BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Imax secures first Baltic region theater deal in Europe

Private equity player Saturn Investments will install a giant screen in the historic Kosmos Cinema in Tallinn, Estonia.

TORONTO - Imax has its first Baltic-region theater after private equity investor Saturn Investments inked a deal to install a large-format screen in the historic Kosmos Cinema in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia.

The agreement was unveiled by former Paramount Pictures International exec Andrew Cripps, who joined the giant screen exhibitor last year as president, Imax EMEA, to grow its global network.

“Today’s agreement is part of our broader expansion strategy in Europe to seed untapped markets and set the stage for further growth,” Cripps said in a statement Tuesday.

Tatyana Tolstaya, president of Saturn Investments, said the Imax screen would anchor the Kosmos Cinema as her group looked to “re-invigorate” the moviegoing experience in Estonia.

Tallinn Music Week 2013 - Live in Tallinn

Tallinn is a sweet, gentile town on the outskirts of Europe. It's far enough removed from Western Europe that is has avoided a great deal of terrible Occidental architecture and between the old town and the old Soviet warehouses has enough going on to drown out the occasional billboard. And when Sunday comes it is perfectly serene.

In a restaurant drinking Georgian wine - no, me neither, but it's good - a group of bald fat men in puffer jackets walk in. The type you only really see at Europa League matches walk in. Big thick eyebrows, skinheads with little man bag – but instead of football chants its Georgian folk and a male voice choir. So when one sits down next to me I ask if he knows who he's just performed to.

He doesn't and I point to Peter Jenner Pink Floyd's manager who's sitting across the room. That the man has seen every Floyd show and has just applauded my new friend. "Oh, I love Pink Floyd, they're my favourite band." The singing continues and Mari Kalkun who's sat opposite encourages some oratory folk songs. And the men, who are not naturally music-minded, slowly join in. It's a moment of pure, easy music where the synthetics of a conference are lost in the snowstorm outside.

Eesti Laul : 5 more acts proceed to the final - line up completed

The 2nd semi-final of Eesti Laul 2013, the Estonian Song Contest, has been concluded and 5 more acts have qualified for the grand final that will take place on 2 March, in Nokia Concert Hall in Tallinn, raising the finalists up to 10.

These are the  last 5 finalists, watch the performances by clicking on the title:

• Liisi Koikson & Söörömöö - Üle vee
• Birgit Õigemeel - Et uus saaks alguse
• Rasmus Rändvee & Facelift Deer - Dance
• Rolf Roosalu - With U
• Põhja-Tallinn - Meil on aega veel

You can listen to the songs and also read the lyrics here.

You can check out all about the 1st Estonian semi-final here.

The grand final of Eesti Laul 2013, will take place next Saturday, 2 March.

Estonia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 and won the contest once in 2001 with the song Everybody by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton.

Stay tuned with esctoday.com to know all about this year's Estonian Song Contest grand final.

Five acts through to final in Estonia

"Varied" is a good word to describe tonights Semi-Final of the Estonian national selection, Eesti Laul 2013. Most genres were represented in what was a very well-produced show by broadcaster ERR. Of the 10 great songs in tonight's show, only five qualified to the final. These were: Grete Paia, Kõrsikud, Teele & Tuuli & Ula, Winny Puhh and Elina Born.

The result was formed by a combined jury and televote, where 17,000 votes were received from the Estonian public.

Image gallery: Eesti Laul 2013: First Semi-Final Check out the Full gallery

The acts

How Estonia preserved its culture

Recently, my wife, Allyson, and I landed in Estonia, a tiny, little-known nation tucked away in the northeast corner of Europe just south of Finland. Although my parents were Estonian, I had never visited before. Now, I was seeking my roots. For the first day we walked in Tallinn’s Old Town, captivated by one of Europe’s most beautiful capitals with church spires, thick battlements, towers and narrow cobblestone streets. I was thrilled to hear the Estonian language and see signs in Estonian.

Old Town is known for its well-preserved and authentic Hanseatic architecture.

The next day, a relative pointed to a stately Gothic house. “That was the former KGB headquarters,” she said. “This street was the most feared place in the city.” It was a reminder that most of Estonia’s history has been spent under the heel of invaders.

Estonia has a Nordic culture and its language is similar to Finnish. Estonians are educated and enjoy music, literature, and nature. But with a small population (about 1.3 million) situated in a much-coveted location, the country has seen many battles and conquests. The ruins of castles and fortresses are everywhere. Until 1991, the nation enjoyed freedom only between 1920 and 1940.

Ilves-Krugman spat to be turned into ‘Financial Opera’

Last year’s public spat between Estonia’s President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and economist Paul Krugman will be transformed into a short operatic work based on the disagreement on fiscal issues between the two men.

In a blog in June 2012, Mr. Krugman questioned the assertion Estonia was booming and described the country as “a poster child for austerity defenders,” which hadn’t fully recovered from the global financial crisis. The post got a fierce response from Mr. Ilves, who posted angrily on Twitter in defense of Estonia, which enjoyed a budget surplus.

Among others, he said: “Let’s write about something we know nothing about & be smug, overbearing & patronizing.” One tweet included a profanity to say people could get away with insulting “East Europeans,” whose “English is bad” and who “won’t respond and actually do what they’ve agreed to and reelect governments that are responsible.”

Composer Eugene Birman and journalist Scott Diel found inspiration in the quarrel. The operating work they’re creating will be titled “Nostra Culpa,” Latin for “Our fault”, which Mr. Ilves used in an ironic admission to being one of “dumb and silly East Europeans.”

11/01/2013 : "Big City Fashion party" @ Casablanca, Roseni 9, Tallinn

"Big City - Fashion Party" on mõeldud külalistele, keda ei huvita mitte tavalised ööklubid, vaid kes on orienteeritud kõrgematasemelistele koosviibimistele. Nendele klientidele pakumegi võimalust osaleda üritusel "Big City". Kuna 13.jaanuar on vene vana kalendri järgi aastavahetus, siis toimub üritus vene stiilis.

Suurepärase atmosfääri loomiseks on kavas moeshow, mille käigus demonstreeritakse Itaalia moekultusfirma "LorMar" aluspesu, mille toodang on kättesaadav vaid Stockmanni kaubamajas ja Kaubamajas. ...

Lisaks kutsume üritusele Eestimaa parimad  Go-Go tüdrukud, kelle show taustal tutvustatakse ja pakutakse baarides vaid kõrgekvaliteedilist alkoholi  "Fashion Vodka". Valitud suupisted on saadaval VIP laudadel, mille valmistab külalistele "Sushi Panda" ja meie sõbralik ning professionaalne meeskond on teie teeninduses ja täiendab olemasolevat atmosfääri. Külalistel on võimalik tellida endale ka vesipiipe, mille toob teieni "Grand Shisha". Sisenemine naistele alates 18.eluaastast, meestele alates 21. eluaastast.

VIP laud 4-inimesele - 150 EUR
Sisaldab: sushivalik 50tk. , Fashion Vodka 0.7, Martini Asti - 1 pudel, AURA mahl - 1 l.
Ettetellimusel vesipiip puuviljadega 25 EUR

...........

Big City-Fashion party is a unique event that is dedicated to celebrate the New Year in the old style.

Big city offers you the best modern dance music, go-go dancers in sexy Russian costumes, presentation fashion underware clothes from Italian firm LorMar, great gifts from online store DonJuar.ee, and many more.

At the entrance, each guest will be able to enjoy a glass of champagne "Odessa". When ordering, vip tables, guests get a form of sushi from Sushi Panda and fruit basket. Also all the vip tables includes a bottle of champagne and a CD with music palyed at the event.

Estonia's Demons attacks casino gambling with a familiar fervour : EU Film Festival

Demons

Starring Tambet Tuisk, Ain Lutsepp, and Ene Jarvis. In Estonian with English subtitles.

Estonia has only really had gambling, in the sense that North Americans experience it, for about 17 years. Lotteries and scratch tickets, etcetera, are controlled by the republic's post-Soviet government and the proceeds are distributed to charities, amateur sports, health, education, and the like.

Casinos have existed for a shorter time, and many of them have gone under in recent years, a decline attributed to the general worldwide financial crisis of the past several years. But if many more films like Demons are produced in this small Baltic member of the European Union, casino attendance might plunge even more.

Demons is the first feature by director Ain Maeots, and it would be simple to say his lack of experience shows, but that would probably be more of a reaction to the seemingly naïve fervour with which he attacks the very notion of gambling.

The film hangs on the decline of three dissimilar people caught up in the madness of compulsive gambling after being innocently introduced to the lures of a big-city casino.

Estonian festival screening Iranian films

TEHRAN - Two Iranian films are competing at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia.

“The Last Step”, Ali Mosaffa’s drama about a movie superstar and the social drama “Modest Reception” by Mani Haqiqi will be screened at the festival, which is currently underway in the Estonian seaport.

In addition, the French-Japanese joint production “Like Someone in Love” directed by the world-renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami also is competing in the event, which runs until November 28.

The festival is a unique event combining a feature film festival with sub-festivals for animated and children’s films.

Russian films on display at Tallinn film festival

The annual Black Nights Film Festival has opened in Estonia’s capital Tallinn.

The festival which features films from the northern and Baltic countries is the largest in the region.

According to the forum’s press secretary Olga Grigorieva, Russia is presenting a large number of productions, including Treason by Kirill Serebrennikov, The Daughter by Alexander Kasatkin, I Also Want to by Alexei Balabanov, Home by Oleg Pogodin, and the comedy Kokoko by Avdotya Smirnova.

Twenty films have been selected for the competition program out of the 270 presented.

The festival will last until November 28th

Paavo Järvi decorated with French Cultural Order

Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi has been awarded the French cultural title Commandeur de l´Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Järvi received the award in Paris yesterday from the French minister of culture, Aurélie Filippetti. The conductor was recognized for his part in developing Estonian-French relations during the 2011 Estonian culture festival "Estonie tonique."

Järvi has served as the chief conductor and musical director of the Orchestre de Paris since 2010. He is the latest to be recognized by the French government for "Estonie tonique." Others have included composer Helena Tulve, Vox Clamantis art director Jaan-Eik Tulve, filmmaker Ilmar Raag and producer Lembit Peterson.

Black Nights Film Festival unveils EurAsia competition line-up

Halima’s Path, a Balkan co-production dealing with the painful recent history of Bosnia, has its international premiere at Black Nights in Tallinn. The Norwegian love story Uskyld / All That Matter is Past has premiered just a few weeks before the Black Nights start on 12th November. Three films nominated for foreign film Oscar – the hilarious political satire Mushrooming from Estonia, Keep Smiling from Georgia and Blancanieves from Spain - were selected for the programme even before their Oscar nominations were made public. For the Indian film The Stagnant the Black Nights programme is the premiere screening in Europe.

Most films on the programme have premiered in recent weeks and months and have their regional premieres at the Black Nights. There are five debuts among the competition films.

Last year’s grand prix was awarded to the Chinese director Ann Hui who won the hearts of the jury with a moving drama „Simple life“.

Cold War fashion exhibited in Tallinn

TALLINN - Fashion has often been considered as multi-dimensional and international.  People follow the brands to prove their social status and belonging to a specific period of time, demanding improved patterns of behavior and appearance. The Kumu Museum in Tallinn provides an opportunity to travel back to Soviet Estonia and explore how fashion let women become acquainted with the world behind the Iron Curtain. The exhibition “Fashion and the Cold War” introduces trends from the 1950s to the 1970s, bringing visitors as close as possible to this part of Estonian culture.

Soviet fashion was dual – mediating the West to the East and presenting the East to the West, it actually made the Iron Curtain useless. “In the East-West face-off, the intimate nature of fashion produced surprising results – fashion can be considered to be the most successful border crosser of the Cold War,” the exhibition curator Eha Komissarov notes. “All great wars change clothing habits and reform fashion. The Cold War, which lasted for 50 years, was very closely related to fashion because, along with the arms race, a relentless economic battle was fought between the West and the East.

The systems made the greatest efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to improve their images by increasing the living standards of their countries and people.” Thus, combining politics and fashion, the Soviet system ensured that its haute couture aspired to the excellence and development in the field, and Tallinn Fashion House’s designers and fashion magazine Siluett proved to be a good example of the combination.

Estonian theatres were visited for over a million times in 2012

Estonian theatres were visited for over a million times in 2011, the book "Estonian Theatre Statistics 2011" by the Estonian Theatre Agency that will be presented on Wednesday indicates, LETA/Public Broadcasting reports.

The total number of visits to the 34 Estonian performance institutions was last year 1,008,305. Vanemuine, national opera theatre Estonia and the Estonian Drama Theatre had the largest amount of audience.

In 2007, the number of audience of Estonian theatres exceeded a million for the first time after Estonia restoring independence. During the economic recession, the number fell to 870,000.

Drama performances formed 61% of the new performances of the year last year; musical and dance performance formed around a tenth each. Theatre visited 126 Estonian towns and villages during the year; 127 performances were made outside Estonia.

Juhan Tere

Estonia meets France at Switzerland film festival

LOCARNO - French actress Jeanne Moreau lights up the big screen at the Locarno Film Festival Saturday in a film inspired by a story of friendship between two Estonian women in Paris.

Estonian filmmaker Ilmar Raag based “An Estonian in Paris” on the story of his mother, who came to the French capital in the 1990s to look after a suicidal woman.

Raag explained: “I was studying in Paris at the time and I heard about an elderly Estonian women living there who had made two suicide attempts. Someone needed to be found to look after her and I thought of my mother.”

Once in Paris, his mother, Anne, found her freedom and ended up remarrying at the age of 56, “happy like never before,” Raag said.

Some 300 Estonians lived in Paris in the 1990s — now the population numbers around 1,000 and includes a large number of artists of all kinds.

Chickens lead culture movement

TALLINN - The so-called Culture Chicken project - live hens living in Tallinn and reminding city dwellers about the importance and preservation of nature, and also holding to an idea from Tallinn’s city planning - has moved to a coastal area around the Cultural hub (Kultuurikatel) in Tallinn, reports Kultuurikatel.ee. The area opened up to residents and visitors in 2011 due to the Culture Capital title. Now young and creative people are trying to maximize the area’s potential.

The Culture Chicken is a unique installation created by young architects that stands out from the rough industrial landscape. On the one hand, it invites city dwellers to visit the chickens and promotes keeping chickens in the city; on the other hand, it also aims to draw attention to the city planning process in general, and in the area around Kultuurikatel in particular, as well as to the ‘egg panic.’

For Tallinn Creative Hub the Culture Chicken is another example of implementing the Free City mind-set of using public space. The hen house is an important part of the social life of the garden.

The chickens have a separate area and a shed. Their garden consists of metal pyramids that create a functional unity between the garden and shed. The pyramids are used to attach a net around the garden as well as to separate different areas with different soil. Visitors can sit nearby and watch the chickens. The organizers hope that the chickens will settle in and start laying eggs that can be used in catering, for cooking scrambled eggs and pastry.

A festival called Love

TARTU- TARTuFF, the annual celebration of film in Tartu, once again brings cinematic gems to the city, most of them with the bargain price of 0 euros.
Now a popular fixture in the Estonian university town, the Tartu Love Film Festival (tARTuFF) is set to screen a number of intriguing features and documentaries, from Aug. 6 - 11. There’ll be 12 feature films screening for free in the Town Hall Square, whilst the Athena Center will be screening documentaries at 2 euros a ticket.

After a screening of Georges Melies’ 1915 film “A Trip to the Moon” (one of the most influential films of all time made by one of the pioneers of cinema), the festival will open with “Vuosaari” (“Naked Harbor”). This Finnish film from director Aku Louhimies – who directed the dour festival hit “Frozen Land” – is a modern love story. Following the lives of a group of people in the suburb of Vuosaari, it’s an episodic piece about the need to be loved and feel a part of life - all set to a Robbie Williams soundtrack. It’s certainly an eclectic film with lots going on, and Louhimies is a consistently interesting filmmaker ensuring the film will certainly provide an appropriate opener for a festival filled with love. Louhimies will be in attendance alongside Estonian actress and singer Lenna Kuurmaa.

There’s more love in the brilliantly fun and quirky “Beginners,” which stars Ewan McGregor as a man dealing with the loss of his father whilst tentatively beginning a new relationship. This is a whimsical film, full of asides and funny jokes alongside some more serious points about life in the 21st century. McGregor is great, but Christopher Plummer deservedly won an Oscar as the father who decides to come out despite being in his 70s. It’s a genuine and joyful film and those who enjoy their American independent cinema will find this something of an infectiously fun and sometimes moving affair.

Hanseatic Days bring rare medieval toys to town

The Tartu Toy Museum is highlighting games from the Hanseatic period in the run-up to the city's annual three-day festival commemorating medieval trading.

A special exhibit of medieval games and toys opened at the museum yesterday and will run just five days.

The museum's hands-on play room will host weaving and ribbon plaiting activities. In the gallery, children and adults can roll dice and learn the rules of old board games, ERR radio reported.

After the festival opens tomorrow, the area in front of the museum on Lutsu tänav will become "Kids' City" while toy construction workshops take place in the gallery.

The nearby Teatri Kodu theatrical puppet museum will show off a 700-year-old home, a rare hypocaust system from the 14th century and various archeological finds.

The July 20-22 Hanseatic Days festival will feature different thematic areas, or "cities," new ones this year being Science City on Toome Hill and Art City on the banks of the Emajõgi.

The Hanseatic fair with artisans and artists will begin on Saturday morning.

The Tartu Triathlon on July 21-22 is also taking place in conjunction with the festival this year.

Kristopher Rikken

When distances aren't exact on the culture "Kilometer"

! Who goes to Estonia?Well, our roaming correspondent John Walton does and, all this week, he's been filling us in on what's up way up there in this world capital on the Baltic Sea.

It's almost time, sniff sniff, to leave Tallinn, and we're kind of heartbroken. We've come to love this tiny city in the far north, but before we go, let's go for a walk along the fascinating Kultuurikilometer—Tallinn's 2.6km-long Culture Kilometer, a walking/biking path that links up a set of nifty things to see and do towards the northwest end of the city center.

Most of the area was a military restricted zone during the Soviet period, since it was a strategically important area on the Baltic Sea. Since Tallinn was European City of Culture in 2011, there's all kinds of awesome stuff scattered along the Culture Kilometer, from murals to art exhibits to random cafés and hipster hangouts.

Part of the joy is just walking westwards from the centre of town and happening across things, but we found the Patarei prison particularly fascinating, mostly because it hasn't been staged into a museum. It pretty much looks as it did in Soviet times, and even on a warm summer's day (for Tallinn, of course) it's grim and cold inside.

Special note to Instagrammers, especially fans of the Earlybird filter: don't miss the medical wing, which has all kinds of crazy stuff spilling out of rooms. Like old broken Cyrillic typewriters.

Double-edged sword found in Salme ship burial site

Among the latest finds at the ancient ship burial site in Salme, Saaremaa, archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved double-edged sword.

“We have discovered typical Salme materials from here, such as swords, rivets, arrowheads, a sheath for a whetstone, and a bunch of modern trash that has been mixed in with the ship's materials,” Ragnar Saag, a master's student of the University of Tartu who led Tuesday's excavation, told ERR radio.

"I think the most double-edged sword is probably the most remarkable artifact that we have found. It is in one piece with a hilt intact, and it provides for good research,” Saag said.

The sword was still partially buried on Tuesday morning, but Saag said he expected to finish digging it out by the evening. Fragments from four other swords have also been found.

Experts also found shields, which they believe were used to cover the entire boat grave. Archaeologists have found dog bones with signs that the dogs were killed before they were buried with their masters.

Several warships have been found in the island village, the oldest dating back to the year 750.

Ott Tammik