Ida-Viru County ready to become Estonian Hollywood as Jõhvi film complex takes shape
Ida-Viru County could soon become Estonia's answer to Hollywood, with construction work on the new multi-million euro film studio complex in Jõhvi already past the halfway mark.
On Wednesday, a topping out ceremony, which traditionally takes place when a building's highest beam or equivalent is installed, was held at the construction site of the new studio complex.
According Teet Kuusmik, managing director of the Ida-Viru Investment Agency, if the construction work continues at its current pace, the facility will be ready in June next year – a month earlier than planned.
"At the end of September, we had completed 46 percent of the work with the builders. Today, October 15, 50 percent of the work has already been done. It's a big challenge because we are building studios, office buildings and infrastructure. Therefore, we are in constant communication with the various builders and need to resolve any issues related to the construction site. We are already holding careful consultations over the first projects," Kuusmik told ERR.
Elsewhere in Jõhvi, the winner of the prestigious Kaljo Kiisk Young Filmmaker Scholarship was also announced. The award went to producer Kirill Volkov, who is originally from Ida-Viru County.
The purpose of the scholarship is to honor the memory of film director and actor Kaljo Kiisk (1925–2007), who was originally from Ida-Viru County, as well as to encourage young filmmakers to discover and document the diversity of the region.
"Last year, I was already received quite a lot of praise. This year, for some reason, I thought I had a better chance, but I still had the feeling that I would not win the prize," said Volkov. "When I think about how I will spend the scholarship, I want to use it all for my own education. I want to travel the world and attend several conferences," he said.
The competition for the Kaljo Kiisk scholarship is open to feature films, documentaries and music videos, including both full-length and short films, that have been filmed (even partially) in Ida-Viru County. It can be applied for by directors, producers, cinematographers, composers, artists, and creative teams under the age of 40 for works completed in the last 3 years.
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Editor: Michael Cole, Irina Dogatko
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"
