Estonia: Last News

Christopher Vourlias When the European Film Market kicks off in Berlin on Feb. 16, the three Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will share the stage as the EFM’s joint Countries in Focus. The showcase, which is supported by the Estonian Film Institute, the National Film Center of Latvia and the Lithuanian Film Center, will offer a range of events within the framework of the EFM, along with a selection of market premieres and screenings of Baltic films already making waves on the festival circuit. Twelve up-and-coming Baltic producers will also be presented to the international industry during a happy hour on Feb. 17 in the Gropius Bas. Here’s a selection of Baltic buzz titles that the region’s top producers will be taking to Berlin:

Christopher Vourlias This year, Latvia is sharing a spotlight with neighboring Lithuania and Estonia at the European Film Market, which has dedicated its 2023 Country in Focus Spotlight to the Baltic nations. It’s a sign of the tremendous strides the country has taken to put itself on the world cinema map, with the screen industries both producing more films and TV series than ever before and luring increasingly ambitious international projects to Northeastern Europe. Here’s a rundown of some of the top Latvian projects in the pipeline that their producers will be pitching in Berlin: Blue BloodDirector: Juris KursietisProducers: White Picture, Stellar Film, Asterisk*The follow-up to Kursietis’ Cannes Directors’ Fortnight player “Oleg” is the story of a successful couple whose comfortable life is turned upside-down when the husband is implicated in a massive corruption scandal.Sales: N/A

Christopher Vourlias When a young Viesturs Kairiss started to dream about becoming a filmmaker thirty-some-odd years ago, he knew his path wouldn’t be straightforward or easy. Before the fall of the Soviet Union, aspiring Latvian directors would have to travel to Moscow or St. Petersburg to enroll in venerable Soviet film schools. After independence, Kairiss was among the first class of graduates from the newly launched film studies program at the Latvian Academy of Culture, one of many ways in which the small Baltic republic attempted to assert its own identity after half a century of Soviet rule. “We didn’t have any technique,” Kairiss admits of he and his film school peers, laughing. For his first feature film, “Leaving by the Way” (2001), he enlisted friends for below-the-line work and recruited actors from the local theater school. When the film bowed in the Crystal Globe competition at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, it was the culmination of what he describes as “a totally crazy, passionate journey” for a group of filmmakers laboring in an industry that didn’t truly exist.

Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish had a happy Valentine’s Day, swashbuckling to a new global milestone. The spinoff sequel crossed $400M with Tuesday’s numbers bringing the worldwide kitty to $401.5M. The split is $160.1M domestic and $241.4M at the international box office. 

Naman Ramachandran Banijay’s Endemol Shine India and Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan’s Black Knight Films will adapt hit Danish/Swedish scripted series “Bron/Broen” (“The Bridge”) for Indian audiences.  ” ‘The Bridge’ is actually something that I was actively looking to produce. So I went looking for it,” Khan told Variety. The original show opens with a dead body on a border that is shared by two countries and the discovery leads to a joint investigation by the police forces of the two regions, forcing detectives from both sides to work together to solve the crime. The global success of “The Bridge” – which has aired in 188 countries – has led to its adaptation in multiple languages, set across the international borders of U.S./Mexico, U.K./France, Germany/Austria, Singapore/Malaysia and Russia/Estonia.

A1 star Ben Adams' good looks and famous curtains haircut made him the poster boy of late 90s pop. But for most of the past year the handsome singer, 41, has kept his recognisable face hidden underneath a yellow space wolf mask for a wildly successful side project.

Environmental Activism Pic ‘Finite: The Climate of Change’ Lands UK Release & Global Sales EXCLUSIVE: Feature documentary Finite: The Climate of Change has secured a UK theatrical release from indie distributor Espresso Media from February 15. Espresso is also handling global distribution, with sales to Japan (NHK) and Estonia (ERR) confirmed. The pic is currently in release in Germany. Directed by climate activist turned filmmaker Rich Felgate, the film follows concerned citizens in Germany who step forward to save an ancient forest from one of Europe’s biggest coal mines. However, the local citizens also form an unlikely alliance with a frustrated community in rural northeast England who are forced into action to protect their homes from a new opencast coal mine.

The Mirror, "and he said, ‘If I don’t leave you, you are never going to have a career.'""That is why I never talk about Henrik in a bad light at all," the heartbroken star admitted as she spoke of their bittersweet five year partnership."He was the one that walked out of the marriage to save my career!"She has also retained a few of the things she learned from her ex which have helped her to navigate a presenting career.For example, the star divulged on an episode of Jane McDonald's Cruising The Nordics that he'd taught her some Danish words."It's a hard language to learn and I did learn it about 17 years ago," she revealed, addressing the camera as the cruise journeyed through Denmark - one of the countries she toured for the show alongside Russia, Finland and Estonia.However, these days she recalls only the words for Danish desserts and how to say "I love you."She added: "[The language] took me a very long time to learn and it is very easy to forget!"Asked by the cameraman if she'd ever been a fast learner, she hit back immediately with a cry of "No!"Following her disastrous relationship with Henrik, who she feels made the ultimate sacrifice by leaving her to allow her to salvage her work life, she did find love again with Eddie Rothe in 2008.However, heartbreak set in after her beau, a drummer, succumbed to lung cancer, tragically dying in March 2021.Prior to both Henrik and Eddie, the star married a man named Paul back in 1986.The marriage lasted for just a year, and Jane had been just 22 at the time.She now admits she has drastically revisited her life plans since the death of the third love of her life, with whom she had planned to travel.The presenter had taken on a "crash course in nursing" to be able to care for

Cover girl Tatjana Patitz - who was one of the top supermodels of the 1980s and 1990s - has died at the age of 56, DailyMail.com can confirm.The star's agent at the Model CoOp in New York City confirmed the sad news to DailyMail.com on Wednesday morning, saying Tatjana had recently passed. No cause of death has been shared yet. Vogue magazine was first to break the news.The Hamburg-born beauty was best known for her work with Vogue as well as her starring role in the George Michael music video Freedom from 1990 with pals Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington. Her last Instagram post was in August 2022 showing an image of her dog.  Sad loss for fashion: Cover girl Tatjana Patitz - who was one of the top supermodels of the 1980s and 1990s - has died at the age of 56, DailyMail.com can confirm.

, has died. She was 56.“I never sold my soul,” Patitz said in a 2020 interview. Born in Hamburg to an Estonian mother and German father, she moved with her family to Skanör, an idyllic seaside town in the south of Sweden when she was quite young.

EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker William Brent Bell has signed with Range Media Partners for management in all areas.

NBCUniversal Global Distributor has struck an old school multi-year content deal in Europe’s Baltic region.

Naman Ramachandran The 35th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA, Nov. 9-20), will open with the world premiere of Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Niki Padidar’s “All You See.” The festival has also revealed the titles in its competition lineups. In all, 277 titles will be screened at the in-person festival. Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia said: “Here’s an eclectic lineup that is united only by originality. Through the subjectivities of these filmmakers, an image of a world in pain emerges – a humanity that is trying hard, that is vulnerable and sincere, that is complex and persistent. The diversity of artistic forms is astonishing, and there are no boundaries when it comes to tackling the biggest powers or inventing new grammar.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent It’s pitch dark and stormy and Pelle Heikkilä, one of Finland’s biggest stars, is getting slammed by massive waves in a 10-meter-deep water tank. The shoot of “Estonia,” a Scandinavian limited series about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster, is underway in Belgium at an indoor water stage. The eight-part cinematic show, which is budgeted at €15 million ($14.7 million) and is being shopped by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”) at Mipcom, charts the sinking of the MS Estonia on Sept. 28, 1994, which killed over 850 people. The series is directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson (“The Real Estate,” “Chernobyl”) and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä (“Bordertown,” “Helsinki Syndrome”), who are polar opposites, one coming from festival-friendly auteur filmmaking, the other coming from high-end commercials.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival, which runs Oct. 25-30, has unveiled Opus Bonum, its international competition section. The 16-strong lineup includes eight world premieres. Andrea Kleine’s “The End Is Not What I Thought It Would Be,” from the U.S., is set during the pandemic. Kleine, the author of novels “Calf” and “Eden,” is seen performing stand-up comedy, monologues and music in a theater without an audience. Emily Allen’s U.S. film “Cisco Kid” features a young woman living in the middle of a vast desert in the American West, in the ruins of a town where the last of the oddball inhabitants struggle to survive.

EXCLUSIVE: German TV dramas are continuing to sell internationally ahead of Mipcom Cannes.

Lisa Rinna's daughter Amelia Hamlin is starring in a new campaign that makes the most of her impressive figure.The new 'it' supermodel was seen showing off her incredibly toned tummy in a strappy bikini top with slacks as she writhed around for the camera.The ex-girlfriend of Scott Disick was posing for London-based Estonian brand Roberta Einer. Stunning shape: Lisa Rinna's daughter Amelia Hamlin is starring in a new campaign that makes the most of her impressive figure A body to be proud of: Here she has on a black bra with low waisted white slacksThe label launched a look book starring the influencer and rising runway model Hamlin.The look book is shot by Remi Ferrante and styled by Phoebe-Lettice Thompson and also features emerging model Adhel Bol.

Vladimir Putin's £90million superyacht has changed its name and fled from Kaliningrad following the tyrant's latest threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The 270ft monster vessel, formerly called Graceful, was spotted leaving the Russian exclave (which sits between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Coast) and heading towards the tyrant's home town of St Petersburg.

EXCLUSIVE: Ready Or Not and Scream 6 actress Samara Weaving is attached to star in action-horror movie Azrael, which is being eyed by producers as a franchise.

Hong Kong has selected the crime thriller Where the Wind Blows as its official submission to this year’s International Feature Oscar race.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor The Temple of Dendur in the Egyptian art wing of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the most unique and visually arresting places in a city filled with them, containing the 2,000-year-old Temple itself along with other sculptures and pieces of art, a large reflecting pool and a giant, 25-foot-tall floor-to-ceiling window that extends the entire length of the hall and overlooks Central Park. It also may be the most unique and visually arresting music venue in the city. Over the years the room has hosted concerts by everyone from Interpol to the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, but it’s hard to think of a more fitting artist for such a setting than Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab, who won a Grammy earlier this year for her song “Mohabbat” from her latest album “Vulture Prince,” and was also nominated for Best New Artist.