Best Estonian documentary movies

A poetic and atypical nature film about the various inhabitants of an old-growth forest, on the ground, in the air and in the water. There's no commentary, only the rich, almost palpable sounds of the forest and the magical situations captured by the camera. Although we might sometimes be puzzled as to what's actually happening a mating ritual or the start of a fight? the lack of explanation leaves space for us to associate freely and simply experience the images. The film offers a close-up view of a wide range of creatures such as the insect that appears out of the melting snow, gradually begins to move and impatiently waits until all its legs are free so it can fly away. The scale of the portraits is sometimes grand and at other times modest, but always filmed with precision, whether in daylight or at night. Time doesn't seem to matter in this extraordinary piece of slow cinema.

Not to mention the story of the Estonian unit Estcoy-8, which suffered the biggest losses in the history of Estonian foreign missions in Afghanistan.

Three months before elections the president of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenka claimed: "You have no other choice, you will vote for me!" We were trying to figure out how did it happen that 83% of the population voted for Lukashenka? The film tracks the opposition struggle during few post-election days. The movie shows the falsehood of the official propaganda and the ambiguous, sometimes polar, attitude of simple people. Assembling together all the debris of the opinions, comparing different historical events, jeering at dictator's arrogance and manners, admiring courage and dedication of the young generation, the feature approaches the understanding of what is really going on in the middle of Europe. And one more thing -the director's sarcastic comment throughout the film does not make you bored!

Maria Avdjushko’s documentary Good People offers a heartfelt look into the work of the Hille Tänavsuu Cancer Treatment Foundation “The Gift of Life” – and the people it helps. In a world where terminal diagnoses often come with no options, this film introduces us to patients who refuse to give up, their loved ones, and the dedicated volunteers and donors who make life-saving treatments possible. Through honest and emotional testimonies, we see the very real impact of hope, community, and care. Over ten years, the foundation has become an essential part of Estonia’s healthcare landscape. Good People is a tribute to those who help others carry on – a moving story about resilience, compassion, and the value of every single day.

Utopian ideals fall victim to the foibles of human nature in this feature documentary from Estonian director Margit Lillak.

Documentary about the work of the Estonian cartoonist and animation director Priit Pärn

Vitaly Mansky’s intimate and insightful new documentary finds him crisscrossing Ukraine in the wake of the Maidan uprising, which has left his relatives scattered on both sides of a highly charged and dizzyingly complex political situation.

12-year-old Shahad is studying at Tartu Descartes School. The film looks at the girl's everyday life, which is not quite everyday. The Shahadi family fled Syria six years ago. Four years ago, they arrived here, in their new home. How are they?

A different history of the Cold War: how Estonians under Soviet tyranny began to feel the breeze of freedom when a group of anonymous dreamers successfully used improbable methods to capture the Finnish television signal, a window into Western popular culture, brave but harmless warriors who helped change the fate of an entire nation.

Documentary covering three years in the life of composer Arvo Pärt.

Fred Jüssi has built his life at the crossroads between nature and culture. He is a true philosopher of the outdoors who has given deep consideration to the fundamental questions of being human. This film is about fruitful idling. A hymn for living slowly. As Fred Jüssi puts it: sometimes you just have to be sinfully slothful, and all by yourself.

Documentary about Leelo Tungal.

It is the year 2020. Disputes over Rail Baltic divide Estonia in two. On one side, there are people who say they want to take the train to Berlin or Riga. They say that the train is more environmentally friendly and that Estonia needs this railway. On the other side are people who say that the railway destroys nature, that the engineers have thought of nothing but how to draw the straightest possible line for the tracks. Artist Hanna Samoson attaches cameras to her body and steps into the bush. For the next 12 days, she walks through pristine swamps, deep ditches and people's backyards to understand the world that lies in the future railway corridor. On her journey, she meets the soul of Estonian people.

Restoration of independence was a team sport, where the team of the small Republic of Estonia defeated the great Soviet Union. What role did Ülo Nugis play in our national team? A man whose hammer blow on August 20, 1991 symbolizes Estonia's liberation from Soviet occupation.

Kelly Sildaru, the freestyle prodigy, tells the story of her decade of suffering in order to recover and give a voice to those who are still victimized.

A feature documentary about five people navigating the paradoxes of diet culture. While promises of happiness, desirability and perfection are irresistible, joy and contentment remain out of reach. Personal stories from vastly different backgrounds quickly merge into a shockingly similar experience of battling one’s body. Self-starvation and compulsive exercise bring temporary satisfaction, only to be replaced with binging and purging soon after. Surprisingly, none of it has much to do with food.

From time to time, Mephistopheles manifests himself to the Estonian people through Linnar Priimägi. The released energy gives birth to chaos. Manfred Vainokivi tries his hardest to portray the one who causes it. Unsuccessfully, of course. Because even the largest letters are unreadable in twilight, as Goethe said. And there is a lot of twilight now. At least according to Linnar.

Nestled on the coast of the Baltic Sea is Estonia - a small yet distinctive country. This is a place where cutting edge digital solutions stand side by side with intact nature. The rich past reflects in its diverse architecture and local traditions that have been passed down to generations today. Explore the striking contrasts and vibrant colors that define Estonia from above.

A documentary following an Estonian fashion designer Reet Aus on a global tour to explore the origin process and the environmental footprints of today's fast paced fashion industry. On the road the mission takes an unexpected turn towards trying to introduce her "upcycling" inspired product line to some of the major fashion retailers to increase awareness of the massive resource waste built into the current product lifecycle.

The forest industry, the State Forest Management Centre (RMK) and natural scientists who have participated in the forest debate are brought in front of the camera for the first time, in order to gain clarity about what has happened to Estonian forests and what legacy we will leave for future generations. The nature film, shot in more than 60 different places in Estonia, opens the viewer to the current state of Estonian forests and shows how political decisions have affected the use of our common property.

Pille, whose last surviving close relative is her daughter living in Finland, attempts to farm sheep alone while defying old age. Felix is worried about bees. Beehives remain empty, bee colonies are dying out, queens are not laying enough eggs for the new generations to hatch. Fields are being poisoned and primaeval forests are being clear-cut. Father Agaton serves small local Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church congregations, performs blessings, and administers Communion. The Estonian Defence League member Hellat and his daughter Kateriina look for silver, which is supposedly buried in the ground.

Composer and pianist Rein Rannap’s contribution to Estonian music is priceless, but his personality is very complex and contradictory. In numerous TV shows, viewers have met exactly the Rannap that he chooses to show them at that very moment.

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

A sensitive and intimate portrait of Ivanna, a nomadic reindeer herder in the Russian Arctic and mother of five small kids. Ivanna is forced to leave the traditional way of life and emigrate to the city, following her own dreams, due to the quickly deteriorating conditions of life in the tundra. We follow her life for several years.

A story of a mother and her son and a race against a tortoise where you always lose.

A young woman takes on an audacious human experiment while testing the human limit of consuming culture and asking whether art has the power to change a life.

The hippie movement that captivated hundreds of thousands of young people in the West had a profound impact on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Within the Soviet system, a colorful crowd of artists, musicians, freaks, vagabonds and other long-haired drop-outs created their own system, which connected those who believed in peace, love, and freedom for their bodies and souls. More than 40 years later, a group of eccentric hippies from Estonia take a road trip to Moscow where the hippies still gather annually on the 1st of June for celebration that is related to the tragic event in 1971, when thousands of Soviet hippies were arrested by the KGB. The journey through time and dimensions goes deep into the psychedelic underground world in which these people strived for freedom.

The film is using episodes filmed mainly at the Kremlin, Soviet Union's headquarters which enable to have a glance to world's most well-known political kitchen.

Ruth divulges the history of a precious artifact: a medallion that signifies her family’s struggles, successes, and hopes for the future.

The Gold Spinners is a story about the birth, glory, and disappearance of a peculiar, invisible, and mighty business empire, the film studio Eesti Reklaamfilm, the only company producing commercials in the Soviet Union.

“Sal-Saller: This Is What Makes Us Alive” dives into the personal and creative journey of Hendrik Sal-Saller, the iconic frontman of Smilers. Through rare archival footage, candid interviews, and behind-the-scenes stories, the film paints a heartfelt portrait of a man whose music has united generations. From his early struggles in Finland to the height of Smilers’ fame, the documentary explores the highs, lows, and unwavering dedication of a true cultural legend. Featuring intimate insights into his personal life and creative process, this is a story not just about music but about the resilience of the human spirit.

To understand the international phenomenon of Uku Kuut means to understand the ability of different musical niches, sub-genres and hidden creative explosions to not only exist, but flourish, completely independently of the mainstream. Kuut’s life, mothered by Maryn E.Coote (who you may know as the Estonian jazz diva Marju Kuut), took him from the Soviet Union to a refuge in Sweden, music studios in Los Angeles, back to a re-independent Estonia and later, fighting ALS, to loudspeakers all around the world.

On the Eastern border of the European Union, on the River Narva, separating Estonia and Russia, lies Crow Island. The Krenholm Manufacturing Company founded on that island in 1857 was closed down for good in 2010. There is not a single family in Narva that has not been affected by the bankruptcy of the textile factory. Unemployed men, homeless children, street beggars, drug addicts, thieves—these are the people that live in this Russian-speaking Estonian town. It is like a bad dream. Where can they find salvation? Soviet nostalgia dies hard in this town, as does rage caused by wasted lives. How can they build new lives from these ruins? Is it possible to do the impossible?

Portrait of the Catalan chef Albert Adrià, brother of the world-renowned chef Ferran Adrià, an emerging figure in the world of Spanish haute cuisine, with his own voice, far from the shadow of his brother.

Jaan Tootsen’s documentary follows President Toomas Hendrik Ilves in the last year and a half of his term in office – as he grapples with the complexities of world politics and his private life. Tootsen’s keen camera eye follows Ilves at his most difficult moments, showing no mercy, but creating a gripping, rather harsh and at the same time very human portrait of the President.

"Shaman" was filmed on July the 16th, 1977 in the northernmost corner of Eurasia, on the Taymyr Peninsula, at the Avam river, concurrently with the shooting of the documentary "The Winds of the Milky Way". The Nganasan Shaman Demnime (1913-1980) was 64 years old at the time. The documentary about Demnime's incarnation ritual was completed 20 years later. The fifth and final documentary in Lennart Meri's "Encyclopaedia Cinematographica Gentium Fenno - Uricarum" series.

A report of the White Flower Day held on Tartu Town Hall Square in May 1913. White Flower Day is a charitable action in favour of people who suffer from tuberculosis.

Yekaterinburg, Russia, is a microcosm of absurdity: debutante balls and Tsar Nicholas tributes cling to an imperial past, while a handful of dissidents try to revive communist and constitutional myths. Shot over four years, careful cameras reveal Putin’s “modern” Russia.

A documentary with a mystical-criminal air about a man who studies the story of a photographer from the Estonian diaspora in Canada who drowned 24 years ago. A branching, strange network of predestination is brutally turning against the researcher. The film is composed of material left behind by him.

An anthology of one-minute films created by 51 international filmmakers on the theme of the death of cinema. Intended as an ode to 35mm, the film was screened one time only on a purpose-built 20x12 meter public cinema screen in the Port of Tallinn, Estonia, on 22 December 2011. A special projector was constructed for the event which allowed the actual filmstrip to be burnt at the same time as the film was shown.

The oak tree in Seja is roughly 700 years old. Around this monumental tree, the peaceful and repetitive life goes on in the village, a group of houses in the middle of the forest. It is an almost unworldly existence in a condition of absolute simplicity where people are grateful for a hot cup of coffee and a good potato harvest.

Its title translating to "Illusion of Safety", this documentary interviews several survivors from M/S Estonia.

More than 300 years ago, a church reform was carried out in Russia, and those who resisted it have been persecuted for centuries. People who call themselves Old Believers saved themselves from destruction and violence by fleeing to the outskirts of the country. Some of them ended up on the west bank of Peipus. Next to the Estonians, they have endured everything that has happened to our country, all while still preserving their faith, unique culture and way of life. For three centuries they have been ready for the coming end of the world. Each day has been lived as if the next one might not arrive.

The children's world includes as much brutality as the world of adults. Filmmakers Andres Maimik and Jaak Kilmi study the cases of the following kids: Kätlin, Märt, Marek and Indrek. All of them have experienced more violence in their own way than most of the kids of their age. The film brings the viewer to a sad journey to the hidden and traumatic zone in society. The filmmakers try to talk to the children, parents and teachers about the subjects that are often referred to only in abstract ways.

Follow up film to "Call-girl´s Christmas" captured four years prior by Artur Talvik and Rein Kotov. Kerstin, a prostitute portrayed in a blatantly natural-poetic documentary by Talvik-Kotov, has meanwhile been in prison for theft, then released and again called in front of the camera. A new person, perhaps, but still as skilled a manipulator of men as ever.

An up-close look into the life of the often misunderstood movie director Grigori Kromanov through the lens of old friends and colleagues.

Nelli, a retired former village postman, rides a bicycle along her old postal route through the fading villages of Southern Estonia.

Kääriku Farm in Viljandi County is home to one of the cornerstones of Estonian textile art. Together with her elderly mother Valda Rau, the esteemed textile artist and lecturer Anu Raud reflects on life and death.

August had lived with his wife for 42 years, but she died of a stroke. August starts choosing a new wife. It so happens that August doesn't find a wife.

The documentary observes two matriarchs - Tiina Jantson governs the beauty contest empire in Estonia; Anne Eenpanu leads the activities of "Home Daughters" - a girls' corps of Estonian Defence League. The film's main characters and their activities are very different. Whereas Anne's pedagogical approach is almost totally based on the love for fatherland then Tiina spends her days in the glitter of show business. However, there are some similiarities in their lives. The documentary studies the values, gender roles and moral norms in Estonia at the beginning of 21st century.

Uku Masing (11.08.1909-25.04.1985, born in Raikküla parish, Lipa village) was a theologian, Orientalist, philosopher, poet, folklorist and ethnologist. The residents of Masing's home village recall their memories about Uku Masing and his family.

The film portrays five different Estonian female politicians: Minister of Culture Signe Kivi, businesswoman Terje Aru, former Miss Estonia Kristiina Heinmets, strike movement leader Kadi Pärnits, and the grand old lady of Estonian women's politics, Marju Lauristin. All of them have been in the media spotlight, and many have fallen victim to it due to their openness. How can a woman assert herself in a post-communist society? What opportunities do women have to succeed in politics within a traditionally patriarchal system? Through the actions of these five protagonists, the hidden world of Estonian politics unfolds—both in its glamour and its horror.

Veteran actors from the 3 Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - gather at a castle in Latvia to receive awards for their roles as Nazi villains in propagandist Soviet war films. They reminisce about the films that made them famous throughout the USSR, but also stigmatized the Baltic countries as Nazi sympathizers in the eyes of many Russians - a misconception that is nowadays exploited by the Russian media, desperate to label the Baltic countries as a fascist haven.

The authors of the film have set the goal of explaining to the viewer that self-medication for sexually transmitted diseases is harmful. It is necessary to overcome false shame, not to listen to the advice of acquaintances-friends, but to turn to a specialist in a timely manner and act on their advice.

Over the years, Betti Alver rejected all attempts at capturing her personality, but the poet's poems remain. Respecting the beliefs of the poet, the authors of the film Paul-Eerik Rummo and Vallo Kepp focuse on his world of poetry.

Mermaids and humans have crossed paths throughout millennias.Their generally peaceful coexistence is described in naiadological literature, as well as in the folklore of many nations. Our mermaid people are poetic and mysterious - we meet these gentle and femininely charming creatures in nature and in the everyday life around us. The film follows the principles of scientific lyricism, and takes the viewer through the history of naiadology and introduces the main types of mermaids. The mermaids were captured in beautiful places in Estonian waters.

The documentary gives us a look into a year in Estonian recent history, namely the year 2019, which brought us a schism in our politics and our generations. Where are we headed in this unbalanced world? Can we protect our land from our own controversial demands?

A poetical documentary about longing and searching for happiness between Estonia and Finland.

A documentary with elements of animation about 85-year-old Elbert Tuganov and 80-year-old Heino Pars - two animators and artists who despite changing times have become masters of their domain. The exact time of the real events in the documentary is not actually essential. It may be yesterday, today, tomorrow... And it may happen to you... and to me... However, in the film, it all took place in the 1950s, the time when the first Sputnik was launched to space, rivers were reversed and hydraulic power plants built.

A documentary about a group of activists in Tallinn who try to improve their quarter.

Sundial takes us on a journey through the mists of the Estonian countryside. In each house whose door Liis Nimik opens, live people who have chosen to carve their existence at the fringes of modernity. Far from our tumultuous world, the rhythm of life is tranquil and peaceful. Here, humans seem to have found their place, living in harmony with nature.

Portrait film about Šarl Piel, a brigadier of builders who is demanding a lot both from himself and others and who is able to overcome the difficulties encountered at work.

The 1960s and 70s brought a new wave of talented young poets and writers, painters and theater innovators to the gray and established culture of Soviet Estonia. Evald Hermaküla began his theatrical career as a young, angry genius working at the Vanemuine Theater, where he staged several legendary productions. The direction of Hermaküla was clear - away from the text and the rationality towards the subconscious. The film mixes theatrical and personal memories of the author with documentary archival material and Hermaküla's contemporary thoughts on theater, life and death.

A three-act film-essay about memory and the historical-cultural ties of the Finno- Ugric peoples. The first chapter is dedicated to ancient Bearese of memory, such as Karelian cliff drawings, Kalevala runo song and Khanty bear feast rituals. the second act portrays the visit of Elias Lonnrot, compiler of the Finnish national epic Kalevala, to Estonia and his meetings with local intellectuals. Part three re-enacts an ancient smelting and blacksmith ritual set to Veljo Tormis' cantata 'curse upon iron'. Filmed in 1985 in Uhtuo, Karelia; in Khantia-Mansia at the Agan river, a tributary of the Ob; and in Estonia (Tallinn, Kuusalu, Tartu, Voru, Litsmetsa in Voru county, Lullemae, Karula, Rongu, Narva, and at a bend of the Pirita river). The third documentary in Lennart Meri's "Encyclopaedia Cinematographica Gentium Fenno - Ugricarum" series.

The feature-length documentary "Hitler & Stalin 1939" is a montage film created in 1989 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It draws a comparison between two of Europe’s bloodiest dictators. Based on archival material and carrying a strong political message, the film provides a historical overview of the division of Europe between two totalitarian regimes, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, as well as the annexation of countries and the events of World War II.

An evening in Tallinn's variety shows.