Eastern Europe is making great strides in the upgrade to digital television, according to a new report by the London-based research company Informa Telecoms & Media, which predicts the number of households in the region with digital TV will rise nearly fivefold within six years.

Just as the Czech film fund recently faced a budget cut that still needs to be fully resolved, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is also suffering a budget cut, according to the Czech newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes.

Multimedia Polska, a leading Polish provider of “triple play” packages of TV, voice and broadband internet service, has acquired 15 cable TV networks in northern Poland for 40.9 million zloties (€10.7 million).

Slovenia’s Ministry of Culture says it is striving to mend divisions over the Slovenian Film Fund, which has been mired in controversy for months leading to the resignation or dismissal of three subsequent directors.

Children of Glory, directed by Kristina Goda, has opened the Bangkok International Film Festival (www.bangkokfilm.org). The 2006 film saw 425,489 admissions in its native country of Hungary.

The 22nd James Bond movie, which is currently untitled, will not be filmed in the Czech Republic like its predecessor. The 2006 Casino Royale was filmed at Barrandov Studios (www.barrandov.com) and on location in Prague.

MARKET ANALYSIS 2020

SOFIA: Critical for culture and film worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was equally difficult for the film industry in Bulgaria.

The first severe restrictions of social and cultural life came after the vote of the Bulgarian Parliament in favour of a state of emergency from 13 March 2020, imposing a lockdown for a month. All culture and entertainment venues including cinemas were obliged to close.

As a result, only days after the official announcement of its 2020 lineup, the Sofia FF had to postpone its 24th edition, which was about to kick off on 12 March 2020 and to be followed by the 17th Sofia Meetings.

The emergency state was extended for another month and lasted till 13 May 2020. After this date smaller cinema halls were authorised to open, but only with a limit of 30% of their capacity. They functioned in this mode until 27 November 2020, when they were closed again.     

Theatrical distribution and exhibition proved to be the most affected sectors of the country's film industry. Admissions decreased by 72.13%, and box office by 72.86%.

Concerned about its shooting plans in Bulgaria, the Sofia-based Nu Boyana Film Studios prepared and issued a detailed COVID-19 Safety Protocol, taking into account both the safety procedures for a visiting US production and the SAG’s guidelines.

The Ministry of Health approved the Bulgarian Film Industry Safety Guidelines under COVID-19 on 1 June 2020. The national authorities agreed on an exemption to the health and entry protocols for individuals involved in the film industry. Film professionals from countries outside the EU were able to enter Bulgaria for work after testing negative for COVID-19 but without a 14 days quarantine. This made the shooting of Till Death by Australian director Scott Dale (Millennium Media) possible in August 2020. Six other foreign films were shot in the country during the year. 

PRODUCTION

A total of 23 feature films were produced in 2020, of which 18 were supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center and three were coproduced by the Bulgarian National Television.

Three feature films were made as majority coproductions and five as minority coproductions. There were six feature film debuts.

A total of 32 short films was made in 2020, of which four were supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, one by the National Culture Fund, one by the American Foundation for Bulgaria, one by the New Bulgarian University, and two by the Bulgarian National Television.

A total of 14 short films were made through the Nu Boyana Film Studios’ brand for all educational initiatives – FilmForge.

Bulgarian films quickly started to enter production after the lifting of the Emergency state on 14 May 2020, despite the sanitary restrictions. A total of 11 titles, including five debuts, were entirely or partially shot till the end of the year.

In September 2020 Theodore Ushev shot his first feature film φ1.618, produced by Peripeteia, a dark dystopia based on Vladislav Todorov’s novel The Spinning Top, referring to the Golden Ratio.

In August 2020 Victor Bojinov shot his low-budget musical drama The Naked Truth about Zhiguli Band, produced by Concept studio. Almost immediately after that, he also shot his higher budget ethical drama Chamla, produced by Gala Film.

Well known for his documentaries The Good Postman (2016) and The Magic Life of V (2019), Tonislav Hristov shot his debut feature The Good Driver as a Finnish/Bulgarian coproduction between Making Movies and Soul Food.

On 27 August 2020 director Martin Makariev wrapped his period film In the Heart of the Machine, an ambitious dissection of the confrontation between ordinary prisoners and totalitarian authorities in 1978, produced by Forward Pictures Entertainment.

By the end of 2020 Magdelena Ilieva also wrapped her debut feature Eternity Package, a black comedy about guilt and forgiveness, coproduced by Bulgaria’s Agitprop and Italy’s Mammut Film. 

After his 2019 debut A Picture with Yuki, coproduced by Bulgaria’s Chouchkov Brothers and Japan’s WA Entertainment, Lachezar Avramov shot his second feature Yellow Oleander, a black comedy with a political twist, produced by Premier studio.

By the very end of 2020 Ivailo Penchev started shooting his large audience tragicomedy Uncle Christmas, produced by Cinemaq.

The 38th edition of the Golden Rose National FF, with 19 feature films and 22 short films in two official competitions, was lucky enough to take place in Varna as a physical event from 24 September to 1 October 2020. Two films stood out: Ivailo Hristov’s Fear (Golden Rose and Best Actress for Svetlana Yancheva) and Ivan Vladimirov’s Scenes from the Life of an Actress, produced by Gala Film (Special Jury Award, Best Director and Best Scriptwriter).

In contrast, the 25th edition of the national film festival for documentaries and animated films Golden Rhyton, initially scheduled as a physical event in the city of Plovdiv (27 November - 3 December 2020) had to turn online (4 - 10 December 2020). The decision came shortly after the implementation of stricter COVID-19 sanitary restrictions on 27 November 2020, when all theatres were closed again. Eldora Traykova’s Before the End was awarded Best Documentary and Andrey Koulev’s Santiago won Best Animated Film.

Fourteen foreign films of different scales were partly or entirely shot in Bulgaria in 2020. Italian producer Fiorenza Cella managed to shoot five films, mainly intended for big TV channels, through Free Dolphin International and Sofia-based Free Dolphin Studios.

On the other side, Nu Boyana Film Studios stated they were proud of the result of their nine months’ work, when it was possible to shoot. According to an official announcement, Nu Boyana completed the production of “eight feature films and 16 international commercials for world brands”. Apart from Scott Dale’s Till Death (Millennium Media), the list of the films shot or serviced also includes Daniel Stamm’s The Devils Light (Lionsgate), Samuel Bodin’s Cobweb (Lionsgate), Castille Landon’s After We Fell & After Ever Happy (Voltage) and Martin Campbell’s The Asset (Millennium Media).

The CEO of Nu Boyana Film Studios Yariv Lerner publicly expressed on various occasions his satisfaction with the Bulgarian government. According to him, thanks to the preferential support and the rules introduced inside Nu Boyana, it became possible to launch several international productions and to provide work opportunities in a difficult year.

COVID GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Unlike other European countries, the emergency financial measures in Bulgaria were not specifically focused on the film sector. The nearly 3,000 people engaged in the film industry under different forms did not get targeted assistance.

Most of the packages were aimed at the general culture sector. The beneficiaries of different aids were both independent artists, and state and municipal culture institutions. The first financial aid of 312 EUR / 610 BGN for three months was granted to freelance artists, but only under the condition that their 2019 monthly income was less than 500 EUR. Around 1,200 of nearly 2,200 independent artists received this type of support.

Those whose 2019 monthly income was more than 500 EUR were eligible to apply for monthly interest-free loans of up to 750 EUR each, repayable over the next 10 years.

At the same time, state and municipal performing arts institutes got subsidies covering six months subsequent to the start of the state of emergency.

Since 31 March 2020 legal entities with artistic and creative activities and screening halls throughout the country could apply for state support in order to cover 60% of the monthly wages of their employees, if their jobs were preserved.

Also, the National Fund for Culture, managed by the Ministry of Culture, restructured some of its calls in order to direct more funds to the independent culture sector. Some regulations were updated to allow eligible costs to include an increase of administration costs to 30%.

DISTRIBUTION

According to the NFC, a total of 169 films were theatrically released in 2020. The list includes 63 US films, 72 European films, 29 domestic films and five films from other countries.

Total admissions were 1,337,951, of which 1,024,215 were generated by American films, 143,003 by European films and 135,984 by domestic films.

Although 2020 was particularly difficult for the creative industry and film people in Bulgaria, several directors and actors had impressive achievements on the international stage.

Kamen Kalev’s personal and contemplative February, coproduced between France’s Koro Films and Bulgaria’s Waterfront Film, with Memento Film International as sales agent, became one of the 56 titles in the Cannes 2020 Official Selection.

Ivailo Hristov’s Fear, produced by Pro Film, won the best film award at the 2020 Tallinn Black Nights FF, together with the top prize of the 38th Golden Rose National FF (24 September - 1 October 2020).

Mina Mileva’s and Vesela Kazakova’s Bulgarian/UK/French debut feature Cat In the Wall, a coproduction between Activist 38, Glasshead and Ici et Là Productions, continued its international success from 2019 and was included in the Feature Film Selection of the 2020 European Film Awards.

The 27 minute animated film The Physics of Sorrow by Bulgarian-born Canadian animator Theodore Ushev, based on Georgi Gospodinov’s novel under the same name, won over 40 international awards including the 2020 Annecy IAFF Crystal Award and the 2020 Clermont-Ferrand ISFF Grand Prix.

Due to her off-beat performance as Tutar Sagdiyev in Sacha Cohen’s 2020 extravagant comedy Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Four by Two Films/Oak Spring Productions), Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova made an unexpected but cute breakthrough in the USA and elsewhere.

In turn, Martina Apostolova, who impressed the international audience with her lead performance in Nadejda Koseva’s debut Irina, produced by Art Fest, became Bulgaria’s 2020 Berlinale Shooting star.

Julian Vergov, the lead in Pavel G. Vesnakov’s Bulgarian/German debut feature German Lessons, produced by Moviemento/Heimathafen Film & Media, won best actor at the 2020 Cairo IFF.

Sofia-based Doli Media Studio carried out the full restoration of the three parts epic Measure for Measure (1981) by Georgi Djulgerov, assuring the entire financial and technical support.

Only days after the official announcement of its 2020 lineup, the Sofia FF had to postpone its 24th edition, which was about to kick off on 12 March 2020 and to be followed by the 17th Sofia Meetings. Stefan Kitanov, the director of the festival, defined the situation as „dramatic“ and the pressure for urgent decisions as a “matter of survival.”

Getting over the unexpected shock, the Sofia FF team mobilised its energy and resized its content in two modules: the Sofia FF Summer, held 25 June - 10 July 2020 with 12 films in competition and 80 films screened online and at open-air venues, and the Sofia FF Autumn, held 24 September - 15 October 2020 with over 90 films and 11 premieres of Bulgarian feature films and documentaries shown on big screens and online. The Sofia Meetings industry event was held online 3 - 8 July 2020.

VOD PLATFORMS AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION

In the absence of normal theatrical distribution almost all year round, online platforms gained energy.

Neterra TV+ turned out to be one of the most prominent platforms offering new Bulgarian films to the audience. Established in 2004 by the telecommunications company Neterra, it has since offered services for the distribution of legal TV and radio content, films and music, live broadcasting of live events.

Neterra.TV is the first television platform for Bulgarians living abroad and Neterra TV+ has a constantly updated catalogue of Bulgarian films, highly requested by Bulgarians living abroad. Foreign films are mostly watched by people living in Bulgaria.

The first festival that Neterra TV+ hosted online was the Master of Art Documentary Film Festival (9 - 30 April 2020). Neterra’ s marketing manager Maya Kalcheva stated that “In the current situation of physical and social distance, Neterra decided to lend a hand to the Master of Art Film Festival and make, for the first time in Bulgaria, a 100% online version of a film event”.

Neterra TV+ also hosted the otherwise extremely popular with theatrical audience Book&Movie IFF CineLibri (18 October –11 November 2020).

Another online platform trying to strongly position itself on the market was gledam.bg. Available for EU territories, the platform has demonstrated preferences for classical Bulgarian films and tries to keep up with at least one premiere a month. Online premieres of new Bulgarian films are also a priority.

One of the nicest surprises of 2020 was the Sofia DocuMental International Documentary FF focused on human rights, which was initiated and is organised by the Balkan Documentary Center, with Martichka Bozhilova as director. Originally planned as a physical event, the festival was also forced to go online. The selection of films was reduced to 15 titles, available from 10 to 18 December 2020 on stream.documental.bg. On the other hand, the forced online format proved useful to the quality of discussions on various important social issues, with the participation of prominent Bulgarian and foreign filmmakers and human rights experts.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

In 2020 total admissions were 1,337,951 and total box office was 6,485,835 EUR, while in 2019 total admissions were 4,801,045 and total box office was 23,895,950 EUR.

US films had 5,074,515 EUR gross, European titles had 651,014 EUR gross, and domestic films had 596,640 EUR gross.

In 2020 admissions decreased by 72.13%, while box office decreased by 72.86%.

During the first two months of 2020 Martin Makariev’s Wildlings (Spirit Production House), which premiered in 2019, had 42,478 admissions and 192,435 EUR gross. 

Andrey Andonov’s Yatagan (A Plus Films), which premiered on 21 February 2020, did not have enough time to attract more than 34,158 admissions and 153,160  EUR gross. 

Viktor Chouchkov’s 18% Grey (Chouchkov Brothers) premiered on 21 January 2020 and had 19,983 admissions and 86,790 EUR gross, while Yana Titova’s A Dose of Happiness (No Blink Studio / bTV Studios), also a premiere film from the end of 2019, had 9,374 admissions and 41,606 EUR gross in 2020.

Radoslav Iliev’s entertaining Action (Incomes Project), which premiered on 29 January 2020, ranked 5th with 5,127 admissions and 20,479 EUR gross.

Niki Iliev’s Reunion (Silver Light Pictures), also known by the audience from 2019, had 4,729 admissions and 17,245 EUR gross in 2020. 

Bogomil Kalinov’s debut feature Ashes Over Sun (Invictus) premiered on 29 October 2020 and had 4,328 admissions and 19,321 EUR gross, while Georgi Kostov’s The Rest Is Ashes (Korund-X) premiered on 5 March 2020 and had 3,629 admissions and 18,788 EUR gross.  

Ivaylo Spasov’s privately financed Relationology (Spasov Brothers), which premiered on 14 February 2020, had 3,224 admissions and 14,847 EUR gross.

Kristina Grozeva’s and Petar Valchanov’s The Father (Abraxas Film / Graal Films), scheduled to start commercial release on 4 April 2020, had to wait until 24 July 2020, when it attracted 1,914 admissions and collected 7,187 EUR gross.

A total of 65 cinemas were partially functioning during the year 2020. Six new digital cinemas started working, including two open-air and one drive-in cinema.

GRANTS AND NEW LEGISLATION

Public funding for film in 2020 remained the same as in 2019, amounting to 7,515,991 EUR / 14.7 m BGN. A total of 85% of the sum was planned to be allocated to all types of film production, including minority coproductions. The rest of the money was intended to be allocated to local theatrical distribution of Bulgarian films, including minority coproductions (5%), festivals (5%) and exhibition of films (5%).

By the end of 2020 the Council of Ministers started a procedure on amending the country’s Film Industry Act. The most important change consisted in the introduction of an up to 25% cash rebate for foreign productions shooting in Bulgaria. The draft, aimed at increasing the number of supported Bulgarian films, passed its first of two Parliamentary readings on 4 December 2020, but it is still under discussion.

TV

Two big transactions on Bulgaria’s audiovisual market were finalised in 2020. The first one was the sale of the Bulgarian television group bTV, composed of bTV, bTV Cinema, bTV Comedy, bTV Action, bTV Lady, and Ring bTV, by the Central European Media Enterprises (CME) group to the Czech businessman Petr Kellner’s PPF. The deal was approved by the European Commission, which concluded that “the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area”.

The second deal was the transaction of Nova Broadcast Group signed at the end of December 2020. United Group, already present on the Bulgarian market as the owner of the country’s telecom operator Vivacom, bought Nova Group with its TV channels including the national Nova TV, and four radio stations. Having also acquired a number of print and online newspapers, the Telegraph and the Monitor dailies among others, United Group became Bulgaria’s largest multiplatform media company.

On 28 October 2020 the Bulgarian National Television announced a call for applications for different types of projects, including TV series, TV films and TV adaptations of classical and contemporary literary works. The amount provided for the new audiovisual products to come is about 2 m EUR.

In September 2020 Nova TV commenced broadcasting its new criminal series Brothers, tracing the family conflicts between two men with diametrically opposed professions, interests and moral values. 

In the autumn of 2020 director Ilian Djevelekov shot his six part series The Portal, backed by the BNT, with Miramar as executive producer. Written by Matey Konstantinov, Ilian Djevelekov and Nelly Dimitrova, the series describes the unexpected trips of a man through time between 1979 and 2019. Over 80 actors and extras took part in the shootings, recreating different periods and locations from Sofia’s past.

CONTACTS:

BULGARIAN NATIONAL FILM CENTER
Executive Director: Jana Karaivanova
2 A, Dondukov Blvd., 7th floor
1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Phone: + 359 2 9150 811
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.nfc.bg

UNION OF BULGARIAN FILMMAKERS
Chairman: Milko Lazarov
67, Dondukov Blvd.
1504 Sofia, Bulgaria
Phone: + 359 2 946 10 68
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.filmmakersbg.org

MINISTRY OF CULTURE
Minister of Culture: Boil Banov
17, Stamboliiski Blvd.
1040 Sofia, Bulgaria
Phone: + 359 2 940 09 00 (switchboard)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.mc.government.bg

BULGARIAN NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE
Director: Antonia Kovacheva
36, Gurko Str.
1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Phone: + 359 2 987 02 96
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.bnf.bg

BULGARIAN NATIONAL TELEVISION
General Director: Emil Koshlukov
29, San Stefano Str.
1504 Sofia, Bulgaria
Phone: + 359 2 814 22 14
Phone.: + 359 2 944 49 99 (switchboard)
www.bnt.bg

Report by Pavlina Jeleva (2021)
Source: Bulgarian National Film Center

MARKET ANALYSIS 2020

In 2020, the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth (MECSY) made great efforts to maintain and support the country’s cinematic activities and industry facing the severe impediments caused by the Coronavirus pandemic to film production, film distribution, film education and film festivals.

PRODUCTION

The pandemic and the strict measures imposed against COVID-19 negatively affected the course of the Cypriot productions that would have started shooting or been completed during 2020. The shooting of the feature film The Valley of Roses by Christoforos Roditis produced by Transvideo Ltd was interrupted in April 2020 and continued in July 2020 after the lifting of the restrictive measures of the first lockdown. The shooting of the feature film Detached House by Ioakeim Mylonas, produced by Yiannis Economides Films Ltd in coproduction with Argonauts Films (Greece), was postponed for May 2021, while the shooting of the feature film Embryo, Larva, Butterfly by Kyros Papavassiliou, produced by AMP Filmworks Ltd in coproduction with Graal S.A. from Greece, was postponed for March/April 2021. Short and feature films in final stages of postproduction were delayed due to the suspension of work at video and audio labs. 

The feature film Ballad for a Pierced Heard / Balanda tis tripias kardias by Yiannis Economides, a minority coproduction between Cyprus, Greece, Germany and France, as well as the feature film Senior Citizen by Marinos Kartikkis (Independent Production Scheme – Sekin) were completed during 2020.

The following short films were also finished in 2020: Betrayal by Katiana Zachariou, The Lighthouse / O Faros by Costas Chrysanthou, Bleeding by Anna Fotiadou, The Hunt by Sholeh Zahraei and Kamil Saldun, Beautiful Day by Christos Nikolaos, You’ve Asked Me / Zitate na sas po by Paris Prokopiou, as well as the short animated film The Parrot Lady by Michalis Kalopedis.

The following short films were either in the shooting or postproduction stage in 2020 through the beginning of February 2021: Little Hunter by Dinos Grigoriou, TAXI by Konstantinos Nikiforou, A Summer Place by Alexandra Mattheou, ΙD by Paris El Sait, and the animated film Lychnafis by Georges Tsangaris.

Three documentaries were in progress in 2020: Miss Asia Cyprus by Kaiti Papadima, The Vessel by Sofia Anastasiou and Bubble a Squeak by Orestis Lambrou.

Three feature films were in final postproduction in February 2021 and are expected to start their festival tour in 2021: .DOG by Yianna Americanou, The Man with the Answers by Stelios Kammitsis, Patchwork by Petros Charalambous and The Valley of Roses by Christoforos Roditis, produced by Cypriot Transvideo in coproduction with Cypriot Roll Out Services and Cypriot Film Blades.

Three feature films are scheduled to start shooting in 2021: Monokatoikia directed by Ioakim Milonas and produced by Cypriot Yannis Economides Films in coproduction with Greek Argonauts, IMAN directed by Kyriakos Tofarides and Korina Avramidou, and produced by Cypriot Α. Β. Seahorse Film Productions, as well as Embryo, Larva, Butterfly by Kyros Papavassiliou, produced AMP Filmworks Ltd in coproduction with Graal S.A. from Greece.

Six feature films were in development in February 2020: Asulum Seakers by Michael Hapeshis, produced by Acanthus Productions, Iris by Myrsini Aristeidou, The Cliff by Stelana Kliris, produced by Meraki Films, Africa Star by Adonis Floridis, produced by AMP Filmworks, Common Good / Kino Kalo by Spyros Charalambous, produced by AMP Filmworks, and the documentary O Iliakos mas… by Panikos Chrysanthou, produced by Art Images

All the above-mentioned short films where financially supported by the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth through its Cinema Advisory Committee.

COVID-19 GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

In order to support the film industry which, together with the whole artistic field, has faced the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth announced a series of support measures for producers and film directors. The measures concerned:

- An invitation to submit proposals of Digital Audiovisual Works of COVID-19 Films with a duration from one to three minutes, on the subject of life in confinement due to the pandemic. From 84 films submitted, 50 were selected and their directors received 1,000 EUR each. The films were posted online on YouTube and were also broadcast on the public televion CyBC.

- Following the prolonged closure of cinemas, theatres whose titles held 60% of the screenings of Cypriot and European films received 60% of their average losses or an amount of 1,500 EUR per month (whichever was in their best interest), for March-June 2020.

- All contracts / agreements signed with the Ministry were extended to six months for short films and 12 months for feature films.

- Film productions halted by the pandemic received extra financial support according to their losses and needs for restarting shooting. 

The Cyprus film incentive scheme run by Invest Cyprus – CIPA (Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency) with an annual budget of 25 m EUR continued during 2020 its efforts to attract foreign productions aiming to shoot in Cyprus. The scheme provides Cypriot and foreign producers cash rebates and/or tax credits of up to 35% on qualifying production expenditures and it also provides tax allowances of 20% for investment in infrastructure and equipment on the Island.

Many Hollywood, Bollywood and European producers expressed a vivid interest in filming in Cyprus. Nevertheless, the pre-certified film production The Man of War, which was due to start shooting in 2020, was postponed for 2021 due to the pandemic.

DISTRIBUTION

Due to the pandemic, many festivals were either postponed or held online, thus the low presence of Cypriot films in these festivals. Only two Cypriot titles circulated in 2020: the animated film of Michalis Kalopedis The Parrot Lady, a coproduction of Zedem Media and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport & Youth (Cyprus Cinema Consultative Committee/CyCC), and the feature film Senior Citizen by Marinos Kartikkis (Independent Producers Programme produced by Seahorse Productions). The Parrot Lady was selected for over 28 international festivals, including: Drama International Short FF (Greece), Raindance FF (England), Vancouver IFF, Shorts Mexico, San Francisco Independent FF, Rome Independent FF, AniMate Australia Animation FF, TiSFF, Thessaloniki International Short FF. It won the 1st Prize in the Humanitarian category at the Los Angeles Animation Film Festival, as well as an Honourable Mention at the Animasyros International Animation FF (Greece). Senior Citizen participated in the 1st Lima Alterna IFF of China, the 61st Thessaloniki IFF, the 14th Lublin FF, the 6th Cine de Bayamón IFF among others, and received Best Feature Film and the September Award at the 3rd Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards, Best Director at the 6th Bangkok Thai IFF, Best Film and 2nd best prize at the 33rd Panorama of European Cinema, Athens, and Best Feature Film in the Spiritual Film Section at the 19th Dhaka IFF.

To promote Cyprus as a filming destination, as well as to promote Cypriot productions and coproductions, the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth in Cyprus held a booth at the Drama International Short FF (Greece). The pavilions at the Thessaloniki, Cannes and Berlin film festivals, and also at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short FF and Annecy International Animated FF were either replaced by an online presence or postponed for 2021.

Due to the pandemic, the Cyprus Film Days 2020 – 18th International Film Festival, organised by the Cultural Services of the the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth and the Rialto Theatre, which would have taken place in April 2020, was canceled. Despite the cancellation, the 1st edition of the Dot.on.the.map Market was a real success and it will be continued in the years to come.

For the first time, Cyprus participated in the Young Audience Award, organised by the European Film Academy.

The 10th Cyprus International Short Film Festival (ISFFC), the main international competition for short films in Cyprus, took place at the Rialto Theatre from 10 to 16 October 2020. The programme included 49 films in the International Competition Section, 11 films in the National Competition Section, as well as seven parallel programmes.

Other festivals that took place in Cyprus in 2020 were: Drama Festival Travels to Cyprus, the 12th Short Matters! - Cyprus, Images & Views of Alternative Cinema Festival, Summer Screening Marathon 2020, the 15th Limassol International Documentary Festival, the 19th Aspects of the World International Outdoor Animation Festival, the Cyprus Archaeological, Ethnographic and Historical Documentary Festival.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

The main exhibitor in Cyprus is K Cineplex, with two cinemas in Nicosia, one in Larnaca, one in Limassol and one in Paphos.

There is also the Rio Cinema in Limassol and Nicosia, and also the Pantheon cinema in Nicosia.

Other small cinemas in the countryside screen various foreign and Cypriot films.

In the main towns there are also various associations that function more like film clubs, generally showing European films, such as the Friends of Cinema Society in Nicosia, Limassol Cinema Society and Larnaca Cinema Society.

In 2020 all the above-mentioned cinema theatres were either functioning with 50% of their audience or were completely shut down due to the pandemic security measures. Governmental support was put in place to comfort losses.

Admissions decreased from 842,038 in 2019 to 173,873 in 2020, while box office decreased from 6,761,624 EUR in 2019 to 1,387,319 EUR in 2020, according to the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth.

The distribution company Feelgood Tanweer- D.J. had the best results, with 67,989 admissions, 538,320 EUR gross and 39.10% market share, followed by Four Star Films with 42,929 admissions, 333,068 EUR gross and 24.69% market share, and Odeon Cyprus with 37,922 admissions, 307,358 EUR gross and 21.81 % market share.

The 2020 chart is topped by Jumanji: The Next Level with 24,107 admissions and 192,265 EUR gross, followed by Bad Boys for Life with 18,391 admissions and 155,275 EUR gross, Eftyxia with 17,646 admissions and 147,345 EUR gross, Sonic with 9348 admissions and 66,826 EUR gross, Dolittle with 9,147 admissions and 65,599 EUR gross, 1917 with 8,178 admissions and 67,784 EUR gross, Frozen II with 7,500 admissions and 51,092 EUR gross, Birds of Prey with 7,461 admissions and 64,490 EUR gross, After We Collided with 6,571 admissions and  59,168 EUR gross, and Spies in Disguise with 4,878 admissions and  33,432

GRANTS AND NEW LEGISLATION

Due to the special circumstances of the pandemic, but also to the limited annual budget for film production, the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth did not proceed with the announcement of a Call for the submission of New Cinematographic Proposals in 2020.

The South Eastern European Cinema Network (SEE) launched a contest for short fiction films in 2020. Exclusively national productions of SEE CINEMA member-states (Cyprus, Greece, Serbia, Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Romania and Bulgaria) applied. The amount of funding rose up to 8,000-10,000 EUR per project.

TV

There are more than ten studios located in Cyprus and specialised in TV production. Local TV channels usually produce original comic and drama series, and also local sketches.

The local TV channels are: Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC 1,2, HD and Sat), Sigma TV,  Omega TV, Ant1, Plus TV, Capital and Alpha TV.

There are no local channels broadcasting only films.

CONTACTS:

REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS – MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, CULTURE, SPORT AND YOUTH
Cultural Services
27 Ifigenias Street
2007 Strovolos – Nicosia, Cyprus
Phone: +357 22 809811/809812
Fax: +357 22 809 873
http://filmingincyprus.gov.cy/
http://www.moec.gov.cy/en/

Report by Antigoni Tasiou (2020)
Sources: the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth

MARKET ANALYSIS 2020

PRAGUE: Czech cinemas were closed from 10 March to 11 May 2020, and also from 12 October to the end of 2020, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It was impossible to shoot during a brief period of time at the beginning of the crisis, but after necessary measures were taken, the film industry was able to produce even during the lockdown. However, according to the Czech Film Fund, the pandemic has caused “enormous losses on all fronts”.

The yearly statistics in all areas (except VoD) show considerable decrease compared to the record setting season of 2019. According to the Union of Film Distributors, there were 288,202 screenings in 2020, which is 46% less than in 2019. They were attended by 6,384,953 viewers (65% less than in 2019), resulting in 35 m EUR / 905,992,643 CZK gross.

The Czech/Polish/Slovak/Irish coproduction Charlatan / Šarlatán directed by Polish director Agnieszka Holland and produced by Marlene Film Production in coproduction with Film and Music Entertainment (Ireland), Madants (Poland), Furia Film (Slovakia), the Czech Television, Barrandov Studio and RTVS, was chosen by the Czech Film and Television Academy as the Czech candidate for the 92nd American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards in the International Feature Film category. The film also won five Czech Lions – The Czech Film and Television Academy awards, including the award for best picture. Charlatan premiered at the Berlin IFF 2020.

Shadow Country / Krajina ve stínu by Bohdan Sláma, a Czech/Slovak coproduction produced by LUMINAR Film and coproduced by the Czech Television, Filmpark Production and i/o post, won the Czech Critics’ award for best picture, together with seven Czech Lions.

Caught in the Net / V síti by Vít Klusák and Barbora Chalupová, a Czech/Slovak coproduction produced by Hypermarket Film and coproduced by the Czech Television, RTVS, Peter Kerekes Film and Helium Film, was not only the most attended film in Czech cinemas in 2020, but also the most commercially successful Czech documentary of all time with 2.4 m EUR / 61 m CZK gross. The documentary about sexual harassment of children on the internet had more than 400,000 admissions and also a decent festival presence.

PRODUCTION

After the record-setting season of 2019, the pandemic year 2020 brought an inevitable decrease of film production. Yet cameras stopped rolling for only a brief period of time and many film productions still managed to go through, including numerous international coproductions, mostly Czech/Slovak.

Period films from recent Czech history, like Havel by Slávek Horák, produced by TVORBA Films in coproduction with the Czech Television, Charlatan by Agnieszka Holland or Shadow Country / Krajina ve stínu by Bohdan Sláma, represent a substantial part of the 2020 film offer.

Comedy remains a successful genre in Czech cinemas. In 2020, mainstream comedies like Deníček moderního fotra by Jan Haluza, produced by Fresh Lobster, and the directorial debut of the popular screenwriter Petr Kolečko Zbožňovaný, produced by MOJOFilm, were finished.

Some long-expected projects continued their production and postproduction, such as The Way Home / Cesta domů by Tomáš Vorel Sr., produced by Bontonfilm Studios, the ambitious internationally casted Medieval / Jan Žižka by Petr Jákl, coproduced by Genesy, Double Tree Entertainment, KORD.Media and Wog Film, and the animated film Nagano - zrození hrdinů by Pavel Sadílek, produced by VIAFILM production.

The international filming of Grand Prix by Jan Prušinovský, produced by Offside Men and coproduced by the Czech Television and Slovakia’s PubRes, was postponed to 2021.

Olmo Omerzu finished his new feature film Bird Atlas / Atlas ptáků, a Czech/Slovenian/Slovak coproduction produced by Endorfilm and coproduced by Cvinger Film, Punkchart films and the Czech Television.

Michaela Pavlátová, who was nominated for an Oscar for the animated short Words, Words, Words / Řeči, řeči, řeči in 1991, finished her long awaited animated feature debut My Sunny Maad / Moje slunce Mad, produced by Czech Negativ in coproduction with the Czech Television, French Sacrebleu Productions, the Czech companies BFILM and Alkay Animation Prague, French Gao Shan Pictures and US Innervision.

Andy Fehu, who was known for a long time for his independent short films, finished his sophomore feature Shoky & Morthy, produced by Bionaut and Snake Catcher.

The Czech/Slovak coproduction Zátopek directed by David Ondříček and produced by Lucky Man Films in coproduction with the Czech Television, Barrandov Studios, Innogy Ceska Republika, T-mobile, Z Films, Accolade Holding, Azyl Production, ALEF NULA, Sebre, Olife Energy and RTVS, was also finished during 2020.

DISTRIBUTION

As many as 29 feature films were ready for their premiere during 2020, but only 19 of them reached the standard cinema distribution due to the pandemic. Possibly thanks to the absence of Hollywood productions, the attendance itself was quite sufficient for the domestic production. As a result, five most successful films in Czech cinemas were majority Czech productions, which would otherwise be highly unlikely.

The most successful film of the year was the documentary Caught in the Net / V síti directed by Vít Klusák and distributed by Aerofilms, with more than 400,000 admissions and 2.4 m EUR / 61 m CZK gross.

The second most successful film of 2020 was the Czech/Slovak comedy Far Too Personal / Příliš osobní známost directed by Marta Ferencová, produced by Joy department in coproduction with NUNEZ NFE and Trinity Pictures, and distributed by Bioscop.

Far Too Personal was followed by the third installment of the popular series The Grapes 3 / 3Bobule directed by Martin Kopp, produced by Tomáš Vican, and distributed by Bioscop.

Charlatan / Šarlatán by Agnieszka Holland, distributed by CinemArt, was the fourth, followed by the comedy Chlap na střídačku by Petr Zahrádka, produced and distributed by Bohemia MP, and Sonic the Hedgehog directed by Jeff Fowler and distributed by CinemArt, which was the most profitable American/overall foreign film with approximately half as many admissions as Caught in the Net.

Three of the five most successful films were domestic comedies aimed at the middle-aged audience and slightly leaning towards the female audience.

At the beginning of 2020, important films from last season, like the Czech/Ukrainian/Slovak Painted Bird / Nabarvené ptáče by Václav Marhoul, produced by Silver Screen in coproduction with RTVS, the Czech Television, Directory Films, Innogy, CertiCon, PubRes, Monte Rosso Production, Milada a Eduard Kučerovi and Richard Kaucký, and Daughter / Dcera by Daria Kashcheeva, produced by FAMU Film School in coproduction with Maur Film, continued their strong international presence. Daughter was nominated for the 2020 Oscars in the best animated short category.

The Czech/Slovak/Romanian Servants / Služebníci by Ivan Ostrochovský, produced by Punkchart films and coproduced by RTVS, Film and Music Entertainment, Negativ, sentimentalfilm, Point Film, Libra Film Productions, Hai Hui Entertainment, did not enter standard distribution in 2020, but managed to premiere at the Berlinale.

VOD PLATFORMS AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION

The Czech VOD market is shared by both local and international platforms. Their audience has increased considerably during the pandemic.

Seznam TV is growing local Internet TV, producing news, interviews and other original content.

The traditional TV networks make their content available on the Internet in order to reach a larger audience with their own VOD platforms. TV NOVA has its video library Voyo.cz, Prima group runs PrimaPlay.cz, while the Czech TV offers its content via iVysílání.

The long-time most viewed VOD portal in the Czech Republic is local Stream.cz, which managed to grow in the public eye thanks to viral shows like the political satire Kancelář Blaník, which gained a notoriety comparable to standard TV shows.

Other large platforms are international HBO Go and Netflix, which are growing faster than expected. HBO Go is expected to be replaced by HBO Max in near future and Disney+ is also expected to enter the Czech market.

Specialised documentary VOD service is provided by DAFilms.cz.

Aerovod, the VOD of film producer and distributor Aerofilms, counted 2020 as its best year, among others due to the documentary Caught in the Net / V síti by Vít Klusák and Barbora Chalupová.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

Due to the pandemic, the yearly results show considerable decrease compared to the record setting season of 2019. According to the Union of Film Distributors / Unie filmových distributorů, there were 288,202 screenings in 2020, which is 46% less than in 2019. They were attended by 6,384,953 viewers, representing 65% less viewers, and resulting in 35 m EUR / 905,992,643 CZK gross.

The average ticket price in 2020 fell for the first time since 2014 by 1% to 5.55 EUR / 142 CZK.

The Union of Film Distributors lists 16 Czech distribution companies: Artcam Films, AČFK, Aerofilms, APK Cinema Service, Bioscop, Blue Sky Film Distribution, Bohemia Motion Pictures, Bontonfilm, CinemArt, Falcon, Film Europe, Forum Film Czech, Mirius Film Distribution, Národní filmový archiv, ROLLING PICTURES Entertainment and Vertical Entertainment.

The long-time largest distribution companies in the Czech Republic are Falcon, CinemArt, Vertical Entertainment and Bontonfilm.

The largest multiplex cinema operators are Cinema City and CineStar.

The most attended film of the year was the documentary Caught in the Net / V síti by Vít Klusák and Barbora Chalupová with over 400,000 admission and 2.4 m EUR / 61 m CZK gross, distributed by Aerofilms.

GRANTS AND COVID-19 MEASURES

The main tool for public support of Czech cinema is the Czech Film Fund (CFF). Since 2017, CFF follows a three-point programme: 1) Quality film development and production of rich and diverse cinema; 2) Support of Czech films in distribution and support of useful distribution channels; 3) Better promotion of Czech cinema abroad.

As the film industry was not selected for the crisis state support during the pandemic, CFF together with the Ministry of Culture had to work on the crisis management by relocating the original budgets. Among other things, four special calls covering development, production and distribution were organised in order to support the industry. To compensate, CFF was granted extra 3.8 m EUR / 98 m CZK from the state budget at the end of 2020.

The calls of 2020 were chronologically: conferences and research projects in the field of film science; production of short fiction films with Czech majority; complete development of documentaries; complete development of feature films; production of animated films; non-periodical film publications; minority coproduction of fiction, documentary or animated films; production of documentaries; film distribution; two-year grant for full year budget of an institution; production of feature films; COVID call for distribution; COVID call for development of feature films, animated films or of TV series; COVID call for promotion of cinema halls and cinema screenings; complete development of animated films; promotion of Czech cinema; first draft of screenplay for life-action or long animated films production for first time directors; production of experimental films with Czech majority; complete development of animated TV shows; minority coproduction of life action animated or long documentary films; distribution projects; periodical publications and web pages; film distribution; complete development of feature films; production of documentaries; film festivals in 2021; complete development of documentaries; production of feature films; film education in 2021; audiovisual innovation.

In 2020, the Czech Film Fund distributed 2.5 m EUR / 61.5 m CZK among 110 developing projects and 10.5 m EUR / 240 m CZK as production grants.

The Fund, through its division the Czech Film Center, represents and promotes the Czech cinema and film industry, and it increases the awareness of Czech film worldwide. It also supports the activities of film offices in the Czech Republic through the Czech Film Commission, helping Czech and foreign filmmakers to shoot in various regions of the country.

Among the important feature films supported in 2020 are The End of the World / Konec světa, a feature debut by Ivan Zachariáš, produced by LUMINAR Film, Furious Beauty / Vzteklá krása by Štěpán Altrichter, produced by moloko film, Vyvolený by Tomasz Mielnik, produced by Background Films, the animated film The Pearl / Perla by Martin Kotík, produced by Rolling Pictures, and the documentaries Blix by Greta Stocklassa, produced by PINK, and Planeta Praha by Jan Hošek, produced by Produkce Radim Procházka.

The Czech Film Fund also administrates the production incentives for film and TV productions shot in the Czech Republic. Life action, documentary and animated films at least 70 minutes long, life action shows with episodes at least 30 minutes long, and animated shows with episodes at least five minutes long are eligible.

The incentives are granted in the form of a 20% cash rebate on Czech production costs and 66% on the withholding tax on non-resident labour costs paid in the Czech Republic. The incentives are available for feature, animated and documentary films, TV and animation series, including postproduction. Maximum eligible costs are set at 80% of the total budget and there is no cap on the incentive per project or per applicant. The applications can be submitted any time of the year.

The incentives allocated in 2020 included 70 projects and reached 44 m EUR / 1.1 b CZK.

The most prominent project that used the CFF’s incentives in 2020 was Carnival Row 2 (Amazon, Legendary Television), created by Travis Beacham and René Echevarria, which had 121 shooting days in the Czech Republic, earning incentives of 9.6 m EUR / 246 m CZK. The production had to be postponed due to the pandemic, but after applying all the necessary precautions it was able to conclude shooting. The production was serviced by the Czech company Partnership Pictures.

The Wheel of Time (Amazon, Sony Pictures) created by Rafe Judkins and serviced by Stillking Features spent 79 days in the Czech Republic in 2020, earning 5.4 m EUR / 138 m CZK incentives, which is only part of the allocated money as some shooting had to be postponed for 2021.

The HBO production Oslo directed by Bartlett Sher was shot in the Czech Republic for 31 days, collecting 1.7 m EUR / 44.4 m CZK. The production was taken care of by Stillking Features.

Other international projects shot in the Czech Republic in 2020 include Tag Team / The Falcon and the Winter Soldier created by Malcolm Spellman, produced by Marvel Studios for Disney+ and serviced by Stillking Features, We Children from Bahnhof Zoo directed by Philipp Kadelbach, produced by Amazon and serviced by Wilma Film, and Transatlantic 473 directed by Peter Thorwarth, produced by Netflix and serviced by Sirena Film.

All these productions had been postponed due to the pandemic, but they were successfully concluded eventually.

The CFF doesn’t expect the pandemic to negatively influence the interest of international coproductions for shooting in the Czech Republic. In fact, the sum of film production in 2021 in the Czech Republic is expected to match the record-setting year 2019.

TV

The major TV companies in the Czech Republic are NOVA group, the Czech Television and PRIMA group.

The Czech Television currently runs six channels: CT1, CT2, CT3, CT24, CT sport, CT:D and CT Art.

NOVA group channels include NOVA, Nova Cinema, Nova Action, Nova 2, Nova Gold, Nova Sport 1, Nova Sport 2 and Nova International.

PRIMA group consists of Prima Cool, Prima Krimi, Prima Love, Prima Max, Prima Plus, Prima Star. Prima Zoom, CNN Prima News.

The market for TV advertising is dominated by Nova and Prima (90%), while advertising on the Czech Television is limited to the minimum by the law. The television is traditionally the strongest advertising medium in the country.

Television networks play a large role in the production of quality content for local film and TV productions. The Czech TV is a permanent partner of the Czech cinema, with its in-house production sector Film Center, coproducing increasing numbers of feature films. Czech TV is also a coproducer of almost all documentaries released in Czech cinemas.

Among the film projects coproduced by the Czech Television in 2020 are Havel by Slávek Horák, the Czech/Slovak/German Droneman / Modelář by Petr Zelenka, produced by 0,7km films and coproduced by the Czech Television, Innogy, Slovakia’s Punkchart films, Germany’s Fabula and Czech Hangar Films, Caught in the Net / V síti by Vít Klusák and Barbora Chalupová, Shadow Country / Krajina ve stínu by Bohdan Sláma, Charlatan / Šarlatán by Agnieszka Holland, and many others.

Among the important TV projects produced by the Czech Television in 2020 that still await the premiere is the third and final season of international coproduction Maria-Theresa / Marie Terezie, which is coproduced by the Czech Republic (Czech Television), Austria (ORF), Slovakia (RTVS) and Germany-France (ARTE).

Rats / Zrádci, a mini-series directed by Viktor Tauš and produced by the Czech Television, was awarded a Czech Lion and a Film Critics’ award.

The mini-series Actor / Herec by Peter Bebjak, another production by the Czech Television, also gained some attention.

CONTACTS:

CZECH FILM FUND
Veletržní palác, Dukelských hrdinů 47, 170 00 Prague 7
Phone: +420 224 301 278
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.fondkinematografie.cz

CZECH FILM FUND - CZECH FILM CENTER
Národní 28, 110 00 Prague 1
Phone: +420 221 105 303
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.filmcenter.cz

CZECH FILM FUND - CZECH FILM COMMISSION
Národní 28, 110 00 Prague 1
Phone: 420 778 543 290
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.filmcommission.cz

NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE
Malešická 12, 130 00 Prague 3
Phone: +420 778 522 729
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.nfa.cz

APA- AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCERS’ ASSOCIATION
Národní 28, 110 00 Prague 1
Phone: +420 603 844 811
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.asociaceproducentu.cz

CREATIVE EUROPE – MEDIA CZECH REPUBLIC
Národní 28, 110 00 Prague 1
Phone: +420 221 105 209
Fax: +420 221 105 303
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.mediadeskcz.eu

CZECH FILM AND TELEVISION ACADEMY
Karlovo nám 285/19, 120 00 Prague 2
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.cfta.cz

INSTITUTE OF DOCUMENTARY FILM
Štěpánská 611/14, 110 00 Praha 1
Phone: +420 224 214 858
Fax: +420 224 214 858
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.dokweb.net

FITES – CZECH FILM AND TELEVISION UNION
Pod Nuselskými schody 3, 120 00 Prague 2
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.fites.cz

UNION OF FILM DISTRIBUTORS
nám. Winstona Churchilla 2, 130 00 Prague 3
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , www.ufd.cz

PRAGUE FILM FUND
Mariánské náměstí 2/2, 110 00 Praha 1
www.praguefilmfund.eu

ASSOCIATION OF CZECH ANIMATION FILM
Heřmanova 3, Prague
http://en.asaf.cz/

Report by Martin Svoboda (2021)
Sources: Czech Film Fund, Unie Filmových Distributorů, Czech Film Center

MARKET ANALYSIS 2023

TALLINN: The year 2023 was certainly eventful for Estonia, both locally and internationally. The steady increase in admissions and box office didn’t reach the pre-pandemic levels, but took the total a whole lot closer. Cinemas were popular, films were talked about, and the wrap-up of 2023 seems like a good place from where to continue.

Admissions per capita reached over 2 again for the first time after the pandemic (2.06) and the ticket revenue surpassed 20 m EUR (20.98m EUR), almost catching up with the all-time highest number of 21.8 m EUR in 2019. One of the factors influencing this statistic is certainly the inflation rate, which has dropped significantly by 2024 to 5.0%, but even with this reduced number, Estonia is among the countries with one of the highest inflation rates in Europe.

The most attended film of 2023 was Barbie, followed by the local feature film The Vacationers / Suvitajad by Ergo Kuld, produced by Taska Film in coproduction with Apollo Film Productions and Kassikuld. Predictably, Oppenheimer came in the third spot.

After The Vacationers, the top three of Estonian films was rounded out by feature films Faulty Brides / Vigased pruudid by Ergo Kuld, produced by Apollo Film Productions in coproduction with Taska Film and Kassikuld, and the final instalment of the Melchior the Apothecary trilogy – the Estonian/German/Latvian/Lithuanian Melchior the Apothecary: The Executioner’s Daughter / Apteeker Melchior. Timukatütar by Elmo Nüganen, produced by Taska Film, Nafta Films, Apollo Film Productions and Hansa Film, and coproduced by Maze Pictures, Film Angels Productions and InScript.

Local comedies found their audience, but we cannot disregard the fact that Apollo Film Productions belongs in the same company with Apollo Media group and Apollo cinema chain, both companies being the biggest in Estonia in film sector. Therefore, these films have notable advantage in advertising, marketing, distribution and even criticism.

Internationally, Estonia had a remarkable year, mainly due to one title that set new benchmarks for Estonian cinema in 2023. The documentary Smoke Sauna Sisterhood / Savvusanna sõsarad by Anna Hints, produced by Alexandra Film and coproduced by France’s Kepler 22 Production and Iceland’s Ursus Parvus, started the year off strong with the Best Director Award at the Sundance Film Festival, had an award-winning follow-up at a number of festivals, and by the end of 2023 received Estonia’s first ever European Film Award for Best European Documentary. The film also got nominated for the LUX Award and won few important prizes stateside, namely the IDA (International Documentary Association) Award and the Cinema Eye Honors Award for Best Cinematography for Ants Tammik.

The second success story was the most original work up-to-date by Rainer Sarnet The Invisible Fight / Nähtamatu võitlus, which premiered at Locarno. The film is produced by Estonia’s Homeless Bob Production in coproduction with Latvia’s White Picture, Greece’s Neda Film and Finland’s Helsinki-Filmi

PRODUCTION

Several feature films were shot in 2023.

Tõnis Pill’s debut feature Frank, produced by Allfilm, is a youth-oriented drama that focuses on a teenage boy who has grown up in an abusive environment for most of his childhood. Coming from a broken family, Paul ends up in a foreign city, where he starts making a series of wrong decisions to find happiness, but his inevitable downfall is prevented by a strange disabled man.

Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo’s sophomore feature Lioness / Emalõvi is a realistic drama about a worried mother and her daughter. When 15-year-old rebellious Stefi goes missing, her mother Helena has nothing left to lose anymore. Why cling to sanity when madness offers a chance for reconciliation and love? The film produced by Allfilm is scheduled for release in September 2024.

Another debut feature, Life and Love / Elu jaarmastus by Helen Takkin, is an adaptation of the novel under the same title by most renowned Estonian writer Anton Hansen Tammsaare, recounting a love story between a wealthy magnate and a country girl, who comes to the big city and ends up working as his maid. The film was shot in the summer of 2023, and it was produced by Taska Film in coproduction with Apollo Film Productions.

Jaak Kilmi’s The Shadow / Vari is based on the life of the Estonian poet Juhan Liiv, and follows Liiv, an aspiring poet who ends up in the middle of a gruesome murder mystery in the 1890s Estonia. Taska Film is producing in coproduction with Apollo Film Productions, Hansafilm and Reede. The film is scheduled to be released in October 2024.

Meel Paliale’s sophomore feature Long Papers / Pikadpaberid, produced by Tallifornia, is a generational observation about aimless young people in urban environment, who have what it takes but are often not sure which direction to choose with their lives.

In the spring of 2023, a long and secretive shooting period ended for a film tentatively titled Dog / Koer, directed by Rasmus Merivoo and produced by Tallifornia. At the beginning of 2024, it was publicly announced that it is actually a sequel to the massively popular cult short film Alien / Tulnukas from 2006, and brings back the much loved gopnik parking lot small-time hustler characters, whose antiquated views have not quite survived the big democratic changes in the make-believe near-future society where all cars drive on electricity, all drugs are legal and all sexual liberties are encouraged.

Tallifornia is also responsible for a third film project, Two of Me  / Meid on kaks by Esko Brothers, twin brothers who are making a self-reflective, playful feature film about twins trying to make a film about twins. This coming-of-age mixed genre film was shot over 22 days in July-September 2023, and the shoot will continue in 2024.

In the short film department, Anna Hints, who had notable success with Smoke Sauna Sisterhood on the festival circuit, shot a fiction film in the summer of 2023, a sort of male riff on the female sauna documentary. In Sauna Day, produced by Stellar Film, she and co-director Tushar Prakash follow two men friends in the sauna where it seems that there is more than friendship between them, something that can never be spelled out in a small town environment.

Black Hole / Must auk by Moonika Siimets, produced by Amrion, is a surreal blend of three Estonian short stories that is dealing with solitude and lack of love in the Tallinn tower block district. The film commenced shooting in the spring of 2023 and the delays in intricate postproduction have promised the autumn of 2024 as the new release date.

Aurora by Rain Tolk and Andres Maimik, produced by Kuukulgur Film, follows the eponymous daughter of a religious leader, who enters a secret extramarital affair that challenges her life arrangements. She tries to please everyone, but secrets begin to reveal themselves at the wrong time and in the wrong place.

Out of more important minority coproductions, three Finnish films stand out.

The documentary master Pirko Honkasalo is continuing her journey in the world of feature films with Orenda, a captivating relationship drama dealing with the themes of guilt and mercy. Orenda is written by established writer/director/actor Pirkko Saisio, who will also be performing one of the two main roles in the film, alongside Alma Pöysti. Finland’s Bufo is producing in coproduction with Estonia’s Allfilm and Sweden’s PlattformProduktion.

After Oscar-shortlisted The Fencer, produced by Finland’s Making Movies in coproduction with Allfilm in 2015, Klaus Häro returned to Estonia to shoot his historical drama Never Alone, about the attempt at ethnic cleansing of Jews in Finland during WW2. The film was shot from September to November 2023, and it is produced by Finland’s Matila Röhr Productions in coproduction with Estonia’s Taska Film, Sweden’s Hobab, Germany’s Penned Pictures and Austria’s Samsara Filmproduktion.

Miia Tervo’s latest feature film project The Missile was also shot in Estonia as a thriller-comedy based on a true event in 1984 when the Soviet Union inexplicably shot a missile to Finnish territory. The missile got lost and for some time nobody knew if it was a nuclear warhead or not. The Missile is produced by Finland’s Komeetta and Aurora Studios in coproduction with Estonia’s Stellar Film.

Apathy, a drama by Greek director Alexandros Avranas, follows Sergei and Natalia, political asylum-seekers who fled to Sweden with their two daughters, hoping for a new happy life. Those hopes are crushed when their application is rejected, and their daughter Katja, traumatised by this episode, suddenly falls into a “coma”, a condition known as Resignation Syndrome or Apathy, explained as self-protection against the feeling of fear. The film is produced by France’s Les Films du Worso and Elle Driver, and coproduced by Estonia’s Amrion and Three Brothers, Greece’s Playground and Asterisk, Sweden’s Fox in the Snow Films, and Germany’s ARTE France & Germany.

Swedish Torpedo is a period drama that tells the story of Sally Bauer, the first Scandinavian to swim across the English Channel in 1939. The film is directed by Frida Kempff and is produced by Sweden’s Momento Film in coproduction with Estonia’s Amrion and Three Brothers, Denmark’s Toolbox Film, Finland’s Inland Film Company and Belgium’s Velvet Films.

DISTRIBUTION

A total of 424 films were released in Estonia in 2023, of which 282 were new titles. The result of 2.82 m admissions is yet another remarkable uptick from 2022 (2.33m admissions), gathering the box office of 20.98 m EUR. The admissions per capita rose over 2, up to 2.06 (from 1.75 in 2022), and the average cost of a cinema ticket was 7.44 EUR.

A total of 54 Estonian films were theatrically released in 2023, out of those, 31 were new titles. Estonian films scored 613,227 admissions (notably more than 481,585 admissions in 2022), with 4.2 m EUR gross, surpassing 2022 with a cool 1 m EUR. Local market share went up a notch as well, reaching 21.75% (compared to 20.67% in 2022).

Estonian year 2023 in international festivals was fully dictated by the incomparable successes of Smoke Sauna Sisterhood. Starting with the Best Director Award in the World Documentary Competition of the Sundance Film Festival, the film managed to win the FIPRESCI Prize at the Viennale, and Best Long Documentary Prize in San Francisco, plus about two dozen other awards, including the European Film Award for Best European Documentary (unprecedented for Estonia), not to mention almost all Estonian annual cultural awards imaginable.

From feature films, 2023’s most original work was Rainer Sarnet’s The Invisible Fight / Nähtamatu võitlus. This Orthodox heavy metal kung-fu absurd comedy, produced by Estonia’s Homeless Bob Production in coproduction with Latvia’s White Picture, Greece’s Neda Film and Finland’s Helsinki-Filmi, had its premiere in Locarno’s main competition where it got a lot of attention and started its festival circuit.

In the world of animation, the short film Eeva by Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak, produced by Eesti Joonisfilm and Croatia’s Adriatic Animation, premiered in Berlinale’s Short Film Competition and won several awards over the year, including the Alexeïeff–Parker Award at Annecy, the Grand Jury Prize at Nashville and Best Croatian Film Award at World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb 2023.

A creative documentary, the wonderfully observing Sundial / Päikeseaeg directed by Liis Nimik and produced by Klara Films, gained attention of both Visions du Réel in Nyon and Hot Docs in Toronto.

Hot Docs also premiered another Estonian documentary, The Last Relic / Viimane reliikvia by Marianna Kaat, a provocative portrait of Russian dissidents in Yekaterinburg before the outbreak of the Ukraine War. The Last Relic won the support of the audience both at home and abroad, winning Best Director at Vitaly Mansky’s ArtDocFest Riga. The film is produced by Baltic Film Production and Norway’s Ten Thousand Images.

At the Estonian National Film Awards, most wins went to the 2022 historical basketball flick Kalev by Ove Musting, produced by Allfilm in coproduction with Ugri Film, including Best Feature Film and Best Director. The Best Documentary Award went to a portrait of jazz saxophonist Maria Faust called Machina Faust, which was directed by Kaupo Kruusiauk and produced by Flo Film, while the Best Animation Award went to Dog Apartment / Koerkorter directed by Priit Tender and produced by Nukufilm.

Virgin Maali, the annual award by the Estonian Film Journalists’ Association went to Smoke Sauna Sisterhood as the best film of 2023, given out in the first days on January 2024.

VOD PLATFORMS AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION

The Estonian Film Institute launched the ARKAADER platform for Estonian films at the end of 2022, enjoying a highly successful year as a promotional platform for Estonian cinema worldwide. In 2023, the Institute innovated further by introducing a dedicated branch tailored to schools, integrating Estonian films into their educational programmes.

In 2023 Jupiter, the VOD platform of the Estonian National Broadcast ERR, strengthened its positions, growing mostly because of the renewed television applications for local market.

Viaplay decided to leave the Baltic market, creating some confusion, especially in the sphere of sports events rights. This exit comes with a bit of regret from the audience because their drama series were quite good, for example Who Killed Otto Müller? directed by René Vilbre.

The biggest winner after Viaplay’s exit is Go3, which took over their subscriptions and part of the content. A lot of sports related content will also be moving to Go3.

Elisa is continuing its strong support for financing drama series and sponsoring the Black Nights Film Festival and it deserves credit for that. The third season of the series Traitor directed by Ove Musting, about a Russian spy in Estonian Ministry of Defense, is setting a new bar for domestic TV series.

The newly resurrected Eesti Telefilm (the film production branch of Soviet Estonian national broadcast) is aiming to produce two additional drama series for VOD. International coproduction deals promise an influx of international funding, starting with Italy and the planned coproduced series Detective von Fock.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

The annual overall box office top ten shows favourable results to local product, because the top six spots are alternating between foreign and domestic releases, and Estonian films compete successfully with big international hits.

To no big surprise, the biggest foreign film and the overall winner of the year by a long margin was Barbie with 150,406 admissions, followed by Oppenheimer with 106,785 admissions in the third place and the animated film Super Mario Bros. The Movie in the fifth overall place with 78,162 admissions.

Estonian broad comedy The Vacationers / Suvitajad (a remake of a national classic Here We Are! from 1978) came in second with 107,095 admissions between the two Barbenheimer entries, another comedy by the same team, Faulty Brides (a remake of a TV play under the same name from 1989) came fourth with 93,713 admissions, while the final episode (at least so far) of the Medieval Melchior crime films, Melchior the Apothecary: The Executioner’s Daughter came sixth with 77,951 admissions.

The top ten is rounded up by three more animated titles: Elemental at number seven with 59 255 admissions, Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie at eight with 54,173 admissions and Trolls Band Together at ten with 49,569 admissions. Slightly less animated Fast X reached the ninth spot with 52,236 admissions.

The highest scoring European production was another animated film, France’s Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie, which came19th with 36,218 admissions. The highest European live action film was the British/Australian horror movie Talk to Me with 8,192 admissions.

The domestic top ten was dominated by feature films as expected, with one animated film and one documentary also making the cut. The three aforementioned features were followed by the animated omnibus-film Poop, Spring and Others / Kaka, kevadjateised, produced by A Film Estonia, with 44,794 admissions. Based on five children’s short stories by Andrusk Kivirähk, each episode is directed by a different filmmaker: Heiki Ernits, Meelis Arulepp, Mikk Mägi, René Vilbre and Oskar Lehemaa.

At spot number five of the domestic chart, we find yet another broad comedy produced by Taska Film and Apollo Film Productions, called Fools of Fame / Kuulsuse narrid directed by Ain Mäeots, which gathered 42,971 admissions. The second half of the top ten in 2023 is refreshingly versatile. The children’s modern tech-comedy Totally Boss / Tähtsad ninad directed by renowned theatre director Ingomar Vihmar making his feature film debut, and produced by Nafta Films, came sixth with 34,107 admissions.

The nostalgic period comedy about time travel Stairway to Heaven by Mart Kivastik, produced by Filmivabrik, is at place number seven with 33,542 admissions, followed by the documentary Smoke Sauna Sisterhood with 33,527 admissions, black crypto-comedy Free Money / Vabaraha by Rain Rannu, produced by Tallifornia, with 29,435 admissions and Tanel Toom’s post-apocalyptic thriller The Last Sentinel / Viimane vahipost, produced by Estonia’s Allfilm, Germany’s Kick Film and UK’s Sentinel Entertainment, plus UK’s CrossDay Productions and Stigma Films attached as coproducers, with 19,332 admissions.

Apollo-affiliated Hea Film continued to dictate the domestic top ten. Seven out of ten titles are distributed by them, ACME is the distributor for Stairway to Heaven and Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, while Tallifornia distributes its own titles, including Free Money.

All in all, Hea Film has a distribution market share of 75%, pan-Baltic ACME comes second with 13%, the third spot is taken by Tallifornia with 6% and the others follow with smaller shares.

The American annual market share was up to 64% in 2023 (from 59% in 2022), Estonia is second with 22%, the whole of Europe follows with 12%, leaving the remaining 2% to the rest of the world.

GRANTS AND LEGISLATION

The Estonian Film Institute granted 6,009,210 EUR to various national film projects in 2023. Of this amount, 2,804,210 EUR was allocated for the production of eight feature films, 300,000 EUR for the development of six feature films, 80,000 EUR to feature film script support (six projects), 150,000 EUR for the production of three short films, 80,000 EUR for the development of two miniseries, 528,000 EUR for the production of 13 documentaries, and 128,000 EUR for the development of nine documentary projects.

“Estonian Stories” documentary chronicles and documentary portraits got 134,000 EUR (12 projects), while 30,000 EUR was given for the development and postproduction of two documentary series, and the Tartu 2024 Cultural Capital documentary programme was supported with 120,000 EUR (eight projects).

Eleven animated films received 881,000 EUR for production, and nine animated projects received 119,000 EUR for development. Nine minority coproductions received 825,000 EUR.

Production grants went to the following feature films:

Lioness / Emalõvi by Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, produced by Allfilm, Dog / Koer by Rasmus Merivoo, produced by Tallifornia, Our Erika / Meie Erika by German Golub, produced by Filmivabrik, Frank by Tõnis Pill, produced by Allfilm, Looking for the Lost World / Kadunud maailma otsides by Janno Jürgens, produced by Kosmosesügis, Two of Me / Mind on kaks by Raul Esko and Romet Esko, produced by Tallifornia, Long Papers / Pikad paberid by Meel Paliale, produced by Tallifornia, and Serafima and Bogdan by Veiko Õunpuu, produced by Nafta Films.

To support Estonian film producers' participation in international feature, documentary and animated films, grants are provided to Estonian minority coproducers. In 2023, there were 19 applications for minority coproductions, resulting in grants being awarded to five feature films, one documentary and one short animated film (compared to 23 applications and seven grants in 2022). The main coproducing countries in 2023 were Germany, Sweden, Latvia, Georgia, the U.S., and Armenia. Grants were awarded to 37% of the applications submitted.

In summary, the highest competition is in the categories of feature films and documentaries, especially regarding production grants. Of the applicants for production grants for feature films and documentaries, 40% and 44%, respectively received funding, while for animated films, the percentage of recipients among applicants was much higher, 73%.

The Film Estonia cash rebate programme gave out a total of 3.8 m EUR for foreign projects shooting in Estonia. In 2023, most of the projects funded through Film Estonia were minority coproductions already listed earlier (Never Alone, The Missile, Orenda, The Swedish Torpedo and Apathy), as well as the ambitious eight-part series Estonia about the sinking of the MS Estonia ferry in 1994, which was created by Finland’s Miikko Oikonen, directed by Måns Månsson and Juuso Syrjä, and produced by Finland’s Fisher King Productions in coproduction with Estonia’s Amrion, Sweden’s Kärnfilm and Belgium’s Panache Productions. With a 15 m EUR budget, it is the most expensive TV series produced in Finland or Estonia.

TV

It could be noticed in 2023 that Estonian TV audience gradually grew more and more weary of hard themes like wars and disasters. Light entertainment was on the rise, mostly offered by commercial channels TV3 and Kanal 2, rather than national broadcast. In 2023, the ratings of the TV channels remained more or less the same, but Kanal 2 went up a little, due to the mentioned change in preferences, and more economical and flexible programming policy. 

The TV series in Estonia are still mainly coproduced between bigger linear TV channels and telecom companies, but in general the numbers of domestic TV series remained below expectations in 2023. 

CONTACTS:

ESTONIAN FILM INSTITUTE
Uus 3, Tallinn 10111
Phone: +372 627 60 60
Fax: +372 627 60 61
www.filmi.ee
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CULTURAL ENDOWMENT OF ESTONIA
Suur-Karja 23, Tallinn 10148
Phone: +372 699 9150
www.kulka.ee
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ESTONIAN ANIMATION UNION
Roo 9, Tallinn 10611
www.animaliit.ee
Contact: Mari Kivi
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ESTONIAN DOCUMENTARY GUILD
Vilmsi 53g, 10147 Tallinn
www.dokfilm.ee
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ESTONIAN FILMMAKERS’ UNION
Uus 3, Tallinn 10111
Phone: +372 646 4068
www.kinoliit.ee
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Contact: Marika Streimann

ESTONIAN FILM INDUSTRY CLUSTER
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Contact: Piret Tibbo-Hudgins

ESTONIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS ESC
www.esc.edicypages.com/et

ESTONIAN FILM DIRECTORS’ GUILD
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Contact: Moonika Siimets and LiinaTrishkina-Vanhatalo

ESTONIAN SCREENWRITERS’ GUILD
Eesti Stsenaristide Gild:
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Contact: Lauri Lippmaa

THE ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL ACTORS OF ESTONIA
Uus 5, Tallinn 10111
Phone: +372 646 4517
Fax: +372 646 4516
www.enliit.ee
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THE ESTONIAN FILM JOURNALISTS’ASSOCIATION
Narvamnt 11e, Tallinn 10151
Phone: +372 669 8210
www.filmikriitik.ee
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Contact: Andrei Liimets

THE UNION OF ESTONIAN FILM CLUBS
Vikerlase 13-62, Tallinn 13616
Phone: +372 632 4662; +372 55 46042
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Contact: Raivo Olmet

ESTONIAN FILM MUSEUM
Pirita road 56, 10127 Tallinn
Phone: +372 6 968 600; +372 5620 8875
http://www.ajaloomuuseum.ee/en/filmmuseum
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Contact: Sten Kauber

ESTONIAN FILM DATABASE
Koidu 17-1, 10137 Tallinn
Phone: +372 6015982
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www.efis.ee/en 

ESTONIAN FILM ARCHIVES
Ristiku 84, Tallinn 10318
Phone: +372 693 8613
www.filmi.arhiiv.ee/index.php?lang=eng
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Report by Tristan Priimägi (2024)
Sources: the Estonian Film Institute (EFI), the Cultural Endowment of Estonia

Checked by Edith Sepp, EFI

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MARKET ANALYSIS 2022

TALLINN: After the long effects of isolation and gradual recuperation from the effects of the pandemic, which managed to freeze distributionand production completely for periods of time, the year 2022 felt like a comeback in several ways. In short, it seemed that people found cinema again, and cinema found people.

Although it still takes some additional effort to reach pre-pandemic levels, the arrows turned upward on both admissions and revenue charts: the admissions per capita moved to 1.75 and the overall ticket revenue almost doubled. This is partly thanks to higher admission numbers, but it can also partly be explained by the high inflation rate in Estonia, reaching an unprecedented 19.45% in 2022.

The three Estonian films with most admissions were Melchior the Apothecary / Apteeker Melchior by Elmo Nüganen, Kalev by Ove Musting and Melchior the Apothecary: The Ghost / Apteeker Melchior. Viirastus by Elmo Nüganen, while the international top three consists of Minions 2, Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick.

After the previous good international year, 2022 was quite uneventful, except for a couple of runaway successes like the short animated film Sierra by Sander Joon, which had a great festival run and became the first Estonian short animated film to land on the Oscars shortlist in the short animated film category. Several promising releases moved to 2023, a year that will be definitely more exciting in that regard.

PRODUCTION

Several feature films were shot in 2022, all of them supported by the Estonian Film Institute.

8 Faces of Lake Biwa / Biwa järve 8 nägu by Marko Raat is a coming-of-age tale taking place in the Estonian Old Believers’ community. It features a blend of Baltic and Japanese culture and imagery, wrapped in a net of tragic love stories told through the prism of the Japanese “Eight Views” art tradition. The film is produced by Estonia’s Allfilm and coproduced by Bufo from Finland.

Black Hole / Must auk by Moonika Siimets, produced by Amrion, is a surreal blend of three Estonian short stories dealing with solitude and lack of love in the Tallinn tower block district.

Free Money / Vaba raha by Rain Rannu, produced by Tallifornia, was also shot in 2022 in Estonia and the United States, and consists of three loosely interconnected stories about money, cryptocurrency and the investment culture of the last few years when investing has become a form of entertainment.

Another Tallifornia title, Dog / Koer by Rasmus Merivoo, started preproduction in 2022 and will commence the shooting in 2023.

The film One-Dimensional Man / Ühemõõtmeline mees by Andres Puustusmaa, produced by LEO Production and coproduced by Latvia’s Studio Locomotive, was shot in October/November 2022. The film talks about repressive communist ideology passed on from generation to generation, from father to son.

Among feature films not supported by the state funds, Faulty Brides / Vigased pruudid, an adaptation of a comical Estonian screenplay by Eduard Vilde from 1888, was shot over 18 days in June - July 2022. It is directed by Ergo Kuld and produced by TaskaFilm, Apollo Film Productions and Kassikuld.

DISTRIBUTION

A total of 349 films were released in Estonia in 2022, out of those 233 were new titles. The 2.33 m viewers are a considerable improvement from 2021 (1.38 m), gathering box office of 16.28 m EUR. Admissions per capita rose to 1.75 (up from 1.05 in 2021), and the average cost of a cinema ticket was 6.99 EUR.

A total of 51 Estonian films were theatrically released in 2022, out of those 30 were new titles. Estonian films scored 481,585 admissions and cashed in 3.2 m EUR. It is satisfying to see that local market share gained a very healthy level of 20.67% again, considering that 2020 was amazing with 26.72% and 2021 showed only 14.2% because of postponed key releases.

Apollo-affiliated Hea Film dominated the distribution, as the whole ten out of ten top titles in the general (foreign and domestic) chart were all distributed by them. Hea Film had an annual market share of 63.44% of all admissions, followed by ACME (25.93%). The others remained under ten per cent: GPI (3.26%), VLG Films (1.57%) and BestFilm (1.27%). The rest of the small distributors were jointly responsible for the remaining 4.53%.

The annual market share between different territories divided as follows: USA 59%, Estonia 21%, Europe 14% and 6% to the rest of the world.

Internationally, the animated film Sierra by Sander Joon ended up being the first ever Estonian title to be sold to Criterion Channel. The British/Estonian debut feature Firebird / Tulilind by Peeter Rebane, produced by Rebane’s own The Factory and UK’s No Reservations Entertainment, sold its North American distribution rights to Roadside Attraction.

The Melchior the Apothecary trilogy was picked up by Global Screen, the worldwide distribution arm of TELEPOOL, to be released as a six-part miniseries. The international TV drama series Estonia, produced by Finland’s Fisher King OY, Estonia’s Amrion, Belgium’s Panache Productions and Sweden’s Kärnfilm Ab, was sold to Seven.One Entertainment Group, which runs ProSieben.

VOD PLATFORMS AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION

An important event in 2022 was the launch of a new VOD platform for Estonian films, Arkaader. The platform was founded and financed by the Estonian Film Institute and the Estonian National Archive’s film archive, and it offers a wide selection of digitally restored Estonian films, both old and new titles, obscure and well-known. Since its launch on 13 December 2022 till May 2023, Arkaader counted about 10,000 unique visitors per month, and the number of audiovisual products available (some for a fee, some for free) was 2943 at the beginning of May 2023, varying from showreels and chronicle pieces to long films. Films are being added to the platform continuously.

Estonian VOD landscape went through some stabilisation in 2022, and generally, people were more open to using VOD platforms. Jupiter, the official VOD platform of the Estonian National Broadcast ERR grew its streaming audience organically by about 30% and launched its subsection IO, targeted at young audiences. Viaplay chose to invest in a lot of important sports events rights and strengthened its position in the market through that.

In 2022 Apollo TV, the online branch of the leading exhibitor Apollo Kino and producer Apollo Film, announced somewhat unexpectedly that it will cease its activities after only a year and a half, and its clients will be taken over by Go3.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

The most successful foreign film of the year turned out to be Minions 2 with 147,727 admissions, followed by Avatar: The Way of Water (109,844 admissions) and Top Gun: Maverick (63,106 admissions). The biggest European title (but still a US minority coproduction) was Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness, distributed by FilmStop, which reached the 30th spot with 23,422 admissions.

Three Estonian films made it to the annual top ten. The first film of Elmo Nüganen’s trilogy about the Medieval detective-apothecary, Melchior the Apothecary / Apteeker Melchior, took the second spot with 129,400 admissions, while the second instalment Melchior the Apothecary: The Ghost / Apteeker Melchior. Viirastus came in fifth with 86,096 admissions.

Both Melchior the Apothecary and Melchior the Apothecary: The Ghost were produced by Taska Film, Apollo Film Productions, Nafta Films and Hansafilm, and coproduced by Latvia’s Film Angels Productions, Lithuania’s InScript and Germany’s Maze Pictures.

Between them, the historical sports film about the legendary basketball team, Kalev by Ove Musting, produced by Allfilm, managed to take the bronze with 116,467 admissions.

The top ten was rounded out by two Marvel films in the seventh and eighth place – Thor: Love and Thunder (55,337 admissions) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (54,701 admissions), while two animated titles closed the Top Ten: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (53,927 admissions) and Bad Guys (49,654 admissions).

The domestic top ten was almost completely dominated by feature films. The three titles mentioned earlier were followed by the literary classic Swamp / Soo by Ergo Kuld. produced by Taska Film, Apollo Film Productions, Kassikuld, with 45,695 admissions; children’s pirate film Erik Stoneheart / Erik Kivisüda by Ilmar Raag, produced by Amrion and Thiltges Film from Luxembourg, coproduced by Lithuania’s Studio Uljana Kim, Ukrainian Esse Production House, Latvia’s Studio Locomotive and Finnish Helsinki-filmi, with 23,952 admissions; and another children’s film The Sleeping Beast / Tagurpidi torn by Jaak Kilmi, produced by Stellar Film, coproduced by Studio Locomotive, with 23,670 admissions.

The remaining four titles stayed well below 10,000 admissions: the youth debut feature Tree of Eternal Love / Kiik, kirves ja igavese armastuse puu (Tallifornia) placed seventh with 5,459 admissions, Kadri Kõusaar’s art house drama Deserted / Kõrb, produced by Meteoriit, coproduced by Swedish MostAlice Film and Finnish Greenlit Productions, came eighth with 3,970 admissions, the short animated film The Old Man and Gasworm / Vanamees ja Põrsauss by Mikk Mägi had 3,332 admissions, while the documentary Two Hours of Happiness / 2 tundi õnneni by Moonika Siimets, produced by Amrion, had 2,303 admissions.

GRANTS

In 2022, the Estonian Film Institute gave out 6,262,300 EUR to various film projects: 2,903,000 EUR was distributed for the production of nine feature films; 297,500 EUR for the development of six feature films; 84,000 EUR as script development grants for 12 feature films; 120,000 EUR for the production of four short films; 80,000 EUR for the development of two miniseries; 710,000 EUR for the production of 14 documentaries, and 123,424 EUR for the development of nine documentary projects.

Estonian Stories / Eesti lood, the documentary chronicles and portrait docs, received 111,376 EUR; 44,500 EUR was given for development and postproduction of two documentary series; 11 animated films received 961,000 EUR for production, and eight animated films received development support of 104,000 EUR. A total of 723,500 EUR went to nine minority coproductions.

Production grants went to the following feature films: Dark Paradise / Tume paradiis by Triin Ruumet, produced by Three Brothers, 8 Views of Lake Biwa / Biwa järve 8 nägu by Marko Raat, produced by Allfilm, Stairway to Heaven / Taevatrepp by Mart Kivastik, produced by Filmivabrik, Black Hole / Must Auk by Moonika Siimets, produced by Amrion, Veenus.me by Carmel and Rene Köster, produced by Nafta Films, Lioness / Emalõvi by Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, produced by Allfilm, Dog / Koer by Rasmus Merivoo, produced by Tallifornia, Aurora by Andres Maimik and Rain Tolk, produced by Kuukulgur and One-Dimensional Man / Ühemõõtmeline mees by Andres Puustusmaa, produced by LEO Production.

Estonia’s cash rebate programme Film Estonia distributed 5.4 m EUR in 2022, supporting 18 film and TV projects.

TV

The audience numbers of ERR channels ETV, ETV2 and Russian language ETV+, remained more or less on the same level as in 2021, while commercial channels like Kanal 2 and TV3 lost some viewers, who migrated to VOD platforms.

Also, the beginning of war in Ukraine brought steep corrections to the audience’s viewing habits: the entertainment dropped rapidly, while the news programmes and related current affairs programmes rose just as rapidly. In times like this, the audience seems to trust the national broadcast more than commercial channels, so in the first half of the year, those channels gained most from the Ukraine war, when it comes to audience numbers.

CONTACTS:

ESTONIAN FILM INSTITUTE
Uus 3, Tallinn 10111
Phone: +372 627 60 60
Fax: +372 627 60 61
www.filmi.ee
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CULTURAL ENDOWMENT OF ESTONIA
Suur-Karja 23, Tallinn 10148
Phone: +372 699 9150
www.kulka.ee
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ESTONIAN ANIMATION UNION
Roo 9, Tallinn 10611
www.animaliit.ee
Contact: Mari Kivi
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ESTONIAN DOCUMENTARY GUILD
Vilmsi 53g, 10147 Tallinn
www.dokfilm.ee
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ESTONIAN FILMMAKERS’ UNION
Uus 3, Tallinn 10111
Phone: +372 646 4068
www.kinoliit.ee
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Contact: Kadri Vaas

ESTONIAN NATIONAL PRODUCERS’ UNION
Uus 3, Tallinn 10111
Phone: +372 5825 8962
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Contact: Aet Laigu

ESTONIAN FILM INDUSTRY CLUSTER
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contact: Marju Lepp

ESTONIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS ESC
www.esc.edicypages.com/et

ESTONIAN FILM DIRECTORS’ GUILD
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contact: Moonika Siimets and LiinaTrishkina-Vanhatalo

ESTONIAN SCRIPT-WRITERS’ GUILD
Eesti Stsenaristide Gild:
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Contact: Lauri Lippmaa

THE ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL ACTORS OF ESTONIA
Uus 5, Tallinn 10111
Phone: +372 646 4517
Fax: +372 646 4516
www.enliit.ee
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THE ESTONIAN FILM JOURNALISTS’ASSOCIATION
Narvamnt 11e, Tallinn 10151
Phone: +372 669 8210
www.filmikriitik.ee
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Contact: Andrei Liimets

THE UNION OF ESTONIAN FILM CLUBS
Vikerlase 13-62, Tallinn 13616
Phone: +372 632 4662; +372 55 46042
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Contact: Raivo Olmet

ESTONIAN FILM MUSEUM
Pirita road 56, 10127 Tallinn
Phone: +372 6 968 600; +372 5620 8875
http://www.ajaloomuuseum.ee/en/filmmuseum
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Contact: Karlo Funk

ESTONIAN FILM DATABASE
Koidu 17-1, 10137 Tallinn
Phone: +372 6015982
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www.efis.ee/en 

ESTONIAN FILM ARCHIVES
Ristiku 84, Tallinn 10318
Phone: +372 693 8613
www.filmi.arhiiv.ee/index.php?lang=eng
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Report by Tristan Priimägi (2023)
Sources: the Estonian Film Institute, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia