EFP (European Film Promotion), the network of 37 European film promotion institutions, has selected the following 20 producers from 20 different European countries for its high-profile networking and promotion platform: Vesela Kazakova (Bulgaria), Danijel Pek (Croatia), Mikulás Novotny (Czech Republic), Monica Hellström (Denmark), Elina Litvinova (Estonia), Aleksi Hyvärinen (Finland), Andrea Queralt (France), Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer(Germany), John Wallace (Ireland), Giovanni Pompili (Italy), Yll Uka (Kosovo*), Marija Razgute (Lithuania), Alan R. Milligan (Norway), Marta Habior (Poland), Mário Patrocínio (Portugal), Marina Gumzi (Slovenia), Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo (Spain), Marie Kjellson (Sweden), Flavia Zanon (Switzerland) and Rupert Lloyd(United Kingdom).

"PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE has become an established brand in the international film industry over the last 20 years. Being a Producer on the Move is an honour and ensures international recognition," says EFP Managing Director Sonja Heinen. "It is very important for EFP to continue supporting, promoting and connecting promising creative people as well as raising the visibility of their work and fostering cooperation within Europe - especially at this moment and in spite of these challenging times. We are grateful to the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union and our EFP member organisations, the national promotion institutes, who are supporting this year's online version of our initiative in a flexible and unbureaucratic way."

The selected participants have already produced award-winning documentaries such as Monica Hellström who produced The Distant Barking of Dogs by Simon Lereng Wilmont, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Oscars, or Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer's production Another Reality by Noël Dernesch and Olli Waldhauer, which won the audience award at the DOK.fest München. Some producers have founded companies together with up-and-coming directors such as Marie Kjelsson with director Katja Wik (Kjellson & Wik), Vesela Kazakova with director Mina Mileva (Activist 38) and Elina Litvinova with writer-director Martti Helde (Three Brothers) or have produced genre films for international platforms such as Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo with Laura Alvea and Jose F. Ortuño on Animas. Some of the 20 producers were also creatively involved in their own productions, including Aleksi Hyvärinen who co-wrote the screenplays for Lake Bodom and The Renovation, Mário Patrocínio the writer-director of the documentary I Love Kuduro, and Marina Gumzi the co-writer of Stories from the Chestnut Woods. More than half of the participants have presented their productions at the leading international festivals such as Cannes Film Festival (Andrea Queralt, Fire Will Come, 2019), Venice Film Festival (John Wallace, Rialto, 2019; Giovanni Pompili, Sole, 2019), Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Mikulás Novotn¤, Journey to Rome, 2015), Berlinale (Yll Uka, Exile, 2020), Locarno Film Festival (Marija Razgute, Trot , 2018) and Sundance Film Festival (Marta Habior, Dolce Fine Giornata, 2019; Flavia Zanon, Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness, 2020, awarded with the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize). And Alan R. Milligan deals with digital distribution models based on blockchain technology alongside his work as a producer.

The national film promotion institutes supporting this year's edition of EFP PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE are: British Council, Bulgarian National Film Center, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Czech Film Center, Danish Film Institute, Estonian Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, German Films, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales / ICAA (Spain), Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual I.P. / ICA (Portugal), Istituto Luce Cinecittà (Italy), Kosovo Cinematography Center, Lithuanian Film Centre, Norwegian Film Institute, Polish Film Institute, Screen Ireland, Slovenian Film Centre, Swedish Film Institute, Swiss Films and Unifrance.

EFP PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE  is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union and Eurimage and in partnership with Festival Scope. Main media partner is Variety. Interviews with this year's PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE will be published on the programmes' additional media partners' websites: www.cineuropa.org and www.fadetoher.com.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

 ”A Loss of Something Ever Felt” is the debut of Carlos E. Lesmes Lopez's documentary feature film, and its world premiere will also take place at the Hot Docs festival. The film tells the story of an Estonian family whose life has been turned upside down. Hille has a close relationship with her drug-addicted son and sends him money every two weeks. After a quarrel they have over the phone, Lauri disappears. It’s been six months since the last phone call, which could be traced to Bogotá, Colombia. In desperation, Hille asks Lauri's sister, Eeva, to travel to Colombia, and soon she finds herself in the surreal and ruthless underworld of Bogotá. Over the days spent on the streets of the megacity, where Lauri always seems to be just around the corner, Eeva learns about her brother's world. But as she starts to zero in on him, Eeva fears whom she will find. As hope and panic mix, Eeva's journey takes an unexpected turn, making this tense quest an unforgettable family story that concerns us all.

The film was developed by the production company Alasti Kino, with Liis Nimik as the producer, cinematographers Aivo Rannik, Giulia Ducci, Davood Mousavi and Carlos E. Lesmes, editor Hendrik Mägar, composer Ann Reimann, sound designer Gabriel Solis and it was made in collaboration between Estonia, Colombia and Sweden.

Producer Liis Nimik says: “This film was born out of a vital necessity. Eeva and Hille had utterly clashed with the bureaucracy in the search for their family member and realized that no authority in Estonia or Colombia would help them find Lauri. As a last resort, Eeva turned to her only Colombian acquaintance, Carlos, who had lived in Estonia for eight years, and together the decision was made that when searching for Lauri on the streets of Bogotá, the process would be filmed. None of us could have predicted what would eventually happen. In its own sanguine way, this film pays homage to all families, who, regardless of the complexity of the situation, share an invisible bond that can withstand even the greatest challenges.”

Ksenija Okhapkina's film "Immortal" premiered last summer at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it also won the award for the best documentary. Over the past three-quarters of the year, the film has been screened at several film festivals and won numerous awards. “Immortal“ will be featured at Hot Docs as part of The Changing Face of Europe, a program curated by European Film Promotion that aims to promote European films and filmmakers.

"Immortal" seeks to understand what entices people to voluntarily deny their personality and become a state resource. Filmed in an industrial city in the Russian Far North, “Immortal” takes  a fresh look at how Russian citizens are formed. The producer of the Estonian-Latvian documentary is Riho Västrik from the production company Vesilind.

"Being selected by Hot Docs is an extraordinary event in itself, but for Estonia it is the third year in a row that we have been represented in Toronto with two films. Both ‘Immortal’ and ‘ A Loss of Something Ever Felt’ are works of a very high artistic quality that demonstrate the international reach of Estonian documentary filmmaking,” says Filipp Kruusvall, a documentary film expert at the Estonian Film Institute, acknowledging Estonian filmmakers.

Hot Docs is North America's largest documentary film festival, with more than 200 films and 200,000 attendees each year. Like other spring-summer film festivals, the coronavirus pandemic affects Hot Docs, which takes place in Toronto. The film festival, which was originally scheduled to take place from April 30 to May 10, has been postponed indefinitely. However, the films selected for the festival can be viewed online by accredited representatives of the film industry, distributors and sales agents.

Info about the festival: www.hotdocs.ca


Additional info:
Filipp Kruusvall
Documentary Film Commissioner at the Estonian Film Institute
filipp@filmi.ee

Eda Koppel
Head of Marketing at the Estonian Film Institute
eda@filmi.ee 

EFP is committed to presenting the third edition of THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE in collaboration with Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival despite these difficult times. All 10 of the films selected for the programme will take part in Hot Docs Industry All-Access Online program, which will run during the original dates of the festival and continue until May 31. The Festival's public screenings have been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date.

The 10 outstanding European Documentaries, which give unique and unconventional insight into the reality of contemporary European life, will be presented to buyers, distributors and programmers through the films' participation in the Doc Shop, Hot Docs' online market that offers access to curated playlists of documentary titles on-demand and the hub for this year's industry content.The filmmakers of the 10 selected films are invited to participate in the new digital industry programme including case studies and Distribution Rendezvous. In addition, directors and producers of films in THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE will be brought together with key distributors, buyers and festival programmers via virtual one-to-one meetings arranged by EFP.

"For the third year, Hot Docs is honoured to partner with EFP to present a selection of documentaries, offering unique perspectives and engaging stories that give us a glimpse of a Europe in transition," said Shane Smith, Hot Docs Director of Programming. "The program also introduces us to the talent behind the camera, skilled filmmakers destined to make their mark on the documentary world."

The films in THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE were selected by the festival, based on recommendations by EFP member organizations representing Europe's film promotion institutes. They feature timely themes such as family separation and family support, alternative life concepts, gender identity and self-empowerment. Once more this year's selection spotlights the increasing presence of works by women - seven of the 10 films are by female directors or female director teams. EFP's initiative is supported by Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the participating EFP member organisations. "We are very happy and thankful to the festival that despite this difficult situation, we have the opportunity to bring European stories to the world and to connect filmmakers digitally with important decision-makers. Nothing has changed in our mission, namely to promote the diversity of outstanding European documentaries throughout the world", said EFP's Managing Director Sonja Heinen.

In Always Amber Lia Hietala and Hannah Reinikainen follow their protagonist over a period of three years capturing Amber's search for sexual identity, friendship and love. The Swedish production premiered at this year's Berlinale. Ana Aleksovska's debut film, Consuming Contemporary introduces us to several socially excluded seniors who are longing for togetherness and community and, to compensate for the lack of this, attend cultural events in Skopje - uninvited - which attracts the disapproval of the social elite. Dead Souls Vacation by Georgian director Ekaterine Chelidze is a portrait of the formerly very successful Georgian musician Levan Svanidze, who tries to regain success while living in a tiny apartment with his 84 year old mother, Lamara. Ksenia Okhapkina's Estonian production Immortal focuses on the rigid structure of life in a small industrial city in Russia and portrays the people who continue to live as before although the old system has broken down. For her feature-length documentary debut the Russian director was awarded the Grand Prix for Best Documentary Film at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The Icelandic director Yrsa Roca Fannberg made The Last Autumn as a long farewell to the rural life of a shepherd in ­rneshreppur, a small community in the northwest of Iceland. For the last time, Ulfar and his wife will be herding their sheep from the hills down to the farm. "This part of life belongs to me", proclaims the protagonist Jola in Lessons of Love. The Polish filmmakers Malgorzata Goliszewska and Kasia Mateja lovingly and poetically portray a woman going her own way after separating from her abusive husband of 45 years. A Pleasure, Comrades! by Portuguese filmmaker José Filipe Costa was premiered out of competiton at Locarno Film Festival. The film recounts life and life concepts in the rural co-operatives established throughout the country after the 1975 Carnation Revolution, through re-enactments with original members of these communes. Reunitedby Danish director Mira Jargil tells of the dramatic separation of a family that has to leave their country because of the Syrian civil war. While the parents have fled to Denmark and Canada, their two little sons are stuck in Turkey. Mira Jargil accompanies the family members who are waiting and dreaming for the reunion each and every day.Res Creata by Italian director Alessandro Cattaneo is about the ancient, conflicting and manifold relationship between the human being and the animal. Two Roads, directed by filmmaker and producer Radovan Síbrt(Czech Producer on the Move 2018) is about the members of the band The Tap Tap, of whom all are disabled (or as they cynically call themselves, crippled). The Tap Tap orchestra and the film illustrate how some of life's most difficult obstacles can be overcome.

The following EFP members are supporting THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE:

Czech Film Center, Danish Film Institute, Estonian Film Institute, Georgian National Film Center, Icelandic Film Centre, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual I.P./ICA (Portugal), Istituto Luce Cinecittà, North Macedonia Film Agency, Polish Film Insitute, Swedish Film Institute

The current dramatic situation requires a swift response and needs to be captured by filmmakers. Isolation and limited resources are not an obstacle to creativity – it is the best time to create a 1-minute short film. Let's use this idle time productively, while staying healthy. The quarantine sets boundaries, this competition provides opportunities within those boundaries.

All types of films and their symbiotic forms, experiments and investigations are welcome. The only frames are the one-minute limit and professional implementations, which enable the film to be screened both on TV and streaming media. The common creative denominator of the competition is digital culture, in other words all the life that surrounds us, which is intertwined with the digital world. In assessing the works, an additional bonus will be given to ones that can be used in the education system, that is, films that can be linked to an academic subject.

The 1-page description of the idea must include the name of the filmmaker, the content of the film, techniques and other things that the author deems necessary to point out. One person can submit a maximum of 3 ideas. Both individuals and film companies can participate.

The ideas will be evaluated by an EFI expert committee, which will select up to 15 ideas.

More information can be found HERE

Two of those support funds, 665,000 euros each, were given to the project of The Invisible Fight by Homeless Bob Productions, and to the joint project of Taska Film, Nafta Films and Apollo Film Productions Melchior the Apothecary. Another support funding in the sum of 460 000 euros went to Stellar Film produced Estonian-Lithuanian feature The Sleeping Beast.

The Invisible Fight is an Estonian-Serbian-Taiwanese collaboration, written and directed by Rainer Sarnet and produced by Katrin Kissa.

The eccentric kung fu comedy follows the endeavours of Rafael, a car mechanic, who aspires to become an Orthodox monk in 1970s Soviet Union – more so as in a metaphorical sense of the meaning. In the story world of Sarnet, detached from the realistic world, both humour and sanctity, Black Sabbath and chorals, pop culture and religious art, liberalism and conservatism, mutiny and humility coexist. The film unites all these elements into an ode of sorts to the common man.

Melchior the Apothecary, based on the novel Melchior the Apothecary and the Mystery of St. Olaf’s Church by Indrek Hargla, has been adapted by Elmo Nüganen, Olle Mirme and Kristian Taska. This Estonian-Finnish-Latvian-German co-production is directed by Elmo Nüganen and produced from the Estonian side by Kristian Taska, Esko Rips, Tanel Tatter and Veiko Esken.

On top of the intriguing crime story, viewers get to take a glimpse of daily life 600 years ago when medieval Tallinn was a flourishing port city of the mighty Hanseatic League. The protagonist Melchior the apothecary, the detective, serves as a bridging link between the medieval and contemporary world. Although he falls into the category of a medieval man, he is characterised by the ability to doubt various dogmas, no matter how deeply rooted they might be.

Estonian-Lithuanian co-production The Sleeping Beast is written by Aidi Vallik, directed by Jaak Kilmi and produced by Evelin Penttilä.

The story takes place within a village community and explores the relation between play and reality when violence, so often omitted from wide-eyed fairy tales, finds its way into a child’s games and suddenly enters grisly reality. The story focuses on moral choices that for grown-ups seem to be easily solvable, but for children prove to be overwhelming.

In addition, EFI handed out support funding of 323,000 euros in total for Estonian minority co-productions, going to four feature films and three documentaries.

Support funding of 60,000 euros went to the Russian-Estonian-UK co-production The Conference, directed by Ivan I. Tverdovski. The main producer is Vega Film (Russia) whereas the Estonian partner is Nafta Films.

Another funding decision for 60,000 euros was made to support Latvian-Estonian-Bulgarian feature film Lovable, directed by Stanislavs Tokalovs. The main producer is Tasse Films (Latvia) and the Estonian partner is Stellar Film.

Support of 70,000 euros goes to Icelandic-Estonian-Dutch feature A Reply to a Letter from Helga, directed by Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir. The main producer is Zikzak Films (Iceland) and the Estonian partner is Allfilm.

EFI handed out 50,000 euros to Serbian-Estonian-Croatian experimental feature Instru Mental. The film is directed by Dean Radovanović, the main producer is Nulta Tacka (Serbia) and the Estonian partner is Münchhausen Productions.

The documentary category saw three support funding decisions – 40,000 euros was given to French-Estonian film Kelly’s Way – Diary of a Champion, directed by Matthias Azoulay and William Mermoud, the main producer is PVS Company (France) and the Estonian partner is Oree Films.

EFI gave 23,000 euro of support to yet another French-Estonian co-production titled Happiness@School, directed by Martin Meissonnier, the main producer is Productions Campagne Premiere (France) and the Estonian partner is Vesilind.

Ukrainian-Estonian documentary project Tales of a Toy Horse received 20,000 euros of support. The film is directed by Denis Strashnyi and Ulyana Osovska, the main producer is Docutoloka (Ukraine) and the Estonian partner Silmviburlane.

 

The total number of tickets sold last year for all distributed films was 3,685,522 while box office revenue increased to 21,798,820 euros. The market share of Estonian films was 23 per cent and the box office 22.3 per cent.

“These are excellent results that should become the norm. It’s common in Scandinavia, but also in Lithuania and Poland, that domestic films make up about a quarter of the number of all cinemagoers. It shows the strength of domestic film,” Edith Sepp, head of Estonian Film Institute (EFI) said. “Domestic films are also important for the Estonian audience and the bar is high. In order to maintain that level, the production budget should be similar to the film programme of The Republic of Estonia 100 (EV100). Filmmakers have certainly lived up to expectations and it should be appreciated.”

The average cost of tickets was 5.91 euros and the yearly average of visits to cinema 2.78. In 2018, the numbers were 5.7 euros and 2.75 per capita (in 2014 the numbers were 4.9 euros and 1.97 visits on average).

In 2019, the distribution of films in cinemas totalled 427 films with 313 new and 114 old releases. The number of Estonian films distributed was 57, out of which 29 were new and 28 old releases.

The highlight of the EV100 programme Truth and Justice, that opened in February last year around the Independence Day and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards, sold 267,588 tickets; which makes it the overwhelming leader in the list of cinemagoers since Estonia regained its independence.

Truth and Justice also dominated the overall list of distributed films last year. Among the TOP 10 distributed films were four domestic releases, Class Reunion 3 (2^nd spot, 122,146 tickets sold), Ott Tänak: The Movie (7^th, 96,232) and Old Man Cartoon Movie (10^th, 86,649).

Lotte and The Lost Dragons that opened in early January and was also part of the EV100 programme was just outside of TOP 10, bringing in 76,745 cinemagoers.

“While last year we had three Estonian films in the TOP 10 – something we had dreamed of for years – then to find five domestic films among the first 11 films is simply delightful,” Sepp said.


Additional Information
Eda Koppel
Head of Marketing, Estonian Film Institute
eda@filmi.ee
+372 627 6063 / + 372 520 3306
www.filmi.ee

Dangerous love triangles, committed social workers, spiritual transformations, serial killers, fearless war reporters. welcome to the world of our EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS 2020! The 23 edition of EFP's talent promotion programme will present ten of the best up-and-coming young actresses and actors from Europe from the 21 - 24 February 2020 to the film industry, public and international press during the 70th Berlin International Film Festival (20 February - 1 March 2020).

The outstanding talents were selected by a jury of industry experts, who deemed them ready to step out onto the international film scene. To support this, the programme offers them the unique opportunity to have one-on-one meetings with over 80 internationally operating casting directors, producers and filmmakers, laying the foundation for a professional network much needed when embarking upon an international career. The programme culminates in an awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast on Monday 24 February, where each actor will be honoured with the EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS Award. EFP's flagship initiative is financially supported by the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the respective national film institutes, EFP's member organisations.

For more information on the EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS 2020 and the full jury comments please go to efp-online.com.

It was quite a challenge for the jury to choose the ten best actresses and actors out of this year's 28 nominations of outstanding European talent, most of them already award-winning in their home countries. Here are the ten, that thrilled the jury the most: Martina Apostolova from Bulgaria "lends her characters an archetypal power that can connect with all audiences" in Irina (2018), for which she won numerous Best Actress awards from Hong Kong to Tbilisi. In the performance of Estonian Shooting Star Pääru Oja in Mihkel (2018) they observed ".the soul of a boy that shines in Pääru Oja.you always can find this infectious vitality with him." The performance of Victoria Carmen Sonne from Denmark "counters and transforms.challenges with grace, innocence and undaunted levity" as seen in Holiday (2018) for which she received the Danish Bodil Award and a nomination for the Danish Film Award among others. French actress Zita Hanrot convinced the jury because she "embodies and radiates a pure and primal force" as seen in the social drama School Life (2019). For his debut film And Then We Danced (2019),which garnered rave reviews and numerous awards, Levan Gelbakhiani from Georgia also received praise from the experts: "At only 21-years-old, he is already a master of physical elegance and psychological sensitivity".

German Shooting Star Jonas Dassler, who plays a serial killer in The Golden Glove (2019), nominated for the German Film Awards, was selected for his "commanding physical presence, bravery and sophistication." Only 20 years of age, Bilal Wahib from The Netherlands is this year's youngest Shooting Star, but already an old hand at acting. He started acting at 13 and this year already took on leading roles in two Dutch productions, among them Paradise Drifters (2019), which will premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in the Generation section. Watching his performance the jury was "touched by his childlike gentleness, riveted by his raw ferocity, shaken up by his genuine fears". Bartosz Bielenia from Poland, who plays the multi-award-winning lead in this year's shortlisted Polish Oscar nomination Corpus Christi (2019) won the jury over by the way he "with his seemingly infinite faculties.walks the maddening paths of despair and redemption." In Joana Ribeiro from Portugal, who already worked with Antoine Fuqua and Terry Gilliam, the experts discovered a "spellbinding universe of enchantment and passion, anger and affection" as seen in Crooked Lines (2019). Ella Rumpf from Switzerland enthused them with her versatility. "The world is a stage for this chameleon-like performer that plays both her body and soul like instruments." A quality proven by her very diverse roles including the film she was nominated with, Sympathy for the Devil (2018).

EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS is the oldest and most efficient Europe-wide initiative to cast a spotlight on the most talented, up-and-coming actresses and actors. Each year an impressive average of eight out of ten winners will take part in international casting sessions following the award. Since its first showcase in 1998, a total of 312 European Shooting Stars have been presented at the Berlinale, one of the most important international film festivals worldwide. Most notable actors of recent years include: Carey Mulligan (Mudbound) , Alba Rohrwacher(Happy as Lazzaro), Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider), Pilou Asbaek (Game of Thrones), Riz Ahmed(The Sisters Brothers), Marwan Kenzari (Instinct) and George MacKay (Captain Fantastic).

The members of the 2020 jury are: British casting director Lucy Bevan, Finnish director Dome Karukoski, producer Katarína Krnácová from Slovakia, former Bulgarian Shooting Star turned director Vesela Kazakova, and film journalist Rüdiger Sturm from Germany.

For more information on the EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS 2020 and the full jury comments please go to:
efp-online.com



The European Shooting Stars 2020 are supported by their national film institutes, EFP's member organisations: Bulgarian National Film Center, Danish Film Institute, Estonian Film Institute, Georgian National Film Center, German Films, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual I.P. / ICA (Portugal), Polish Film Institute, SEE NL (The Netherlands), SWISS FILMS and UniFrance.


Contact EFP:
info@efp-online.com

Karin Dix (Project Director)
dix@efp-online.com,
+49 40 398 403-0

Doris Bandhold (Press Officer)
bandhold@efp-online.com,
+49 40 398 403-16

EFP will once again be supported in their international press campaign by the London-based PR agency, Organic.

Julia Nowicka
ShootingStars20@organic-publicity.co.uk
+44 207 052 1271

Dheeraj Agnihotri
ShootingStars20@organic-publicity.co.uk
+44 207 052 1294

The purpose of granting the award is to finance the development of co-production of full-length feature films, full-length animated films, and full-length documentaries between Italy and the Baltic States. The running time of a film must be at least 52 minutes.

At least one of the producers must be registered in Italy while at least one producer must be registered in one of the Baltic States in order for the co-production to be eligible for the award.

Terms and conditions together with the application form can be found HERE

The first phase will include three studios and auxiliary spaces to be built on Paljassaare peninsula in North-Tallinn.

The second phase will comprise an area open to the public, spaces for auxiliary services for film production and offices.

“The Tallinn Film Wonderland project is an excellent example of successful cooperation between the public and private sectors, which has a positive impact on the local creative economy,” said Tallinn Deputy Mayor Aivar Riisalu. He said that Tallinn always supports significant initiatives that create smart jobs as well as improve the urban space and entrepreneurial environment.

“It’s clear that many international film production companies and directors are very interested in filming in this region. We must seize this opportunity and reap the benefits. Tallinn Film Wonderland is a noteworthy step toward promoting this business sector,” he added.

During the next few years, the City of Tallinn will invest almost €5 million in the project through AS Tallinna Tööstuspargid, with the objective of promoting economic growth and creating new jobs in the cultural field. The next phases will include office space as well as accommodations and eateries.

The most up-to-date film production complex in the region according to Gren Noormets, the managing director of Tallinn Film Wonderland, the film production complex is the most modern and largest in the region.

The total area of the property is 57,000 square metres and the building footprint of the studio complex is about 3,500 square metres. There will be three studios in the building with a total area of 2,900 square metres. The largest of them will be 1,200 square metres in area and the ceiling will be 14 metres high.


The City of Tallinn will build the studio boxes and the necessary infrastructure, the interiors will be completed according to the filmmakers’ wishes, and everything needed for shooting films or TV-dramas can be provided.

“The very high ceilings will allow even a 5-storey building to be constructed if a project calls for it. The green screen rooms will allow various fantasy elements to be included in films. It will be possible to create jungles or deserts in the empty halls. One’s fantasy can reign free,” Noormets said about the soon-to-be-opened studio complex, where various companies providing local audiovisual services are expected to be concentrated,” Noormets explained.

According to Edith Sepp, CEO of the Estonian Film Institute, the film complex can also play an important role in the development of the Estonian film industry.

“The lack of this kind of technical opportunities to create will no longer be problem - the studio complex in the Baltics will eliminate any stumbling blocks that have prevented local, as well as foreign, production companies from filming their projects in Estonia. Such an undertaking has a positive impact, and provides many totally new possibilities for realising one’s film ideas in the region,” Sepp added.

Despite the existing cash rebate system, the opening of the film studio complex has been greatly anticipated and also been an important sales argument for attracting investments to the region.

Many Estonian film producers, who have been waiting for the establishment of such studio complex for years, support the Tallinn Film Wonderland idea.

“This is a good example of the solidarity of the film industry – film producers have combined forces and are working in the name of a collective project that strongly advances the Estonian film industry,” said Ivo Felt and Esko Rips, producers from Allfilm and Nafta Films.

“The addition of this new complex supports the local film industry and motivates the new generation of filmmakers – a centre equipped with contemporary technology provides opportunities to deal with many different film projects,” they added.

rts the local film industry and motivates the new generation of filmmakers – a centre equipped with contemporary technology provides opportunities to deal with many different film projects,” they added. 



More information:
Gren Noormets
Managing Director, Tallinn Film Wonderland
gren@tallinnfilmstudios.ee

„No doubt, the selection process was characterised by the consideration of three feature films produced under the auspices of the special programme of Estonia 100,“ Edith Sepp, Head of EFI, said, chairing the independent committee which selected the winner out of seven candidates. „It should be noted, though, that being part of the programme didn’t give any film a handicap. Rather, it was symbolic, in a way, that the voice of people was indirectly responsible for choosing which film should be representing Estonia. Meaning, that one of the most influential arguments was domestic box office success.“

The committee comprised of film journalist Hendrik Alla, actress and director Maria Avdjushko, producer Evelin Penttilä, distributor Mati Sepping, film critic and head of Black Nights Film Festival Tiina Lokk, and director Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, whose debut feature represented Estonia at the Oscars-race last year, voted for the film produced by Allfilm serving also as a full feature debut for Tanel Toom. By the end of July, Truth and Justice had 265,866 cinemagoers tallied, which makes it the most watched theatrically released film in Estonia after the country regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

„It’s a great honour to be chosen to represent Estonia with a film based on a masterpiece by Tammsaare. It’s a recognition to all of the filmmakers involved and their effort of bringing the story to life – once more, thank you all,“ Toom said.

According to the committee, Truth and Justice proved with its record-breaking viewership that the film is important for Estonians because it touches us deeply. Regarding the positive aspects of the film, the committee mentioned a well-adapted screenplay that retains the tension throughout, but also a beautiful visual style, characters of biblical stature, and a solid ensemble cast. „We liked that the film was emotionally charged and it wasn’t being downplayed into a farce with a jokey style or irony,“ the committee concluded. Four out of seven committee members voted for Truth and Justice whereas three opted for Scandinavian Silence.


The story of Truth and Justice, adapted from the first book of the titular series of novels by Anton Hansen Tammsaare, follows the uncompromising new owner of the Robber’s Rise who must battle with hard work, his spiteful neighbour and his own beliefs in order to transform the poor land into a flourishing farm of his dreams, and bring truth and justice to this godforsaken place.

The film was adapted for the screen and directed by Tanel Toom, produced by Allfilm with producer Ivo Felt and co-producers Armin Karu and Madis Tüür. Production manager was Johanna Trass, cinematography by Rein Kotov, production design by Jaagup Roomet, music by Mihkel Zilmer and the film was edited by Tambet Tasuja.  Cast: Priit Loog, Priit Võigemast, Maiken Schmidt, Simeoni Sundja, Ester Kuntu, etc.

For the first time this year, Estonia sees two films in competition at the Oscars-race. The other being a documentary feature Immortal by Ksenia Okhapkina, a joint production between Estonia and Latvia. The delegate producer is a documentary production house Vesilind. In July, Immortal won the Grand Prix for the Best Documentary at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which gives the film a right to be submitted for consideration for Oscars without a vote by a national committee.

Immortal, shot on location in an industrial city of Russia’s Far North, explores to understand what it is that makes people to voluntarily disavow their personality and become a national resource. Can a person be free at all in a society where complex and shady state structures control their thoughts since early childhood?

Tue Steen Müller, the expert on European documentary films, considered Immortal to be an interpretation of human life through sound and image and editing and point of view. „It is seldom that I see a film that so precisely invites you into a world conveyed via symbols and sequences that has a flow of scary beauty that hits your eyes,“ Müller wrote in his blog.

Riho Västrik, producer of Immortal, is happy with the film’s success. „Everything has happened so fast. We had the premiere merely a month and a half ago, recent weeks have seen us in active contact with festivals and now with the Academy. Nothing to complain about,“ Västrik said.

Documentary feature Immortal is directed by Ksenia Okhapkina, camera operators Alexandr Demyanenko and Artyom Ignatov, music by Robert Jürjendal and Arian Levin, producers Riho Västrik from Estonia and Uldis Cekulis from Latvia.



Additional information:
Edith Sepp
Estonian Film Institute
edith@filmi.ee

Immortal explores how citizens, whose utmost goal is to give their lives for their Fatherland and thus achieving immortality, are ‘bred’ in today’s Russia.

„It’s a film about people influenced by propaganda,“ Okhapina said. „After making the film, I, too, understand better what is going on in Russia, why people support the government and the political system that acts against them and their children.“

Immortal is the second collaboration between the Russian director Ksenija Okhapina and Estonian producer Riho Västrik. The film was produced by Vesilind OÜ in collaboration with Latvian film studio VFS Films.

Martti Helde’s black-and-white feature Scandinavian Silence won Europa Cinemas Label prize which is awarded only at Berlin, Venice Locarno, Cannes and Karlovy Vary film festivals. The prize was established in order to promote the reach and distribution of the awarded films.

„I’m particularly pleased because of Scandinavian Silence began its journey on festivals with such a high accolade. Europa Cinemas Label award is a hallmark that will help our film to travel and reach to considerably wider audiences. This is important for both the film itself but also for Estonian film in general,“ Helde said.

The film’s producer is Elina Litvinova from the film studio Three Brothers. The film is produced in collaboration with French and Belgian boutique distributors.

Listed as one of the category A film festivals, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is one of the most prominent film events in Europe.


Additional information about the festival:
www.kviff.com

Additional information about the films:
Immortal – www.immortal.ee
Film’s trailer: https://vimeo.com/289813140

Scandinavian Silence – https://www.facebook.com/scandinaviansilence/
Film’s trailer: https://vimeo.com/314322683


Additional information:

Aurelia Aasa
Estonian Film Institute
International Distribution Coordinator
aurelia@filmi.ee

The feature films screened in the programme of SIFF will be Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo’s Take It Or Leave It, Martti Helde’s Scandinavian Silence, Andres Puustusmaa’s Your Honor! and the full feature animated film Lotte and the Lost Dragons by Janno Põldma and Heiki Ernits. Also, Estonian-Latvian-Lithuanian collaboration documentary feature Bridges of Time and Teofrastus, a short animated film by Sergei Kibus, will be screened.

Lotte and the Lost Dragons, a collaboration of Eesti Joonisfilm and Rija Films has been selected to compete in the festival’s Golden Goblet Competition for animated films.

Trishkina-Vanhatalo’s Take It Or Leave It, which was produced under the auspices of the Estonia 100 film programme, will be screened in the festival’s Panorama programme. Also, Panorama will see the world premiere of Puustusmaa’s most recent feature Your Honor! Helde’s feature film Scandinavian Silence, which opened in Estonia in March, will see its international premiere at the special programme of the Shanghai festival The Belt and Road Film Week.

The Estonian-Latvian-Lithuanian collaboration Bridges of Time will compete in the international documentary competition programme, marking the film’s Asian premiere. Teofrastus, a film made in clay animation, has been selected into the main competition programme of short films.

The A-category listed Shanghai International Film Festival is one of the most prominent film festivals in the world. Additional information about the festival www.siff.com.

Additional information about the films:

Take It Or Leave It – http://allfilm.ee/et/projektid/vota-voi-jata/

Scandinavian Silence – https://www.facebook.com/scandinaviansilence/

Lotte and the Lost Dragons – https://www.joonisfilm.ee/filmid/lotte-ja-kadunud-lohed

Your Honor! – https://www.facebook.com/kohtunikfilm

Bridges of Time – https://www.efis.ee/et/filmiliigid/film/id/19539

Teofrastus – http://www.nukufilm.ee/arhiiv/teofrastus-2/



Additional information:
Eda Koppel
Estonian Film Institute
Head of Marketing
eda@filmi.ee
627 6063

The short film main programme will see three films competing: Chintis Lundgren’s Toomas Beneath the Valley of the Wild Wolves, Kristjan Holm’s Life24, and Morten Tshinakov and Lucija Mrzljak’s A Demonstration of Brilliance in Four Acts. The first film, Toomas Beneath the Valley of the Wild Wolves, will receive its international premiere at the Annecy film festival. In addition to his film, at the festival Chintis Lundgren also presents a commercial for Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Toomas Beneath the Valley of the Wild Wolves is produced by Chintis Lundgren’s Animatsioonistuudio (Estonia), Adriatic Animation (Croatia) and Miyu Productions (France). Life24 is produced by Estonian studio Karabana. Estonian partner for Croatian-Estonian collaboration of A Demonstration of Brilliance in Four Acts is Eesti Joonisfilm Studio.

Anu Laura Tuttelberg’s Winter in the Rainforest will screen in the special programme Perspectives. The stop motion puppet animation with syrrealistic undertones was shot in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, and in the Amazon rain forest in Peru. The film is a joint production between Estonia, Lithuania, and Mexico. The Estonian partner is Nukufilm.

Among the selected student films are Sander Joone’s Sounds Good, Jung Hyun-kim’s Sweet Sweat, and Mari Kivi and Liis Koka’s collaboration Food Chain. All three films have been made at the animation department of Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA). The films will compete in the student film competition programme.

Simultaneously with the festival, the MIFA film market takes place. Each year the festival and the market bring together more than 10 000 professionals in the field of animation – producers, distributors, directors, and journalists.


This year, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival takes place from 10^th to 15^th of June.


Additional information:
Aurelia Aasa
Festival Distribution Coordinator / Marketing Assistant
Estonian Film Institute
Aurelia@filmi.ee

The creative director of the workshop is a well-known tutor Mikael Opstrup. The second principal tutor is an internationally renowned film editor Jesper Osmund from Denmark with over 100 documentary film credits.

The workshop lasts for a year and consists of three parts. The first and second sessions focus on the development of narrative, visual aspects of storytelling and editing techniques. The last session will take place during the DocPoint 2020 festival with a special focus on promotion and distribution.

The joint workshop promotes further film-making ties between the two countries.  Both young and experienced Estonian and Finnish authors with their film projects in the development or early production stage are invited.

Call for projects


Contacts:
Heilika Pikkov
Project manager of Ice and Fire Docs
heilika@silmviburlane.ee

Filipp Kruusvall
Documentary Film Commissioner at the Estonian Film Institute
filipp@filmi.ee

Baltic Shorts Residency will take place between June 3-21, 2019, at “Kintai Arts” artspace situated in the Pomeranian region of the Curonian Lagoon (Klaipeda region, Lithuania).

Eligible applicants - Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian film directors and scriptwriters who have finished at least one short film project and are developing a new project which is fiction or animation up to 30 minutes and aimed at international audience.

Residency is organised by Lithuanian Short Film Agency Lithuanian Shorts in partnership with

More information: www.shorturl.at/nyDF4


Peter Murdmaa
ShortEst | Estonian Short Film Center
Phone: 00372 5169259
peter@shortest.eu