Estonian film is trying to come out of the margins

Text: Tiina Malinen
Translation: Suvi Asikainen

Riho Unti's film Hing Sees was awarded a Diploma of Merit at the Tampere Film Festival in 2003. The film is about a boy who wants a tin soldier to have a soul. Photo: Tampere Film Festival Archive.

How many Estonian films have you seen? I have seen only one. Am I blind and deaf, or is it so that we simply do not get to see Estonian films in Finland?

Tapio Mäkeläinen, Cultural Secretary for the Tuglas Society supporting Estonian culture, agrees with this.

- We do see awfully few Estonian films here in Finland.

Mäkeläinen states that a lot of good quality films are made in Estonia, especially when you consider how small the country is in terms of population. Estonian animation is world-famous, and "the Estonian school" has become a concept.

Mäkeläinen wonders why YLE (the Finnish Broadcasting Company), for example, does not acquire more films from the sister nation.

Erkki Astala, the head of the joint productions' unit at YLE, estimates that two or three feature films are made in Estonia per year. On average, YLE broadcasts one of these films, and Astala considers that this is a good ratio.

- We are not going to see all Estonian films in Finland in the future. It's the same, for example, with Swedish films.

Astala says that, in recent years, the film production in Estonia has grown due to increased public funding.

- The Estonian film has got back to its feet.

A good film will always find an audience

Astala states that YLE participates in the making of many new Estonian films. Nimed marmortahvlil ("Names on the marble tablet") was the first joint production film to be completed. The film is about the Estonian War of Independence, and it was broadcasted by YLE at the turn of the year. In the future, other films will also be broadcasted.

"Names on the marble tablet" was a huge success in Estonia. Therefore, Mäkeläinen finds it silly that there was only one copy of the film in distribution in Finland.

- Apparently, it was assumed that the film would not be commercially successful in Finland. It was hardly promoted at all.

Mäkeläinen regrets that the smaller countries suffer from the dominance of the bigger countries, although, for instance, Hungarian and Czech films are known to be of good quality. He points an accusing finger on the people who decide about these things.

- It's not a question of viewers, because a good film will always find an audience. It is simply easy to buy American films.

The importance of film festivals, according to Mäkelä, lies in the fact that people get to see films from the margins.

Astala is more sceptical.

- It is clear that the Estonian film has viewers, although the audiences may be small. However, we want to serve small audiences as well.

Estonian films worth watching (FN 10.3.2005)