Estonian cinema is slowly recovering from the COVID-era slump, when movie theater attendance hit historic lows. But filmmakers now face a new challenge: a heavily consolidated movie theater landscape.

Riho Västrik, documentarian and acting director of Tallinn University's Baltic Film, Media and Arts School (BFM), says Apollo dominates the market, leaving only a handful of small independent theaters.

Speaking on Raadio 2's "Piltlikult öeldes," Västrik noted that compared to before, when other movie theater chains still operated in Estonia, this current consolidation limits lesser-known filmmakers' ability to more widely screen their work.

"If I'm a filmmaker and I want my film in theaters, I now depend on whether I can reach a deal with Apollo or not," he explained. "I have no backup option if Apollo won't give me a distribution opportunity or offers inconvenient screening times."

Still, Västrik sees progress in Estonian film quality. "Our film productions have steadily improved," he said, noting that the gains in both technical and artistic quality are easy to see.

He also praised BFM's robust film education but lamented the scarcity of film historians and scholars, saying the field isn't as thoroughly conceptualized in Estonia as other cultural sectors.

Attitudes among students have shifted, too. Västrik recalls that before BFM, students competed over who slept least, taking nighttime shoots because there just wasn't enough equipment to go around.

"I don't think film students today are willing to put that much effort in," he said. "I don't want to be unfair, but that kind of half-crazed fanaticism seems to be gone."

Movie theaters have to win back audiences

Rasmus Rääk, program director at Tartu's small independent Elektriteater, says movie theaters in Estonia are slowly recovering, but attendance hasn't yet reached 2019 levels. He noted that while Apollo representatives still describe the situation as "bleak," Elektriteater, while not untouched by the slump, is making a solid comeback.

The biggest hurdle, he said, is sparking young folks' interest. "This is not unique to our movie theater; theaters around the world are struggling with the same issue," he said. Teenagers are particularly hard to attract.

Streaming platforms have also reshaped viewing habits.

Films, especially documentaries, leave theaters quickly. Filmmakers, unsure how long their work will stay on the big screen, often arrange a deal with ERR in advance, Rääk said. "Some of our audience members will ask, 'Why bother coming to see a new documentary in theaters? It'll be on Jupiter in a month anyway.'"

Rääk acknowledged that movie tickets have gotten significantly more expensive in recent years but added they likely won't rise much further.

"People have gotten very, very cost-conscious," the program director said, noting that Elektriteater finally introduced discounted tickets as well. "I don't see ticket prices rising anytime soon, simply because that would seriously affect attendance."

Estonian film bolder, more global

Director's assistant Matilde Matvere says Estonian films have grown bolder and more diverse in genre. Comedies, for example, have embraced a freer, more daring style.

"When I was younger, my friends and I would laugh at stupid American comedy jokes," Matvere recalled. "Why not laugh at stupid jokes in Estonian too?"

Smaller budgets and limited equipment no longer limit creative possibilities either, and Estonia's film industry is seeing more money and more opportunities these days besides, she added.

International collaborations have bolstered Estonian cinema even further.

"Foreigners have discovered that Estonian staff and artistic teams are of such high quality," the director's assistant said. "Film production may be cheaper here, but once they get here, they see we make no concessions on quality and hold ourselves to very high standards."

Producers, she added, actively promote their work and seek out further support at international festivals.

This year's smash hit in Estonia has been Tõnis Pill's "Fränk," which follows 13-year-old Paul after yet another fight with his abusive dad prompts him to run away and stay with his uncle someplace new. Matvere was part of the crew.

"When I read the script for 'Fränk,' it spoke to me so much," she acknowledged. "I, along with others, want to tell the stories of young folks who feel alone or think that nobody understands them."

They had a feeling that Estonian youth could identify with the story, or the actors — and their intuition was right.

The original Estonian-language article was produced as part of a University of Tartu course by master's students Anna-Liisa Sootalu, Evelina Koidu, Henrik Laever and Mark Joonas Toomsalu.

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