRASS
1988 Commercial spot SWITCH OFF THE LIGHTS
1992 HOTEL E
1995 1895
1995 Commercial spot DELISS
1996 Commercial spot ABSOLUT PÄRN
1996 FREE ACTION
1998 NIGHTS OF CARROTS
2003 KARL AND MARILYN
2005 FRANK AND WENDY

Who is Priit Pärn?

Priit Pärn - talented, eh?

Priit Pärn is probably the best screenplay writer for animated films in Estonia in current days. His most recent work was scripting the animation “Frank and Wendy” which has just been released in cinemas in Estonia. So who is that talented animated film maker?
He was born on August, 26 in 1946 in Tallinn. Although he graduated from Tartu University with Biology degree he started working as a director for animations in Tallinnfilm studio in 1976. In 1977 he made his first animation called “Is the Earth Round?” Since then he has made more than 10 animation films, either as a scripter or director. In addition, he has created several commercial and TV-clips. His best-known and most recognized films are “Breakfast on a Ground” (1987), 1895 (1995), “Night of Carrots” (1998) and “Karl and Marilyn” (2003). All these films have received several awards in Europe as well outside Europe.
In 2001, he was given an annual ASIFA (International Animated Film Society) Life Achivement Award, where he was decribed as the following... “This year ASIFA board decided to give the Award to Priit Pärn, because he is a film maker who combines highly personal style with socially relevant content. And what is a real achievement, is that he has been able to maintain his high quality and personal style both in former rigid and centralized Soviet Union and modern day commercially driven Estonian capitalism.” (ASIFA News)

"Frank and Wendy"...politically incorrect and weird!

Frank and Wendy take over Estonia.

A new Estonian cartoon “Frank and Wendy” will be premiered in Coca-Cola Plaza this Friday. The cartoon tells a story of two American secret agents who find themselves in a weird place called Estonia. Such politicians as Bush, Putin and Chirac will be criticised in this film. The film-makers confirm it was their intention to do a politically incorrect film. The film is directed by Priit Tender, Ülo Pikkov and Kaspar Jancis. It was sripted by Priit Pärn. The cartoon was voted as one of the Film of the Day in Estonian Film Festival that just took place. This cartoon will also make its appearance in Annecy International Animated Film Festival on 6th -11th of June 2005. Annecy Festival is the most well-recognized Animated Film Festival in the world.
When I was reading the short description to that cartoon I came across the word “weird” at least four times, so I am sure the cartoon is weird first and foremost. Too bad I am not a huge cartoon film fan, in that case I would have definitely booked my ticket on-line for this Friday…

First DVD with Estonian film-students' works was released

The new DVD "Film Selection of Film-students" was released today. DVD with 8 films produced either by film-students or recent graduates got premiered in cinema Sõprus. Films include the cream top of the film-students' last year works such as Piret Saarepuu's cartoon“Selling the Ox”, Tanel Toom's feature film “2.68“, Marianne Kõrver's documentary “Death in Venice”. All the films have English subtitles so non-Estonian speakers could enjoy these films as well.
Mikk Rand (representative of the Kinobuss), who helped to choose the films for that DVD, says the selection was made in order to get the best examples of all film-categories. They hope that the release of such DVD will become a tradition.

Why oh-why is the price so high?

Yesterday story with extremely high “news-value” was in the focus of different Estonian media publications. The price of Estonian biggest cinema CocaCola-Plaza was high in discussions. TV 3 officially announced that Estonian cinema price is now among the highest in the whole Europe, that makes us to be in the second place after Denmark and just before Finland. Although I found it silly that issue got such a high media exposure I do feel sad that the CC Plaza has also announced to be increasing the prices even more by 5 EEK.
So now if you plan to go to the cinema in the evening after 6.p.m, you have to pay 115 EEK. ( I feel sorry for guys who might want to ask a girl out to see a good flick…but the price is ridiculously high... no wonder they end up in a pub!)…
Anyways the statistics show that since 2003 there has been a downtrend in the number of cinema-goers in Estonia. So if this is some kind of new business strategy of CC-Plaza to draw more people to the cinema by increasing the price, I doubt they will manage to fulfill their goal…But I guess they know better!?

Estonian Film Festival is Coming....!

Good news for all Estonian Film fans...Estonian Film Festival will take place from 11th of March - 19th of March ( so that is from coming Friday already). And the week has been divided according to the categories : such as Portray films' Sunday or Newcomers Tuesday (March, 15th), when films from Future Hopes will be shown. I just have to mention that some of my university mates have their films screened on that Tuesday... Look out for them! Well done Kert and Tarmo! I look forward to see your docs as I know you worked hard on your films! That gives me hope that one day my name will be up there as well...Hmm - maybe next year the same time?
Also, among many new films, such films as "Set Point" ( or whatever it's called) and "Revolution of Pigs" which indeed was a candidate for nomination for this year's Best Foreign Film Oscar (Thanx Juris for your comment ;-) will be shown as well. So if anyone still hasn't seen these films, it's your chance. The ticket is really cheap - 25 EEK per one items of films (usally 2-3 films) or 50 EEK per whole day. You can check the overall Estonian Film Festival Guide in Kinomaja. Most films are in Estonian with either Russian or English subtitles.
The Association of Estonian Filmmakers has been organizing the Estonian Films Week since 1999. The aim of the week is to screen the whole of Estonian film production from the previous year.
These festivals are cool, coz whenever I attend these festivals, I am always surprised...and usually in a positive way! It's a refreshing experience no doubt in that...So if you happen to have a bit of free time, you are welcome to go and have a look as well....

Röövlirahnu Martin ( to say nothing of the Magic Cat ) had a good start

The Magic Cat (actor Ott Sepp) in Röövlirahnu Martin

I saw a clip of Röövlirahnu Martin in a culture program OP yesterday. And found out a few interesting facts about that film. For instance that the Magic Cat is actually not a cat, but an actor Ott Sepp who plays the role of a cat...confusing, I know!Well, they say everything is possible in kids' films, so you never know... Maybe I should go and check out that film afterall?
As a matter of fact, the film proved to be the most successful film during this weekend attracting 2817 viewers. That is the 5th result in the overall premiere weekends this year. The highest record for premier weekend belongs to another Estonian film "Names in Marble" that gathered 15 611 cinemagoers in November, 2002.

Estonians in Tampere

Tampere short film festival is the biggest in Norht-Europe and this year it will take place for the 34 time from 3.–7. March 2005.
This year two Estonian films were chosen to be in international program as well. These films are Rao Heidmets’ “Instinct” and Priit Pärn’s “Karl and Marilyn”. Both are animated films.
Also, a film made in Estonia by British director Daniel Ellitott “Fender Bender” will appear in this festival. Estonia's animated film-makers seem to be doing really in such kinds of festivals.

Revolution of Pigs - the most popular Estonian film in local cinemas in year 2004.

A few days ago, Estonian Film Foundation established statistics about the most popular films in Estonian cinemas last year. 141 films was rated according to the number of cinema visitors. Quite a few domestic films made it to the list. The top of all films was the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (surprise-surprise!) that was viewed by 73, 100 people, followed by some other American 'blockbuster' films. The highest position for Estonian film was 7th place, as ’Revolution of Pigs’ , the debut film by Jaak Kilmi and Rene Reinumägi gathered 26,345 viewers. This film also received a Jury Special Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival last year. Another local film ’We Will Not Sleep Tonight’ ( 'Set Point' in some of the records - too bad two different titles can't make it a better film, coz sorry to admit but one of the biggest failures in years in Estonian film-making!) was mentioned in 10th position with 22,532 viewers. Altogether, 13 Estonian films made it to the list of 141 films.

New Estonian children's feature film released

On 24th of February, new Estonian children’s feature film ’Röövlirahnu Martin’ was released in cinemas across the country. It’s about a boy (Madis Ollikainen) who always ends up being the guilty one when something goes wrong in school. Everything changes, when he comes across the Magic cat ( Ott Sepp), who becomes his friend.
Film was directed by Rene Vilbre, and scripted by Mihkel Ulman ja Kristian Taska. Some of the young and talented new actors act in this film, accompanied by other well-known Estonians Juhan ja Lembit Ulfsak, Piret Kalda and Maria Avdjushko. The film is suitable for kids all ages.

Raag made a film on August 1991.

Today, on Estonian Independence day at 10.45 a.m ETV screened a film on the events of August 1991, when Estonia gained it’s independence. The film was scripted and directed by Ilmar Raag. I was strongly recommended to watch it by several Estonian media and film-related people . So I did, not being sure what to expect from it. I was afraid that I would not feel so strong relation with the events that took place when I was only 8 years old. I thought I wouldn’t remember it all that well to be able to connect to the film. But the best part of that film was that it wasn’t necessary to remember things as they actually happened. It tells a good story in a masterful way. It shows events from an interesting point of view, from the perspective of a group of Estonian Television workers. Some of the most well-known TV personalities of that time are in present and it’s due to some good actors that these persons come alive and feel so real. I consider the authentic look and sense of that time to be one of the strongest points of that film. Raag has managed to capture the aura and tension of that period very well.
Yet, I can’t see it as a documentary as it was first introduced in a program guide and media. Raag himself has admitted that some of the sequences were made up, therefore you can’t categorise it under documentary film. Although I give this film a big credit for being one of the few good surprises in Estonian film-making in years, it still carries a message for only Estonians. And that , similarly to all the recent domestically produced films can be considered as the biggest weakness of this film- it’s a film made about Estonians to the audience of Estonian people. And there have been too many examples like that in past decade or so. Hence I hope to see something different in the future. I believe Estonian film-makers have the will and talent to make good films. So I anxiously look forward to the time, when Estonian film-makers can finally make a film that would appeal to foreigners, that would be understandable and praised everywhere you showed it. Not only here in Estonia.

It doesn't exist, does it?!

It has become apparent that in a small country like Estonia, the film industry can only exist as a prestigious cultural sector. Not many Estonians, let alone foreigners know, what's going on in Estonian film-market. As people are not aware of what's happening in this field, many may think that the market is simply non-existant. This belief, of course is very untrue. I am not sure whether we can call our small film industry a "film market", because only 4-5 major feature films are produced yearly, along with approximately 70 films in total (incl. documentaries, cartoons). Yet, there has been a significant raise in the number of films made since 1995 (when only 29 films were produced). And this may come as a surprise for many Estonians! When there's so many as 70 domestic films being produced every year, how come we hear, or more precise happen to see so few of them? The answer is - because these 70 simply "disappear" in the middle of thousands of foreign-made and imported films. Not to mention the little media coverage Estonian films get...
But I do believe that Estonian film (and Estonian film market along with it) is developing; true - slowly, yet developing. The object of this blog is to reflect the development and changes in Estonian film market. To let people know what's going on, because things are happening. Every day somebody works on their film idea, every week somebody tries to start a new project, every month some documentaries are released, and every year at least 3 big features come out...So the numbers might not be at the level of Hollywood, but enough is happening, it just needs to be pointed out and taken notice of...