Map out Estonia’s film catalogue on Arkaader.ee

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.