Arkaader is a collaborative project by the Estonian Film Institute and the National Archives of Estonia.
One section of the site includes a filmiriiul (“film shelf”) full of free and modestly priced rental options for streaming Estonian films. Elsewhere, you can also access kureeritud kogud (“curated collections”) where films are sorted by themes such as “Popkunst animatsioonis” (“pop art in animation”) and “Noorus on ilus aeg”(“youth is a beautiful time”).
It must be said that a sizable number of films on this site are from the time of the Soviet occupation, which can sometimes impact the freedom of expression in those films. That shouldn’t, however, prevent us from studying the art and lives of Estonians in that era.
These videos offer a glimpse into Estonians’ commutes and work, how people dressed at the time, as well as what the streets looked like.
In one curated collection, for instance, you can watch a series of short films about trams, trolleys, scooters and other vehicles that moved around Estonia's cities in the 1950s and 60s. These videos offer a glimpse into Estonians’ commutes and work, how people dressed at the time, as well as what the streets looked like. Having followed the stories of our families coming to new countries and continents as refugees, we don’t always get a chance to see what things looked like in the homeland they fled.
There is also a chance to engage with newer ideas, points of view, and approaches to filmmaking. The curated collection called “Keha ja keel” (“body and language”), is a series of one-minute films from 2022. It's quite enjoyable to watch different poetic interpretations of the human body, ageing, free will, and more.
One interesting film is Jõgi. Kõrb. Mägi. (“River. Desert. Mountain.”), which shows an actress express a flurry of emotions in a close-up shot and a wider shot of stretching movements. There aren’t English subtitles to be found in this video archive if you are still building your Estonian comprehension skills, but it is useful to listen to the sounds of the spoken language as much as possible, and there are non-verbal films as well.
When you click on each purple dot on the map, a side window opens up with the video you can watch and its pertinent production details.
For added context, Arkaader allows you to view Estonian movies marked on their filmikaart, a map of Estonia that indicates where each was made. The map also includes a few Estonian movies filmed elsewhere in Europe, in Asia, and in South America. When you click on each purple dot on the map, a side window opens up with the video you can watch and its pertinent production details.
For example, if you scroll around southern Estonia and click on the dot over Värska laht (Värska Bay) in Setomaa, you can watch the 2020 feature-length comedy film Vee peal (On the Water).
Enjoy the film heritage of Estonia from the comfort of your home today on arkaader.ee!
P.S. We want to hear from you!
Send us your pick of the top five Estonian films (whether they're on arkaader.ee or not) to digitaleditor@eestielu.ca so we can assemble reviews of these films. If you're interested in writing reviews for us, even better—Eesti Elu / Estonian Life is always looking for new contributors.
