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1-50 of 985
- Actor
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Johann Urb was born in Tallinn, Estonia, on 24 January 1977 into the family of Tarmo and Maris. When Johann was 10, he moved to Finland with his mother and her new husband. They lived in several small towns until they finally settled in Tampere. At the age of 17 Johann moved to his father's in New York, where he soon started a modeling career. In 2001, he landed a small part in the movie Zoolander (2001). After that, he did a role in the short movie Fear of Feathers (2003) and appeared in one episode of CSI: Miami (2002). In 2004, he got a part in the short-running TV-show The Mountain (2004). After that, he appeared as a guest on several TV shows and appeared in more minor film roles. In 2008, Johann got his first big film role in the much-hated The Hottie & the Nottie (2008). In 2009, things seemed to go up when he made a short but memorable appearance as the sexy, heroic pilot in Roland Emmerich's disaster epic 2012 (2009) and played a journalist in the fantasy TV series Eastwick (2009), which brought him critical recognition. At the moment, Johann has two romantic comedies in work.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Popular singer and TV host. Member of the Estonian National Opera (both as a singer and as stage director). Enthusiast of Gilbert and Sullivan, whose work he often performs in the UK. Has released several albums in many countries. Has also written best selling novels in English and Estonian. Was presented to HRH Queen Elizabeth in 2006. The knight of the order of St. Stanislaus. Has produced and directed several stage successes at the Estonian National Opera. Established his production company FilMinistry OÜ in 2016, presenting the well received horror drama Behind the Random Denominator and the epic TV history drama The Whores, in 2017.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Scenarist, director and composer Anna Hints was born 27 may 1982 in Tartu, Estonia. Graduated from the Wiedemann High School in Haapsalu in 2000, then studied at the University of Tartu in 2000-2003 in comparative literature and folklore, and in 2003-2009 at the Tartu Art College in photography. In 2010-2013 she continued her studies at the Tallinn University Film and Media School, where she became a Bachelor degree film director, continuing to graduate from one semester in the same field as a Master's degree. Since 2015, Hints has been a member of the Estonian Cinema Association, the Estonian Writers' Association and the Estonian Audiovisual Association.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Juhan Ulfsak was born on 18 April 1973 in Estonia. He is an actor and writer, known for Tenet (2020), Doktor Stockmann (1989) and Esto TV (2000).- Pääru Oja was born on 16 May 1989 in Tallinn, Estonia. He is an actor, known for Undir halastjörnu (2018), The Last Ones (2020) and Lõks (2018).
- Music Artist
- Writer
- Composer
Has a twin brother named Vjatseslav. In 1994, Stas (Stanislav) and Slava (Vjatseslav) were selected for the prestigious male choir "Kantilena". There they learn vocal skills and get acquainted with concert venues in Europe. Stas and Slava will sing in "Kantilena" until 2001. In 2005, at the age of 18, Stas and Slava founded their first rock band - "RockCrime". Stas was on bass guitar, Slava was on lead guitar. In 2006, by luck, the brothers took part in the Eurovision 2006 qualifying competition from Estonia and took 3rd place. In 2009, the brothers left RockCrime and founded their second group - "Cantilena". The band performs mainly in Estonia. Sometimes it was possible to travel abroad to neighboring countries: Russia, Finland, Lithuania, and Latvia. The most outstanding achievements were joint performances with such rock monsters as "Sepultura" (2012) and "Phil Anselmo & The Illegals" (2014). Between 2009 and 2020, the group gave 84 concerts, released an EP album (2010), recorded a full-length album (2012) and shot 4 videos for their songs. In 2019, Stas was casting for Christopher Nolan's film "Tenet", some of the episodes of which were planned to be filmed in Tallinn. Stas gets the role of a "public" in the concert hall, where the film begins. After unforgettable days on the set with cinema monster Christopher Nolan, Stas gets the idea to write his own movie. In March 2021, he gets down to business: in September 2021, Stas finishes writing the script for "The Roadie", which is partly based on his musical experience in "Cantilena". In May 2023, Stas begins writing the second script, "Safe Waters." By February 2024, Stas will finish the second script, and in March 2024, both scripts will take part in the best international screenwriting competitions around the world. Scripts for "Safe Waters" and "The Roadie" can be requested on the InkTip platform. The addition follows...- Director
- Writer
Rainer Sarnet was born on 3 March 1969 in Rakvere, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. Rainer is a director and writer, known for November (2017), The Invisible Fight (2023) and Vaino Vahingu päevaraamat (2021).- Born in 1916 as the eldest child of a German-Baltic aristocrat, Baroness Irene Isabella Margarete Pauline Caecila von Meyendorff actually never planned to become a movie star. When the Russian Revolution broke out, the family escaped to Germany, where Irene's mother Elisabeth left her conservative husband with the children to live a very unconventional life in the theatre circles of Weimar/Thuringia. In the early 1930's Irene came to Berlin to work as a cutter in the UFA film studios of Babelsberg. As a breathtaking beautiful, ice-cold blond young woman she would have been the ideal star for Alfred Hitchcock movies. But these were the 1930's and she lived in Nazi Germany. When she was discovered for the screen, her debut was only a mediocre swashbuckler movie - which unexpectedly made her a star. Her best part maybe was the noble Hamburg Patrician daughter Octavia in Veit Harlan's Opfergang (1944). She never was a sympathizer of the Nazi system. Her first husband, Dr. Heinz Zahler, was a member of the Kreisau Circle, a group of religious motivated anti-Nazi-bourgeois. Her beauty attracted Joseph Goebbels, minister of propaganda, who got a harsh rebuff by her ("You would degrade me - and you would degrade yourself"). Joseph Goebbels's infamous nick name "Bock von Babelsberg" (the old horny goat of Babelsberg) was Irene's creation. After the war she only played minor parts in German films. In 1961 she met British actor James Robertson Justice, fell in love with him and left her second husband Pit Severin, a journalist from Hamburg, to follow James Robertson Justice to England. It was 1968 when she returned a last time to screen for a small part in the costume drama Mayerling (1968). She never was interested to continue her career. 8 years after James Robertson Justice's death in 1975, she met and later married philanthropist Keith Bromley. Even at the age of 70 she sailed to the Artic and the Orinoco River. On September 28, 2001, she died in Hampshire after a full, remarkable life.
- Born in 1931, Narda became friends with Robert I. McCarthy when she was an eleven-year-old laundress for McCarthy's anti-aircraft battalion in Bonn.
In 1944, she was a child actress in Estonia. To escape the Russians, she, her grandparents, her mother and 2-year-old brother took to the sea bound for Sweden. Picked up as Germans, they were taken to Danzig. Amidst much confusion, because they spoke fluent German they were able to meld into the daily life there. The Onyx family later made their way to the American occupied forces at Bonn and sought refuge with the Swedish Red Cross. Later the family moved to Sweden; Narda resumed her acting career. Traveling to England where she worked for the Old Vic Company.
She then went to Canada to perform on stage and television. After appearing in some 70 television shows over the past six years, on October 20, 1961, she became an American citizen. While in Canada she met and married George Virand, also an Estonian refuge, where they moved to Hollywood. - Actor
- Writer
Märt Avandi was born on 26 February 1981 in Rapla, Estonia. He is an actor and writer, known for The Fencer (2015), Riigimehed (2010) and Malev (2005).- Ivan Triesault was born on 13 July 1898 in Reval, Russian Empire [now Tallinn, Harjumaa, Estonia]. He was an actor, known for Notorious (1946), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and The Amazing Transparent Man (1960). He died on 3 January 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Mirtel Pohla is an Estonian actress. She was born 28.01.1982 She graduated Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2004 and worked in Estonian Drama Theatre from 2004 to 2006. After that she was a member of Theatre NO99 for eight years. Since 2014 she has been working in different theaters and appeared in several feature films and TV series in Estonia.
- Elina Benenson was born in 1986 in Tallinn, Estonia. She is an actress, known for Lilya 4-Ever (2002).
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Arvo Pärt is one of those composers in the world, whose creative output has significantly changed the way we understand the nature of music. In 1976, he created a unique musical language called tintinnabuli, that has reached a vast audience of various listeners and that has defined his work right up to today. There is no compositional school that follows Pärt, nor does he teach, nevertheless, a large part of the contemporary music has been influenced by his tintinnabuli compositions.
Childhood and studies Arvo Pärt was born on 11 September 1935 in Paide, where he also spent his first years. In 1938, the Pärt family moved to Rakvere, where he began to study piano at Rakvere Music School under Ille Martin. Having graduated from Rakvere Secondary School No 1 (1954), he continued studying music at the Tallinn Music School under Veljo Tormis. His studies were interrupted by mandatory military service in the Soviet Army (1954-1956), after which, in 1957, he continued at the Tallinn State Conservatoire under Heino Eller graduating in 1963. Several works composed during his student years still belong to the official list of his compositions: two sonatinas (1958-1959) and partita (1958) for piano, and orchestral works such as Nekrolog (1960), Perpetuum mobile (1963) and Symphony No. 1 (1963).
Early period (1958-1968) Pärt worked as a sound engineer at the Estonian Radio from 1958 to 1967. Those were also the years of his early modernist compositions. Estonian music in the 1960s was shaped by an entire generation of innovative composers with a modern approach - although a few years older, besides Pärt there were Eino Tamberg, Veljo Tormis, Jaan Rääts and their junior follower Kuldar Sink. Almost simultaneously through their music all the most important styles and compositional techniques of the 20th century were introduced to Estonian music: neoclassicism, dodecaphony, serialism, sonorism, collage technique and aleatoricism. The works of Pärt proved to pioneer many of these areas: Nekrolog is the first dodecaphonic, Perpetuum mobile the first sonoristic and Collage über B-A-C-H (1964) the first work employing the collage-technique in Estonian music. Pärt had become one of the leading figures in the Soviet avant-garde. Nevertheless, none of those styles remained permanently in his work nor interested him for very long - many of his early compositions can be viewed rather as brilliant experiments or testing the boundaries. However, regardless of the chosen styles or techniques, Pärt's early oeuvre is characterized by a punctual and powerful concept of dramaturgy, concentrated musical material and elaborated form - the elements, which are visibly present in his later tintinnabuli music and can therefore be characterized as the main pillars of his musical thinking.
Arvo Pärt in 1962. The most remarkable line of development in Pärt's early compositions is his collages, which in his case are expressed in a personal and dramatic manner differing from the usual playful character of the collage technique. In his Collage über B-A-C-H, cello concerto Pro et contra (1966), Symphony No. 2 (1966) and Credo (1968), two musical but also spiritual worlds have been set against each other. He describes those worlds as if separated by a deep abyss, which, at the same time, he longs to transcend. Pärt's dodecaphony here represents the "unbearable atmosphere of barbed wire" (to use his own words) of all modernist music, and the quest for beauty, purity and perfection is expressed through the stylization of Baroque music or concrete quotes primarily from Bach, but also Tchaikovsky, for example. Those works are witness to the growing inner anxiety and crisis for the composer. The most extreme and dramatic of them is Credo, composed in 1968 - it is the final renunciation of all means of expression used so far, the turning point in his oeuvre as well as his life.
The reception of his music in the Soviet Union at the time was conflicting and complicated. On one side, he was perceived as one of the most original and outstanding composers of his generation, whose works were also performed and acknowledged outside the USSR. On the other, many of his works composed in the 1960s were heavily criticized; for example, the neoclassical partita, but above all the dodecaphonic Nekrolog. However, it was not the composition style that caused the scandal following the premiere of Credo, but its inner message and choice of text as well as the "dangerously" strong impact it had on audiences (when the piece was performed for the very first time, the audience demanded a repetition). With its text in Latin "Credo in Iesum Christum" the composer openly and sincerely confessed to being religious, which was considered provocative and against the Soviet regime at the time. Credo was basically banned and Pärt, as well as his music, fell into disfavour for several years.
Paradoxically, Arvo Pärt was one of the most productive and highly valued composers for film in Estonia throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1967, he had become a freelance composer and after the events following Credo, film music was the only field Pärt could openly engage in. Pärt has composed music for many films - "Ukuaru" (1973, directed by Leida Laius), "Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat" (1975, directed by Grigori Kromanov), "Navigator Pirx" (1978, directed by Marek Piestrak), to name a few, and also music for animated films.
Years of crisis (1968-1976) and the birth of tintinnabuli Arvo and Nora Pärt with pianist Helju Tauk (in the middle) at the rehearsal of Tabula rasa before the premiere concert, in 1977. In Pärt's creative biography, the years 1968-1976 mark his period of crisis - the final renunciation of the modernist techniques and means of expression used so far, searches for personal musical language and as a result, a radical change in the author's style. "I didn't know at the time that was I going to be able to compose at all in the future. Those years of study were no conscious break, but life and death agonising inner conflict. I had lost my inner compass and I didn't know anymore, what an interval or a key meant," Pärt recalled many years later.
In his new quest for self expression Pärt turned even more intensively towards the early music and became absorbed for years studying Gregorian chant, the Notre Dame School and Renaissance polyphony. The first signs of this appear in his Symphony No. 3 (1971) - one of the very few works that premiered in these years.
It was also the time of important events in Arvo Pärt's personal life as he married and joined the Orthodox Church in 1972.
In 1976, Pärt emerged with a new and highly original musical language, which he called tintinnabuli (from tintinnabulum - Latin for 'little bell'). The new style first appears in a short piece for piano, Für Alina, followed soon by works like Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten (1977), Fratres (1977), Tabula rasa (1977) and Spiegel im Spiegel (1978). Pärt has now been composing in his tintinnabuli-style for over 40 years, and it has proven to be a rich and inexhaustible creative source.
Tintinnabuli music can be defined as a distinct technique, which in essence unites two monodic lines of structure - melody and triad - into one, inseparable ensemble. It creates an original duality of voices, the course and inner logic of which are defined by strict, even complicated mathematical formulas. Through that duality of voices Pärt has given a new meaning to the horizontal and vertical axis of music, and broadened our perception of tonal and modal music in its widest sense.
Tintinnabuli music can also be described as a style in which the musical material is extremely concentrated, reduced only to the most important, where the simple rhythm and often gradually progressing melodies and triadic tintinnabuli voices are integrated into the complicated art of polyphony, expressing the composer's special relationship to silence.
In addition, tintinnabuli is also an ideology, a very personal and deeply sensed attitude to life for the composer, based on Christian values, religious practice and a quest for truth, beauty and purity.
After emigrating (1980 onwards) The first tintinnabuli works were composed and premiered in Tallinn, Estonia - the USSR at that time. As did the avant-garde spirit of Pärt's early works, so led the religious aspect of his tintinnabuli music to more and more controversial reviews and confrontations with Soviet officials. In January 1980, Arvo Pärt was forced to emigrate to Vienna with his wife Nora and two sons. A year later the family moved on a DAAD scholarship to Berlin, where they lived for almost 30 years.
As an active and productive composer, Pärt has continued composing since without any longer breaks. Vocal compositions, often based on liturgical texts or other Christian prayers, comprise a large part of his oeuvre. Among them there are many large-scale compositions for choir and orchestra, such as Passio (1982), Stabat Mater (1985), Te Deum (1985), Miserere (1989/1992), Berliner Messe (1990/2002), Litany (1994/1996), Kanon pokajanen (1997), Como cierva sedienta (1998/2002) and In principio (2003), as well as choral pieces with organ accompaniment or a cappella. One can say that the Word plays an important role in Pärt's oeuvre because even many of his instrumental works are text related and the textural structure is often the basis of his compositional process (i.e. Psalom, 1985; Orient & Occident, 2000; Symphony No. 4, 2008 etc.).
It was also in Germany, where the lasting collaboration with Manfred Eicher, founder and producer of the renowned ECM Records, began. In 1984, ECM released Tabula rasa launching a whole new, highly successful series of recordings under the ECM New Series title, which brought Pärt to the world. His music was soon included in the programmes of many renowned festivals, orchestras and ensembles as well as television and radio broadcasts. Since this debut album, all the first recordings of Pärt's major works have been released under ECM.
Back to Estonia After Estonia regained its independence in 1991, the connections between the Pärt family and Estonia as well as its music scene were restored. In the 1990s, his works were often performed as part of Estonian concert programmes, and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under the baton of Tõnu Kaljuste also released their first recordings of Pärt's music under ECM.
In the early 2000s, the tradition began of celebrating Arvo Pärt's birthday with concerts in his childhood home towns of Paide and Rakvere, and also in Tallinn. Festivities on a grander scale have been organised in the composer's jubilee years. At the initiative of the Estonian Music Days, the first exhaustive collection of conversations, essays and articles on Pärt was published in Estonian in 2005 ("Arvo Pärt in the Mirror", compiled by Enzo Restagno), the radio show "Arvo Pärt 70", consisting of 14 episodes by Immo Mihkelson was broadcast on Klassikaraadio (Classical Radio) and the international conference "The Cultural Roots of Arvo Pärt's Music" was held at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2010. Since 2010, Nargenfestival organises Pärt Days around the time of the composer's birthday.
During the last decade, Pärt has rearranged approximately 30 of his earlier works as well as having composed around 10 new pieces, Silhouette. Hommage à Gustave Eiffel (commissioned by Orchestre de Paris in 2009/2010), Adam's Lament (2010) commissioned for the European Capitals of Culture Istanbul 2010 and Tallinn 2011 premiering in Istanbul, Swansong (commissioned by the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg and premiering at the Mozartwoche 2014), and Greater Antiphons (2015), commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and premiered by the same orchestra under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel.
Arvo Pärt has lived permanently in Estonia since 2010. The same year, on the initiative of Arvo and Nora Pärt, the Arvo Pärt Centre was established in Laulasmaa. In collaboration with the composer himself and his family, the APC aims to create and maintain the personal archive of the composer.- Carmen Kass is best known for her work as a Victoria's Secrets lingerie model and as a international fashion model. She appeared in five Victoria's Secret Fashion shows in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2008. Kass had been the face of Michael Kors and Narcisco Rodriguez Frangrance, as well as a spokesmodel for Revlon, Sephora, Christan Dior and Max Factor. She was named model of the year at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards in 2000. Kass appeared on the cover or been featured in many international fashion magazines including Vogue, Elle, Image, Numéro, Madame Figaro among others. She studied acting at the famous Lee Strasberg Institute and made several movie appearances. She ran as a candidate for European Parliament for the Res Public Party in 2004 from her native Estonia but was not elected. Kass is a talented chess player and was president of the Estonian National Chess League for eight years. She was born on September 14, 1978 in Tallinn, Estonia, the daughter of Viktor Kass, a chess teacher and Koidu Põlva. Kass was discovered at age fourteen in a supermarket by a model scout.
- Producer
- Director
- Editorial Department
Michael M. Robin was born on 2 November 1984 in Viljandi, Estonia. He is a producer and director, known for NYPD Blue (1993), The Closer (2005) and L.A. Law (1986).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Kristjan Sarv was born on 21 December 1979 in Tartu, Estonia. He is an actor and director, known for 2pic (2006), Memory of Water (2022) and Purge (2012).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Lembit Ulfsak was born on 4 August 1947 in Koeru, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. He was an actor and director, known for Tangerines (2013), Doktor Stockmann (1989) and Keskea rõõmud (1987). He was married to ??? and Epp. He died on 22 March 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia.- Anastasiya Evgrafova was born on 17 October 1990 in Tallinn, Estonia. She is an actress, known for Igra na vyzhivanie (2020), Vyzhivshie. Ogni (2021) and The End of a Beautiful Epoch (2015).
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tanel Toom was born on 1 November 1982 in Estonia. He is a director and writer, known for Truth and Justice (2019), Last Sentinel (2023) and The Confession (2010).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
After living for years in Paris, France, Triin Lellep first made headlines in her native Estonia as a singer and author, whose travelogue My Paris hit the bookstores in 2021. Her musical collaboration with Mart Sander led to roles in Sander's films Duubel 13 (2021), The Kennedy Incident (2022) and, notably, The Sixth Secret (2022), which leaked to the major pirating sites before its official release and skyrocketed Triin Lellep to the most popular Estonian actress according to the IMDB StarMeter. Her complex and multifaceted role of Madame Orlofsky, the scheming spiritualist, turned heads and made her a sought after actress. She also continues her musical career and, in 2021, signed with Warner Music.- Jüri Lumiste is an actor and director at Vanemuise Theater, the biggest theater in Tartu. From 1993-1999, he was the drama director at Vanemuine Theater. He has also played some TV roles, such as "Kättemaksukontor" and "Kelgukoerad".
Lumiste finished high school in Tartu, and later went on to study in Tartu University. He has also studied abroad, taking part in workshop trips to Russia, Turkey, Finland, Denmark, England, Japan and Germany.
Lumiste's father, Ülo Lumiste, was a Professor Emeritus of Geometry, a mathematician and member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. Jüri has a brother and three children. - Actor
- Writer
Vallo Kirs was born on 23 November 1987 in Rakvere, Estonia. He is an actor and writer, known for The Class (2007), Klass - Elu pärast (2010) and Kuulsuse narrid (2023).- Actress
Lena Barbara Luhse was born 30 November 1991 in Pärnu. She is an Estonian stage, television and film actor. She received bachelors degree in History of Art from University of Brighton, England. In 2020 she graduated as an actor from The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Since then she works in Theatre Vanemuine - the oldest theatre in Estonia. She has worked internationally with directors such as Lee Roy Kunz, Måns Månsson and Juuso Syrjä. In 2022 she was awarded the Bruno O'Ya scholarship for pursuing an international career in film acting and she was also selected as one of the Black Night Stars at the Tallinn Black Nights film festival in 2022.- Liisa Pulk was born on 12 June 1985 in Pärnu, Estonia. She is an actress, known for ENSV: Eesti Nõukogude Sotsialistlik Vabariik (2010), Chasing Unicorns (2019) and Tuliliilia (2018).
- Hanna-Liina Võsa was born on 5 April 1981 in Estonia. She is an actress, known for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), Riigimehed (2010) and Madame K (2018).
- Art Department
- Actor
- Animation Department
Nikita Knatz was born on 2 May 1940 in Tallinn, Estonia. He was an actor, known for Firestarter (1984), Predator (1987) and The Final Countdown (1980). He died on 6 January 2010 in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Born in Estonia, Peeter has studied, worked and lived around the world, including USA and the UK. His directing portfolio includes feature films Firebird (2021), Sailing to Freedom (in development), documentaries Tashi Delek! (2015) and Robbie Williams: Fans Journey to Tallinn (BBC Worldwide, 2014) as well as numerous music videos including Moby's "Wait for Me" and Pet Shop Boys' "Together."
Peeter produced and directed the 22-camera concert film Robbie Williams: Live in Tallinn (2013). He has also produced the 2010 European Film Awards, the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest, and hundreds of shows in the Baltic region for various artists including Elton John, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Sting, Lady Gaga, Metallica, Queen, and others. In 2013, Peeter was named Entrepreneur of the Year in Estonia.
Peeter has been a jury member at various film festivals including Black Nights Film Festival and Cape Town International Film Festival.
He studied as an exchange student at Oxford and graduated from Harvard cum laude in economics, psychology and visual arts. After a career as a producer, he went on to study directing at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts and trained in acting for directors at Judith Weston's studio. Peeter has travelled the world, sailing around Cape Horn, crossing the Atlantic & Pacific four times, and hiking the mountains of Tibet. He has a global perspective and a passion for telling local human stories with a universal resonance.- Editor
- Animation Department
- Additional Crew
Kersti Miilen was born on 12 November 1950 in Tallinn, Estonia. She is an editor, known for Ahto. Chasing a Dream (2018), Need vanad armastuskirjad (1992) and Kutsar koputab kolm korda (2010).- The legendary leading blond sex kitten of Estonian cinema, Eve Kivi clawed her way up the Socialist cinema ladder with legendary determination. Popular legends tell us about her wining and dining her way upwards from producer to producer and handcuffing herself to the door of a major Soviet studio executive. What she lacked in talent as an actress she compensated with amazing looks and never-ending meticulous care to keep her stardom secured in constant spotlight. Being restricted to the vast region behind the iron curtain, she nevertheless managed to catch the eye of many famous celebrity photographers and appeared twice in Playboy. She had a roaring romance with Dean Read, and when she published her memoirs she named many other celebrities as her sex partners. She has always been very open about her sex life, willingly discussing the matter in her interviews, hosting TV-programs about sex and naming male semen as the best skin care product. Her eternal youth is legendary, as it seems she has stopped aging sometime around forty. Her nude photos sell well even now that she's seventy. She always was and remains as the quintessential Estonian film star.
- Katariina Unt was born on 6 December 1971 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. She is an actress, known for Infinite Summer, Undergods (2020) and Somnambulance (2003). She was previously married to Raivo E. Tamm and Indrek Sammul.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Urmas E. Liiv was born on 17 November 1966 in Pärnu, Estonia. He is a director and writer, known for Ghost Mountaineer (2015), Congratulations! (2004) and Kõige parem kaaslane (2021).- Mait Malmsten was born on 6 September 1972 in Viljandi, Estonia. He is an actor, known for Kohtunik (2019), Kalev (2022) and ENSV: Eesti Nõukogude Sotsialistlik Vabariik (2010).
- Actor
- Writer
Taavi Eelmaa was born on 15 June 1971 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. He is an actor and writer, known for Kass kukub käppadele (1999), Tabamata ime (2006) and Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (2019).- Actor
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ott Sepp was born on 29 June 1982 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. He is an actor and writer, known for Riigimehed (2010), Malev (2005) and Papsid (2023).- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Editorial Department
Mart Taniel was born in 1976 in Tallinn. He graduated in cinematography from the University of Tallinn and Prague's FAMU Film School. In 2017, Mart Taniel received the highest international honor given to cinematographers, the ASC Spotlight Award, for "November". That same film won Best Cinematography at the Tribeca IFF for its "particularly audacious [cinematography] and supreme command of its visual language." Mart Taniel is one of the most remarkable Estonian cinematographers. Several award-winning films have his handprint, including the Venice Orizzonti prize-winning "Autumn Ball" (2007, directed by Veiko Õunpuu) and "The Temptation of St. Tony" (2010, directed by Veiko Õunpuu), which premiered internationally at the Sundance IFF International Competition. Taniel is also the cinematographer of Rainer Sarnet's films "The Idiot" (2011) and "November" (2017). He shot "FREE RANGE/ Ballad on Approving of the World" (2013, directed by Veiko Õunpuu), which premiered at the Berlinale Forum and received the award for "most beautiful film" from the Estonian Cultural Endowment. Taniel's other awards include the Black Nights Film Festival and Estonian Cultural Endowment prizes for Best Cinematographer of the Year, the 2morrow IFF/Zavtra Glass Eye Award for cinematography and the Best Cinematography Award from the Transylvania IFF International Competition. "The Man Who Surprised Everyone" is Taniel's second cooperation with directors Natalya Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov. The film premiered in Venice IFF in 2018- Cinematographer
- Director
Ants Tammik's obsession with the visual world started in 2005 when he discovered the art of photography and therefore a whole new world around him. It was also a tool to navigate through the confusing times of adolescence. What initially started as a hobby drew the boy in so deep it soon became his life.
Spending every euro, every minute perfecting his craft, Ants was soon winning awards and praise from his peers.
After the development of the DSLR camera, Ants became fascinated by the moving image so he enrolled in the Baltic Film and media school in Tallinn, Estonia. An academic underachiever in high school, Ants consumed everything the school had to offer in those 3 years. His passion helped him achieve academic success and helped secure a seat at FAMU in Prague.
Ants graduated in 2013, diving in to complex projects that conveyed a social message and challenged him on both a technical and psychological level. His first author piece - A fragile world premiered in 2016, a poetic environmental documentary that won many national and international awards. The film opened eyes and doors with fellow filmmakers and gave Ants exciting opportunities to DOP documentaries and features, which he is truly passionate about.
Today Ants's work has been shown at Sundance, Cannes, Camera Image and other prestigious film festivals, winning him countless accolades. Ants likes to create his visual worlds in a natural environment, mixing in staged elements. Ants says a bit of control in an uncontrollable situation is like magic that makes the piece unique. We just have to learn how to see, feel and direct these reoccurring situations while remaining undetected.- Sergo Vares was born on 14 September 1982 in Rakvere, Estonia. He is an actor, known for Tenet (2020), Hamlet (2015) and The Bank (2018).
- Anita Yoo (born Anita Smirnova) is an Estonian actress. She was born and raised in Tallinn, Estonia. She is of Russian, Korean and Ukrainian descent.
Anita moved to Shanghai, China at the age of nineteen to study Mandarin Chinese and attended the prestigious Fudan University. She quickly started booking roles for Chinese film and TV productions. She acted in over 25 projects in China. The show "One Boat One World", where she played Phyl Decard, was number one in the television charts and had over one billion views.
She is based in Los Angeles, California. - Actor
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Jüri Järvet (born as Georgi Kuznetsov) was a highly prolific and respected Estonian screen and stage actor. He was born in Tallinn. His mother moved to Moscow in 1920. Jüri stayed to live in family's friend who later gave him into an orphanage. At the age of five he was taken into a family with three children though his new parents didn't adopt him officially. In 1936 he changed his birth name to Jüri Järvet.
Jüri got his first acting experience in the fourth grade were he had a non speaking part in school play. His next role came in sixth grade. He also appeared in five real theatre plays at his school years but he was replaced when he turned sixteen thus making him too old for the parts. After high school he worked as a messenger in factory's office.
In 1941 during the Soviet occupation in Estonia, he was drafted into Soviet Red Army but was later demobilized. After war Jüri worked as a dancer in Noorsooteater but he felt that dancing isn't something he would like to do so in 1944 he started to study acting and in 1945 he got his first role. Beside his studies he also did editorial work in radio.
His most famous film roles came in 1970s as made title role in Grigoriy Kozintsev's powerful King Lear (1970) (King Lear). In 1972 he played Dr. Snaut in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris (1972) and in 1979 he played the owner of the hotel in Grigori Kromanov's cult film _'Hukkunud Alpinisti' hotell (1979)_ (The Dead Mountaineer Hotel).
Jüri Järvet was married twice. In 1948-1958 he was married with actress Inna Taarna. In 1955 their first son Jüri Järvet Jr. was born. In 1958 he married with oncologist Astrid. Couple had daughter Jana in 1960. Jüri died on July 5th 1995 in Tallinn.- Alfred Rosenberg was born on 12 January 1893 in Reval, Russian Empire [now Tallinn, Estonia]. He was married to Hedwig Kramer and Hilda Elfriede Leesmann. He died on 16 October 1946 in Nuremberg, Germany.
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Estonian film director, screenwriter, media executive and columnist Ilmar Raag was born in Kuressaare, Estonia. He grew up in Kuressaare and also graduated high school there. In 1997 he graduated University of Tartu. 1996-1998 he was hosting a film news program on Estonian National Television. 1999 he received M.A. degree in screen writing from Ohio University. After that he find himself working in TV management and in 2002-2005 he served as CEO of Estonian National Television (ETV). In 2005 he directed television movie August 1991 (2005) and also wrote screenplay for another TV movie. In 2007 Raag made his feature film debut with critically acclaimed film The Class (2007). In 2008 he adapted screenplay from a Sass Henno's novel for I Was Here (2008).
In 2009-2010, Estonian Television decided to produce a spin off series to "Klass". Raag didn't write the script, but he shot two episodes of the series. In 2011 he shot a film in France under the umbrella of TS Production - "Une Estonienne à Paris" with Jeanne Moreau as leading lady. The film was released a year later.- Actor
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Einar Kuusk is an actor and director known for playing Arkady Kachimov in Netflix's "Luther: The Fallen Sun", one of the covert operatives in the first season of BBC's crime thriller "The Capture", Branimir in Estonian comedy film "Free Money", his post-apocalyptic sci-fi short film "The Most Beautiful Day" and his YouTube videos.- Actor
- Director
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Rain Tolk was born on 9 June 1977 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. He is an actor and director, known for Tenet (2020), Umbkotid (2012) and Jan Uuspõld läheb Tartusse (2007).- Actor
- Writer
Vadim Demchog was born on March 13, 1963 in the city of Narva, Estonia. From the age of 4, Vadim played in the puppet theater of the Palace of Pioneers. In an ordinary school, he studied poorly, from an early age he grew up without a father. Vadim was raised only by his mother, who was a very adventurous and energetic woman. A cook by profession, she worked as a toastmaster at weddings, organized amateur evenings.Later, Vadim studied at the People's Theater under the direction of Yuri Mikhalev. At school, things also did not go well, so Vadim received a certificate of incomplete secondary education. In 1984 he graduated from LGITMiK, class of Professor Zinovy Korogodsky, then got a job at the Moscow Theater for Young Spectators.Since 1987, Vadim Demchog has worked in various theater teams, attended theater seminars and conferences, participated in various International Festivals. Since 2001 he started teaching.He worked at the Small Drama Theater of St. Petersburg and at the Moscow Youth Theater. Since 1992 he has worked on radio, first at Europa Plus in St. Petersburg, then since 2003 at the Silver Rain radio.Demchog appears frequently on the screen. The series "Interns" made him a well-known actor. Among his works is also the voiceover of monologues of the cartoon Mr. Freeman.- Sergei Parshin was born on 28 May 1952 in Kohtla-Järve, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. He is an actor, known for Rossiya molodaya (1981), The Plane Flies to Russia (1994) and Alyy kamen (1987).
- Evelin Pang is probably one of the most talented young actresses in Estonia. She was born on May 22, 1980 in Tallinn. The capitol of Estonia has been her home for her entire life. She went to school in Tallinn's 21st School, but since in 10th grade she became more interested in basketball than in maths, then she had to leave that school. She re-took her maths' tests and became a student for the Tallinn's 49th School (currently ARTE's Gymnasium), which she graduated in 1998 and on the same year she began her studies in Estonian Academy of Music's Higher Theater School under the watchful eye of Elmo Nüganen. That Evelin decided to study theater was a surprise for many people who knew her, because she had always been associated to music. She had learned piano in Tallinn's Children's Music School and she sings beautifully. But as it turned out the XX Course of Estonian Academy of Music's Higher Theater School is one of the most famous and luckiest. The young wannabe actors and actresses participated in Tallinn City Theater projects already when they were on the first course (when usually students are allowed on the stage on the third course). The grand finale of the XX Course was Names Engraved in Marble (2002). All of the young 15 actors and actresses participated in the film. Since year 2002 Evelin works in Tallinn City Theater. From her course six shining stars went to work there, including her best friend Hele Kõrve. Estonian Academy of Music's Higher Theater School was also the place where she met the love of her life Priit Võigemast who became her husband on July 29, 2005. Her amazing voice has brought her the roles of Betty Rizzo in the Estonian version of "Grease"; the role of Pille in a musical-play by Jaan Tätte "Kaotajad" and also the leading role in "Rise and Fall of the Silent Voice". Besides theater work in Tallinn City Theater and Nargen Opera the Estonian audience can see her since 2004 in the most famous Estonian TV series ever "Õnne 13", where she plays the role of Ursula-Amaranta Palm - the daughter of the Mayor of Morna who has problem with drugs that she trys to overcome. One of her newest projects is the film Stiilipidu (2005). Evelin has received Tallinn City Theater's Audience Award as Best Actress 2005 and also ESPAK Award 2005 as the Best Actress.
- Natalya Sayko was born on 12 January 1948 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. She is an actress, known for Sovsem propashchiy (1973), Moon Rainbow (1983) and Vzryv zamedlennogo deystviya (1971).
- Marko Leht was born in Estonia. He is known for Wonder Woman (2017), Ripper Street (2012) and Lucky Man (2016).
- Aare Laanemets was born on 6 February 1954 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. He was an actor, known for Suvi (1976), Treasure Island (1972) and Spring (1969). He died on 28 October 2000.