Keyword Estonian Art

Does Europe also have its own animistic heritage, like Pachamama in South America and Shinto in Japan? If so, which one? In the Misty Lands, i.e. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, a sacred fire is lit on the winter solstice to celebrate the return of the sun and ancient beliefs that have been forgotten in the rest of Europe for thousands of years. Sophie Planque and Jérémy Vaugeois decided to take a journey on bicycles to experience the Baltic winter and meet the people who keep their ancestral culture alive. A unique heritage that reinforces a deep relationship with nature.

A documentary about an old animation technique and the film studio that tries to carry on the legacy. The worlds oldest animation studio still making film with stop motion technique is Nukufilm located in Tallinn, Estland. Here we can follow the work in the studio which was founded in the Soviet era and has survived heavy censorship and global competition.

A story about the relationship between independent Soviet art and the West. It recalls a time when art was larger and more important than life itself. On one side, there are independent Soviet artists who lack not only the output but also the finances to complete their works. On the other side, there is the tempting West whose ambassadors (in the literal sense) take active interest in the Soviet underground art market. Selling one’s works to the West is a tricky business since the almighty KGB stands between the two mutually interested parties. Nevertheless, an incredible quantity of mainly Estonian and Moscovian visual art is sold and taken across the border. This is facilitated mainly by Western diplomats, behind whose coordinated actions stands none other than the CIA.

We all carry hell with us. The filmmaker’s hell exists on a canvas, which he studied carefully in childhood. The mystical picture has many names: Circus, Hell, Game at the Arena. Decades later he finds the painting again. The film unravels as loose ponderings about the plight of being an artist and touches upon the filmmaker’s personal demons. Can he see the painting in a new light?

In 2009 Maureen & James Tusty, filmmakers for The Singing Revolution, produced a second film out of Estonia. Seen nationally on U.S. Public Broadcasting, this one hour documentary tells the history of Estonia’s massive Song Festival, and the role music plays in Estonian culture, even today.