Kinomaja Filmikool

In 2022, two film directors - Eva Kübar and Liina Särkinen decided that it was time to open their own film home for young people, with the goal of teaching youth practical and theoretical skills in film in hopes to inspire a new generation of young filmmakers.
 

Kinomaja Film School opened its doors in the fall of 2022, and three groups began to operate - two Estonian-speaking and one international, with English as the working language.

 

The school takes place in the form of a year-long course, during which young participants form a fully working production team, each taking their desired specific role as a screenwriter, director, cameraman, sound engineer, producer, etc. After completing the firs year, it's possible to move on to the second year, where film making will continue and new aspects of it will be learned and practiced.

 

The production team writes the script, organises the casting of the actors, and does the production of filming. At the end of the course, in the form of an editing camp, the production teams put together the film and complete post production.
 

During the year, the participants can meet with various professionals from the film industry and learn to watch, analyse and pay attention to the necessary details before going to shoot with their film. When choosing the guests, we also take into account the wishes of the young people themselves and aim for variety in our guests' filmmaking styles and skill sets. In addition to the weekly classes, there are also master classes and workshops on screenwriting, cinematography, etc., as well as a film club.

 

At the beginning of summer, the school year ends with a grand premiere of films on the cinema screen for each group, after which they are also presented at festivals. 

 

In the summer we also host a summer camp for youth from anywhere in Estonia, in which the students split into production groups and create together fully fledged short films complete with post production in the span of a week. The students also do mini film related activities, like stop-motion exercises and microfilms.

Most important project of the year that we organise is a film festival for young film makers called KOOLIFILM. The event is open to all youth both locally in Estonia and internationally. For more information click here.