Estonia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s Eastern Promises industry strand has unveiled the winners of it’s project showcases, which took place at the fest from July 2-4.

Oscar Qualifying AwardsBest of the Festival Award - Winner received $5,000 cash prize courtesy of Harold Matzner, Palm Springs International Film Society’s Immediate Past ChairmanJury: Angel An (VP of Acquisitions, Roadside Attractions); Kiva Reardon (Vice President of Film, PASTEL); Clay Pruitt (Head of Programming, Impact Distribution, Impact Distribution, Seed&Spark)Winner:  The Old Young Crow (Japan/USA), Directed by Liam LoPintoSpecial Mention:  48 Hours (Iran), Directed by Azadeh MoussaviSpecial Mention:  Away (Hungary/Belgium/Portugal), Directed by Ruslan FedotowBest Animated Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.Jury: Geoff Marslett (Animator/Director/Writer/Producer); Irene Soriano (Writer/Film Curator); Gabe Van Amburgh (Film Programmer and Senior Manager, SXSW)Winner:  Way Better (Lithuania), Directed by Skirmanta JakaitėSpecial Mention:  Ashkaska (Spain/Argentina), Directed by Lara MaltzSpecial Mention:  Eeva (Croatia/Estonia), Directed by Lucija Mrzljak and Morten TšinakovBest Documentary Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.Jury: Eugene Yi (Director/Editor/Writer, Free Chol Soo Lee); Maria Santos (Funds Program Officer, International Documentary Association); Opal H.

On Tuesday, June 20, Estonia’s parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriage, making the country the first Baltic state, and the first ex-Soviet state, to legalize same-sex marriage.The vote comes a week after Lauri Hussar, the president of the Riigikogu, Estonia’s unicameral parliament, announced the commitment from the country’s liberal governing coalition to legalize same-sex marriage within a month.The law will take effect on January 1, 2024. It does not need to be ratified by any other governmental body.In a 55-34 vote, the legislature amended the Family Law Act, which encompasses topics such as alimony, custody, and child support, to permit  same-sex couples to wed.

Ben Croll An evangelist for the premium format, France’s CGR Cinemas has forged a growing number of international partnerships since the exhibition chain began exporting its proprietary Immersive Cinema Experience (ICE) model in 2017. At the start of this year, CGR – through its export arm ICE Theaters – had already opened premium rooms in Barcelona, Los Angeles, New Dehli and Jeddah, among others; by December, the premium format will win over new converts in Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand and Estonia, with even more to come. As part of its strategy, ICE Theaters teams with local distributors and top exhibition chains, lending “legitimacy” to a still-young brand, designed in-house, that outfits a row of LED panels on both sides of an auditorium and fills them with bespoke visuals extending the action onscreen (“It’s like surround sound but for light,” is how an ICE exec describes it).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Momento Film, the leading Swedish banner founded by David Herdies (“Winter Buoy”) and Michael Krotkiewski (“Bellum — The Daemon Of War”), is boasting a slate of projects including the documentaries “Leaving Jesus” and “The Underdog,” as well as Simón Mesa Soto’s “A Poet.” While at Cannes, the banner also started teasing one of its biggest project so far, “The Swedish Torpedo,” Frida Kempff (“Winter Buoy”)’s period film inspired by the life of Sally Bauer, the first Scandinavian to swim across the English Channel in 1939. “The Swedish Torpedo” will start shooting in August with a topnotch cast led by Josefin Neldén (“Border,” “438 Days”), Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (“Royal Affair,” “Borgen”), as well as Lisa Carlehed (“The Emigrants”).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The 37 national film institutes that are members of European Film Promotion have elected a new EFP board of directors at the general assembly on May 23 during the Cannes Film Festival. The board consists of seven members, with their term of office lasting for two years. Five of the current members remain on the board, including Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films, as new vice president, Daniela Elstner, executive director UniFrance, Eda Koppel, head of marketing at Estonian Film Institute, Stine Oppegaard, manager, international relations, feature films, Norwegian Film Institute, and Markéta Santrochová, head of Czech Film Center, who has been re-elected as EFP president.

Tara Karajica The 16th edition of Beldocs Intl. Documentary Film Festival has awarded its top prizes to “ThIIIrd,” from Lebanese helmer Karim Kassim, in the International Competition Program, and Tijana Petrović’s “A Field Guide to Coastal Fortifications” in the Serbian competition program. “ThIIIrd” is set in an auto repair shop in Lebanon, which is a haven for people to express their growing despair amidst the economic collapse that surrounds them. Fest was generally applauded for strong competition selections that, according to the event’s programmer Igor Stanojević, put a special focus on visually striking films and fresh expressions by new authors with around 100 films across 12 programs, including nine world premieres, and a notable presence of female directors.

Eurovision 2023 winner and pop iconoclast Loreen has announced her UK and EU ‘Tattoo’ tour. Check out the tour dates below.The tour is set to Kick off in Dublin on November 7 and run throughout the UK and Europe.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Norwegian distributor Fjong Film has picked up Hilmar Oddson’s award-winning Icelandic dark comedy “Driving Mum.” While French-U.K. sales and production company Alief has already sold the film widely in Europe, the Norwegian deal marks its first sale in Scandinavia. The Tallinn Black Nights Grand Prix winner, a theatrical hit in Iceland and Estonia, follows aimless protagonist Jon (Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson), who, grappling with immeasurable grief, finally comes of ripe age while fulfilling his mother’s (Kristbjörg Kjeld) final wish. Fjong Film CEO Nina Tryggvadottir, who was born in Iceland, connected with the unconventional road movie, acquiring all rights for the title.

Christopher Vourlias If there’s anything to be learned from the massive, industry-shaping disruptions of recent years — from the unprecedented challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic to the lingering fallout from the war in Ukraine — it’s that “the role of the big festivals in the industry ecosystem is crucial,” according to Tiina Lokk, director of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. “When festivals were canceled or changed their dates due to COVID, the cycle of film releases went down the drain, which had a direct impact on cinemas and the whole business model,” Lokk tells Variety. While streaming platforms and Zoom meetings offered a “temporary remedy,” she adds, “it was not a real substitute for live interaction, contacts in a business climate.”

The Eurovision Song Contest final is underway with singers from 26 all taking to the stage.

The UK's Eurovision hopes this year rest on the shoulder of singer Mae Muller.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place in Liverpool with a live audience at the M&S Bank arena tonight.

The second of two Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals took place on Thursday in Liverpool, northern England.

The second Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals will take place on Thursday night and will see 16 countries battle it out for a place in the grand final.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Frida Kempff (“Winter Buoy”) is set to direct “The Swedish Torpedo,” a period film inspired by the life of Sally Bauer, the first Scandinavian to swim across the English Channel in 1939. The prominent Nordic cast is led by Josefin Neldén (“Border,” “438 Days”), Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (“Royal Affair,” “Borgen”), as well as Lisa Carlehed (“The Emigrants”). Produced by David Herdies and Erik Andersson at Momento Film, the film will start shooting in August in Sweden, Estonia, Belgium and England. “Five years ago I didn’t know who Sally Bauer was and even less what she had achieved. Five days ahead of the outbreak of WWII she swam across the English Channel,” said Kempff I feel this is a story that needs to be told, about a woman who accomplished the impossible and shattered both social norms and world records.”

Eurovision Song Contest has concluded, with 10 countries currently proceeding to the Grand Finals this Saturday (May 13).A grand total of 26 countries will participate in the finals, consisting of 10 finalists from semi-finals round 1, 10 finalists from semi-finals round 2, the “big 5” and Ukraine.The first 10 finalists from semi-finals round 1 has finally been revealed after a slew of performances and voting, with the following countries coming out on top: Norway, Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden, Czechia and Finland.Watch Norway’s Alessandra perform ‘Queen of Kings’ below.This means that the countries eliminated from the contest following the first rounds of semi-finals are the Netherlands, Malta, Latvia, Ireland and Azerbaijan.Countries set to take part in the second round of semi-finals on Thursday (May 11) are: Denmark, Armenia, Romania, Estonia, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Georgia, San Marino, Austria, Albania, Lithuania and Australia.Watch Sweden representative Loreen‘s performance of ‘Tattoo’ below.The “Big 5” countries guaranteed a spot in the finals without having to participate in semi-finals are France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Italy, as they contribute the most financially to the Eurovision Song Contest. Last year’s winners Ukraine also automatically qualify for the finals this year.Ireland’s elimination from this year’s contest marks the latest in a string of failed attempts to qualify, with the country not making eight of its 10 most recent attempts.

The first Eurovision Song Contest semi-final has taken place in Liverpool.

The first round of Eurovision 2023 semi-finals have taken place at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena, with hosts Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina welcoming 15 acts to battle it our for a place in this weekend's grand final.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Eco-thriller “The Swarm,” which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, has been acquired in the U.K. by pay-TV operator Sky. Negotiations with a U.S. partner are in the final stages. The show, produced by multiple Primetime Emmy award winner and “Game of Thrones” executive producer Frank Doelger and NDF IP’s managing director Eric Welbers, is set to play on the Sky Max channel in the U.K. later this year. “The Swarm” scored huge ratings in Germany on ZDF and on Austria’s ORF. In Germany, it attracted up to 10 million views per episode (linear and catch-up combined), multiple prime time wins, and big successes within the younger target group (between the ages of 14-49).

The YouTube channel dennafrancesglass has uploaded its first two videos this work week week (April 10–14). Both are songs played over still images.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Season 6 of Canadian cop show “Hudson & Rex,” one of the world’s most successful television brands, has been given the greenlight. The new season has been added to the sales slate of Beta Film at next week’s MipTV television conference and market in Cannes. The canine star of the police procedural, German Shepherd Diesel, who plays Rex, will walk the pink carpet on Sunday at TV series festival Canneseries, which runs in parallel with MipTV. He will be joined by John Reardon, who plays detective Charlie Hudson. The crime fighting duo are presenting the French premiere of the first episode of Season 4, followed by a Q&A with the talent.

Mip TV is just around the corner and, as ever, the content will be king. Here, Deadline walks you through seven of the buzziest dramas set for the Croisette, featuring police thrillers, a Royal Family docu-drama and Beta Film’s latest about the MS Estonia shipwreck. Read on for the best-in-class projects heading to Cannes for the April 17-19 confab.

Liam Neeson’s 27 year old son Micheál Richardson is totally unrecognisable after ditching his dad’s famous surname to pursue an acting career of his own. Micheál is the son of Oscar winning actor Liam Neeson, 70, and the late Natasha Richardson, an acclaimed actress who starred in hits including The Parent Trap and Maid in Manhattan. Despite his acting pedigree, Micheál is keen to make a name in his own right and has ditched the Neeson name to work under his mother’s, much less recognisable, surname.

Hurts have announced a number of dates for this summer, which are due to take place at various European festivals.Having previously shared in December that they would be playing Finland this summer, the band announced further dates in Germany and Latvia on their social media in the new year.Now, they have added that they’ll be headlining Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn, Estonia in July.Sharing the news on Instagram, Hurts singer Theo Hutchcraft wrote: “Getting so excited for these shows and seeing you all again!”Tickets for all the dates, which you can see below, are available now and can be found here.A post shared by Theo Hutchcraft (@theohurts)Hurts’ last album ‘Faith’ was released in 2020, and included the singles ‘Somebody’, ‘Voices’, ‘Suffer’ and ‘Redemption’.In a three-star review, NME wrote: “‘Faith’ has much to offer for fans seeking comfort in the idiosyncrasies of Hurts’ grand noir-pop, and also ushers in new musical kinks and tricks.“It hasn’t completely reinvented the wheel for Hurts, nor has it allowed them to rest on old habits. Instead, it presents them at their most open – and in age of isolation, there’s much to admire in that.”Last year, Hutchcraft paid tribute to Louis Tomlinson after the former One Direction member’s new album ‘Faith In The Future’ hit Number One in the UK Album Charts.Hutchcraft co-wrote three of the tracks on Tomlinson’s second album, including his recent single ‘Silver Tongues’.

Beninese artist and songwriter Angélique Kidjo, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell have been announced as the recipients of this year’s Polar Music Prize.They will be presented with their prizes and 600,000 Swedish Kroner at a ceremony in Stockholm on 23 May, which will be livestreamed on YouTube if you fancy watching it.Bigging up this year’s winners, the prize’s MD Marie Ledin says: “Angélique Kidjo is an inspirational artist, she constantly explores and challenges and is one of the greatest singer-songwriters in international music. We are THRILLED to be recognising her talent and shining a light on her important work with the Batonga Foundation”.“Arvo Pärt is one of the most incredible composers the world has ever seen, and his beautiful music has touched audiences around the globe”, she adds.

Eurovision 2023 Semi-Final running orders have been revealed – check it out below.The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool from May 9-13, with Mae Muller set to represent the UK with ‘I Wrote A Song’.The UK city was announced to stage the contest on behalf of Ukraine, after organisers deemed the country unable to host the event due to the ongoing war with Russia.You can find all the songs that are entered for this year’s competition here.This week, Eurovision shared the running order for the Semi-Final shows, which take place on Tuesday, May 9 and Thursday, May 11.Norway will kick off proceedings for the first Semi-Final, closed out 15 acts later with a performance by Finland. The second event is set to be opened by Denmark, with Australia hitting the stage last.We got #Eurovision2023 Semi-Final running orders ✨➡️ https://t.co/V1tz85qvRD pic.twitter.com/hSjYqudp6j— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) March 22, 2023The Big Five participants – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom, which make the biggest financial contributions to the contest – along with Ukraine, automatically qualify for the Grand Final.Check out the full schedule below.First Semi-Final Eurovision 20231. Norway2. Malta3. Serbia4. Latvia5. Portugal6. Ireland7. Croatia8. Switzerland9. Israel10. Moldova11. Sweden12. Azerbaijan13. Czechia14. Netherlands15. FinlandSecond Semi-Final Eurovision 20231. Denmark2. Armenia3. Romania4. Estonia5. Belgium6. Cyprus7. Iceland8. Greece9. Poland10. Slovenia11. Georgia12. San Marino13. Austria14. Albania15. Lithuania16. AustraliaMeanwhile, Eurovision final 2023 tickets sold out in just 36 minutes.Tickets for all nine shows including the live Grand Final went on sale

Jessica Kiang In a log-cabin sauna nestled in pretty woods by a lake, a setting straight off the top of a chocolate box, a group of women gather on and off through the changing seasons to sweat out their secrets and heal each other with heat, talk and arcane sauna-based rituals. It is a practise so specific to the Voro community of Estonia that it joins Cuba’s rum makers, Turkey’s coffee culture and suchlike on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List, a fact revealed at the end of Anna Hint’s lovely feature doc debut “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood.” And it feels exactly right, given that the small, smoky, steamy miracle of this film is how it creates something so intangible, so lyrical, from the absolutely elemental: fire, wood, water and lots of naked female flesh.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Autlook Filmsales has sold “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” which won the directing award for Anna Hints in the World Cinema Documentary section at Sundance, to more than 20 territories in North America, Europe and Australia. Deals are confirmed with Neue Visionen in Germany, Trigon in Switzerland, Against Gravity in Poland, Fidalgo in Norway, Ost For Paradise in Denmark, Vedetta in Benelux, Filmtrade in Greece and Cyprus, FilmIn in Spain, Alambique in Portugal, Filmladen in Austria, Pasaka Films in Lithuania, Artcam in Czech Rep. and Slovak Rep., Best Film in Latvia, Mozinet in Hungary, and Madman in Australia and New Zealand. The rights in U.S. have been picked up by Greenwich Entertainment and in Canada by Sherry Media Group. The theatrical release in Estonia is by ACME Film.