However, the most popular Estonian film was Class Reunion 2: A Wedding and a Funeral / Klassikokkutulek 2: Pulmad ja matused directed by René Vilbre and produced by Taska Film, with more than 146,000 admissions.
PRODUCTION
The last films from the Estonian 100 programme wrapped production in 2018 and premiered at the beginning of 2019. One of them, Lotte and the Lost Dragons / Lote un pazudušie Pūķi by Janno Põldma and Heiki Ernits, will have its international premiere in the Generation 14plus section of the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival. Lotte and the Lost Dragons, the only animated film in the Estonia 100 programme and the third instalment of Estonia’s animated franchise, is produced by Eesti Joonisfilm. The film reached the domestic screens on 2
January 2019 with 45,946 admissions in the first two weeks.
Truth and Justice / Tõde ja õigus, directed by Tanel Toom and produced by Allfilm, wrapped filming in August 2018, with the domestic premiere set for February 2019.
The Estonian production company Kopli Kinokompanii is in production with Sandra Gets a Job / Sandra saab tööd by Kaupo Kruusiauk, which will have its premiere later in 2019, and is the producer of The Real Life of Johannes Pääsuke by Hardi Volmer, which premiered on 10 January 2019.
Class Reunion 3: Godfathers / Klassikokkutulek 3: Ristiisad directed by René Vilbre and produced by Taska film, started shooting in June 2018. The premiere is set for January 2019.
Several international productions are currently in various stages of production.
Scandinavian Silence / Skandinaavia vaikus by Martti Helde, which started shooting in 2016, is still in production. The film is an Estonian/French/Belgian coproduction between Three Brothers, ARP Selection and Media International. The domestic premiere is scheduled for March 2019.
Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway is a sci-fi thriller directed by Miguel Llanso set to be completed in 2019. The film is a Spanish/Estonian coproduction between Lanzadera Films and Alasti Kino.
The Estonian/Polish coproduction Rain by Janno Jürgens will be completed in 2019. The film is an Estonian/Polish coproduction between Alasti Kino and Furia Film.
The Finnish/Estonian coproduction Maria’s Paradise / Marian Paratiisi by Zaida Bergroth will also be completed in 2019. The film is produced by Elokuvayhtio Komeetta (Finland), Stellar Film (Estonia) and Kaiho Republic (Finland).
Peeter Rebane started shooting his debut feature Firebird in September 2018. The film is produced by UK’s The Factory and No Reservation Entertainment, and it was supported by the Estonian Film Institute through the cash rebate programme.
The independent road movie Chasing Unicorns directed by Rain Rannu and produced by Tallifornia, will premiere in September 2019.
The Last Ones / Viimased directed by Veiko Õunpuu and produced by Estonia’s Homeless Bob Production and Finland’s Bufo, is currently in postproduction. The project was selected for the Work in Progress section at Les Arcs IFF in December 2018.
The Estonian/Finnish coproduction Goodbye Soviet Union / Nägemiseni NSVL by Lauri Randla is a coming-of-age story set during the collapse of the Soviet Union. The film is produced by Exitfilm (Estonia) and Bufo (Finland) with the premiere set for 2020.
DISTRIBUTION
Nearly 300 films were distributed in Estonia in 2018. The average ticket price was 5.67 EUR, representing a 2.5 percent increase from 2017. A total of 24 Estonian films premiered in 2018 including 14 feature films and 10 documentaries. Additionally, three short-film collections made it to the cinemas.
Four Estonian films made it to the top ten. Class Reunion 2: A Wedding and a Funeral directed by René Vilbre and produced by Taska Film, was the most-watched film in 2018 with over 146,500 admissions. Phantom Owl Forest directed by Anu Aun and produced by Kinosaurus Film, which ranked 3rd, premiered in December 2018 and gained more than 110,000 admissions within a month.
The Little Comrade directed by Moonika Siimets and produced by Amrion, ranked 4th with over 116,000 admissions. The Fourth Sister. Under the Clouds directed by Toomas Kirss and produced by Kartulid ja Apelsinid OÜ ranked 10th with over 66,500 admissions.
The second edition of the Estonian Film & Television Awards was held in March 2018. November directed by Rainer Sarnet and produced by Homless Bob Production, received eight awards, including best film and best director. Sulev Keedus won best screenplay for The Manslayer / The Virgin / The Shadow produced by F-Seitse (Estonia) and Era Film (Lithuania), Tõnu Kark won best actor for Green Cats directed by Andres Puustusmaa and produced by Leo Production, while Martin Männik won best editor for Terje Toomistu’s documentary Soviet Hippies produced by Kultusfilm.
EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE
There were more than 3.6 m admissions altogether, which is an all-time record, resulting in 2.75 admissions per capita. Total box office reached over 20.6 m EUR.
Domestic films racked up over 647,600 admissions, adding up to a record 17.8% of the market share. It is twice as much as in 2017. Estonian films got 16.25 % of the box office. The most successful Estonian film was Class Reunion 2: A Wedding and a Funeral by Rene Vilbre with over 146,500 admissions and over 858, 990 EUR gross.
GRANTS AND NEW LEGISLATION
The Estonian Film Institute’s budget for grants and film industry was 7,882,135 EUR in 2018. That includes the budget for the Estonia’s cash rebate system FilmEstonia. Estonian Cultural Endowment supported the film industry with 2,032,631 EUR.
In 2018, the Estonian Film Institute provided production and postproduction grants for the following feature films: The Last Ones directed by Veiko Õunpuu and produced by Homeless Bob Production and Finland’s Bufo, Erik Stoneheart directed by Ilmar Raag and produced by Amrion, Class Reunion 3: Godfathers directed by René Vilbre and produced by Taska film, Goodbye Soviet Union directed by Lauri Randla and produced by Estonia’s Exitfilm and Finland’s Bufo, Dead Woman directed by Kadri Kõusaar and produced by Meteoriit, Chasing Unicorns directed by Rain Rannu and produced by Tallifornia, Grown-ups directed by Priit Pääsuke and produced by Alexandra Film, On the Water directed by Peeter Simm and produced by Filmivabrik and O-2 directed by Margus Paju and produced by Nafta Films.
Six minority coproductions received funding from the Estonian Film Institute in 2018: Gateway 6 directed by Tanel Toom and coproduced by Allfilm, Maria’s Paradise directed by Zaida Bergroth and coproduced by Stellar Film; Undergods directed by Chino Moya and coproduced by Homeless Bob Productions, On the Way to Heaven directed by Carl Olssen and coproduced by Allfilm, Quicksand directed by Margot Schaap and coproduced by Homeless Bob Productions and Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway directed by Miguel Llanso and coproduced by Alasti Kino.
In 2018, the budget of Estonia’s cash rebate programme FilmEstonia reached over 2 m EUR. It is an increase of more than 50% compared to 2017. FilmEstonia supports feature films, documentaries, high-end TV dramas and animated films, and it offers up to 30% support for international coproductions.
Estonia’s cash rebate system supported seven projects with the amount of 2,111,067 EUR in 2018. Undergods by Chino Moya received 80,949 EUR, the Swedish TV-series Hamilton, coproduced by Estonia’s Allfilm, received 641,474 EUR, Gateway 6 directed by Tanel Toom and coproduced by Allfilm, received 308,212 EUR, Maria’s Paradise directed by Maria Bergroth and coproduced by Estonia’s Stellar Film, received 219,995 EUR, All the Sins directed by Mika Ronkainen and coproduced by Taska Film, received 25,813 EUR, Firebird by Peeter Rebane, produced by UK’s The Factory and No Reservation Entertainment, received 455,562 EUR, and Helene directed by Antti Jokinen and coproduced by Estonia’s Stellar Film, received 379,062 EUR.
In 2018, Enterprise Estonia supported two audio-visual projects with a total of 4,293,420 EUR, to be spent within three years. The VR-centre set in the historic Noblessner quarter received 2,390,300 EUR and the Interactive WOW! Center in Kuressaare, which will also have a 4D 
cinema, received 1,903,120 EUR.
TV
There are three main TV broadcasters in Estonia. The Estonian Public Broadcasting, which operates ETV, ETV2, and the Russian-language ETV+. The two leading commercial broadcasters are Kanal2 and Viasat-owned TV3.
The 10-part TV drama series The Bank / Pank, produced by Itamambuca, aired in 2018. This 1.5 m EUR production received 781,000 EUR from the Estonian Film Institute. The Bank was sold to MHz Networks to air in North America in October 2018.
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
Phone: +372 646 4299
Fax: +372 646 4299
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Contact: Rao Heidmets
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: 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
Phone +372 5343 6863
www.filmestonia.eu
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Contact: Karin Reinberg-Šestakov
ESTONIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS ESC
www.esc.edicypages.com/et
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 ASSOCIATION OF FILM JOURNALISTS
Narva mnt 11e, Tallinn 10151
Phone: +372 669 8210
Fax: +372 669 8154
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: Maria Mang
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 Aurelia Aasa (2019)
Sources: Estonian Film Institute, Cultural Endowment of Estonia
