Estonia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Global Screen has racked up presales to multiple territories for the animated family adventure movie “Niko — Beyond the Northern Lights,” the third in the box office hit franchise about a flying reindeer. The sales agency will be showing a first scene to buyers at Cannes Film Market. The animated movie has been picked up Kino Swiat for Poland, Bluelabel for South Korea, Just4Kids for the Benelux, GPI for the Baltic states, Karantanija for ex-Yugoslavia, Zinos Panagiotidis for Greece, Bad Unicorn for Romania, Bohemia Motion Pictures for Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Pro Film for Bulgaria and Bir Film for Turkey.

The Eurovision Song Contest final is underway with singers from 26 all taking to the stage.

The UK's Eurovision hopes this year rest on the shoulder of singer Mae Muller.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place in Liverpool with a live audience at the M&S Bank arena tonight.

The second of two Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals took place on Thursday in Liverpool, northern England.

The second Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals will take place on Thursday night and will see 16 countries battle it out for a place in the grand final.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Frida Kempff (“Winter Buoy”) is set to direct “The Swedish Torpedo,” a period film inspired by the life of Sally Bauer, the first Scandinavian to swim across the English Channel in 1939. The prominent Nordic cast is led by Josefin Neldén (“Border,” “438 Days”), Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (“Royal Affair,” “Borgen”), as well as Lisa Carlehed (“The Emigrants”). Produced by David Herdies and Erik Andersson at Momento Film, the film will start shooting in August in Sweden, Estonia, Belgium and England. “Five years ago I didn’t know who Sally Bauer was and even less what she had achieved. Five days ahead of the outbreak of WWII she swam across the English Channel,” said Kempff I feel this is a story that needs to be told, about a woman who accomplished the impossible and shattered both social norms and world records.”

Eurovision Song Contest has concluded, with 10 countries currently proceeding to the Grand Finals this Saturday (May 13).A grand total of 26 countries will participate in the finals, consisting of 10 finalists from semi-finals round 1, 10 finalists from semi-finals round 2, the “big 5” and Ukraine.The first 10 finalists from semi-finals round 1 has finally been revealed after a slew of performances and voting, with the following countries coming out on top: Norway, Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden, Czechia and Finland.Watch Norway’s Alessandra perform ‘Queen of Kings’ below.This means that the countries eliminated from the contest following the first rounds of semi-finals are the Netherlands, Malta, Latvia, Ireland and Azerbaijan.Countries set to take part in the second round of semi-finals on Thursday (May 11) are: Denmark, Armenia, Romania, Estonia, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Georgia, San Marino, Austria, Albania, Lithuania and Australia.Watch Sweden representative Loreen‘s performance of ‘Tattoo’ below.The “Big 5” countries guaranteed a spot in the finals without having to participate in semi-finals are France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Italy, as they contribute the most financially to the Eurovision Song Contest. Last year’s winners Ukraine also automatically qualify for the finals this year.Ireland’s elimination from this year’s contest marks the latest in a string of failed attempts to qualify, with the country not making eight of its 10 most recent attempts.

The first Eurovision Song Contest semi-final has taken place in Liverpool.

The first round of Eurovision 2023 semi-finals have taken place at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena, with hosts Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina welcoming 15 acts to battle it our for a place in this weekend's grand final.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Eco-thriller “The Swarm,” which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, has been acquired in the U.K. by pay-TV operator Sky. Negotiations with a U.S. partner are in the final stages. The show, produced by multiple Primetime Emmy award winner and “Game of Thrones” executive producer Frank Doelger and NDF IP’s managing director Eric Welbers, is set to play on the Sky Max channel in the U.K. later this year. “The Swarm” scored huge ratings in Germany on ZDF and on Austria’s ORF. In Germany, it attracted up to 10 million views per episode (linear and catch-up combined), multiple prime time wins, and big successes within the younger target group (between the ages of 14-49).

The YouTube channel dennafrancesglass has uploaded its first two videos this work week week (April 10–14). Both are songs played over still images.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Season 6 of Canadian cop show “Hudson & Rex,” one of the world’s most successful television brands, has been given the greenlight. The new season has been added to the sales slate of Beta Film at next week’s MipTV television conference and market in Cannes. The canine star of the police procedural, German Shepherd Diesel, who plays Rex, will walk the pink carpet on Sunday at TV series festival Canneseries, which runs in parallel with MipTV. He will be joined by John Reardon, who plays detective Charlie Hudson. The crime fighting duo are presenting the French premiere of the first episode of Season 4, followed by a Q&A with the talent.

Mip TV is just around the corner and, as ever, the content will be king. Here, Deadline walks you through seven of the buzziest dramas set for the Croisette, featuring police thrillers, a Royal Family docu-drama and Beta Film’s latest about the MS Estonia shipwreck. Read on for the best-in-class projects heading to Cannes for the April 17-19 confab.

Liam Neeson’s 27 year old son Micheál Richardson is totally unrecognisable after ditching his dad’s famous surname to pursue an acting career of his own. Micheál is the son of Oscar winning actor Liam Neeson, 70, and the late Natasha Richardson, an acclaimed actress who starred in hits including The Parent Trap and Maid in Manhattan. Despite his acting pedigree, Micheál is keen to make a name in his own right and has ditched the Neeson name to work under his mother’s, much less recognisable, surname.

Hurts have announced a number of dates for this summer, which are due to take place at various European festivals.Having previously shared in December that they would be playing Finland this summer, the band announced further dates in Germany and Latvia on their social media in the new year.Now, they have added that they’ll be headlining Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn, Estonia in July.Sharing the news on Instagram, Hurts singer Theo Hutchcraft wrote: “Getting so excited for these shows and seeing you all again!”Tickets for all the dates, which you can see below, are available now and can be found here.A post shared by Theo Hutchcraft (@theohurts)Hurts’ last album ‘Faith’ was released in 2020, and included the singles ‘Somebody’, ‘Voices’, ‘Suffer’ and ‘Redemption’.In a three-star review, NME wrote: “‘Faith’ has much to offer for fans seeking comfort in the idiosyncrasies of Hurts’ grand noir-pop, and also ushers in new musical kinks and tricks.“It hasn’t completely reinvented the wheel for Hurts, nor has it allowed them to rest on old habits. Instead, it presents them at their most open – and in age of isolation, there’s much to admire in that.”Last year, Hutchcraft paid tribute to Louis Tomlinson after the former One Direction member’s new album ‘Faith In The Future’ hit Number One in the UK Album Charts.Hutchcraft co-wrote three of the tracks on Tomlinson’s second album, including his recent single ‘Silver Tongues’.

Beninese artist and songwriter Angélique Kidjo, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell have been announced as the recipients of this year’s Polar Music Prize.They will be presented with their prizes and 600,000 Swedish Kroner at a ceremony in Stockholm on 23 May, which will be livestreamed on YouTube if you fancy watching it.Bigging up this year’s winners, the prize’s MD Marie Ledin says: “Angélique Kidjo is an inspirational artist, she constantly explores and challenges and is one of the greatest singer-songwriters in international music. We are THRILLED to be recognising her talent and shining a light on her important work with the Batonga Foundation”.“Arvo Pärt is one of the most incredible composers the world has ever seen, and his beautiful music has touched audiences around the globe”, she adds.

Eurovision 2023 Semi-Final running orders have been revealed – check it out below.The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool from May 9-13, with Mae Muller set to represent the UK with ‘I Wrote A Song’.The UK city was announced to stage the contest on behalf of Ukraine, after organisers deemed the country unable to host the event due to the ongoing war with Russia.You can find all the songs that are entered for this year’s competition here.This week, Eurovision shared the running order for the Semi-Final shows, which take place on Tuesday, May 9 and Thursday, May 11.Norway will kick off proceedings for the first Semi-Final, closed out 15 acts later with a performance by Finland. The second event is set to be opened by Denmark, with Australia hitting the stage last.We got #Eurovision2023 Semi-Final running orders ✨➡️ https://t.co/V1tz85qvRD pic.twitter.com/hSjYqudp6j— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) March 22, 2023The Big Five participants – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom, which make the biggest financial contributions to the contest – along with Ukraine, automatically qualify for the Grand Final.Check out the full schedule below.First Semi-Final Eurovision 20231. Norway2. Malta3. Serbia4. Latvia5. Portugal6. Ireland7. Croatia8. Switzerland9. Israel10. Moldova11. Sweden12. Azerbaijan13. Czechia14. Netherlands15. FinlandSecond Semi-Final Eurovision 20231. Denmark2. Armenia3. Romania4. Estonia5. Belgium6. Cyprus7. Iceland8. Greece9. Poland10. Slovenia11. Georgia12. San Marino13. Austria14. Albania15. Lithuania16. AustraliaMeanwhile, Eurovision final 2023 tickets sold out in just 36 minutes.Tickets for all nine shows including the live Grand Final went on sale

Jessica Kiang In a log-cabin sauna nestled in pretty woods by a lake, a setting straight off the top of a chocolate box, a group of women gather on and off through the changing seasons to sweat out their secrets and heal each other with heat, talk and arcane sauna-based rituals. It is a practise so specific to the Voro community of Estonia that it joins Cuba’s rum makers, Turkey’s coffee culture and suchlike on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List, a fact revealed at the end of Anna Hint’s lovely feature doc debut “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood.” And it feels exactly right, given that the small, smoky, steamy miracle of this film is how it creates something so intangible, so lyrical, from the absolutely elemental: fire, wood, water and lots of naked female flesh.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Autlook Filmsales has sold “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” which won the directing award for Anna Hints in the World Cinema Documentary section at Sundance, to more than 20 territories in North America, Europe and Australia. Deals are confirmed with Neue Visionen in Germany, Trigon in Switzerland, Against Gravity in Poland, Fidalgo in Norway, Ost For Paradise in Denmark, Vedetta in Benelux, Filmtrade in Greece and Cyprus, FilmIn in Spain, Alambique in Portugal, Filmladen in Austria, Pasaka Films in Lithuania, Artcam in Czech Rep. and Slovak Rep., Best Film in Latvia, Mozinet in Hungary, and Madman in Australia and New Zealand. The rights in U.S. have been picked up by Greenwich Entertainment and in Canada by Sherry Media Group. The theatrical release in Estonia is by ACME Film.

Zach Shallcross' way on . On Monday night's episode of the ABC series, Zach said goodbye to Greer after they lost two weeks together, first from his COVID diagnosis and then from hers. While Greer told Zach that she'd be «more than happy» to introduce him to her family during Hometowns, he admitted that, given the time lost, he didn't feel «100 percent confident» in doing so.

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Season 27, Episode 6 of ABC‘s The Bachelor.

SPOILER ALERT – Do not continue reading if you don’t want to know what happened on episode three of The Bachelor!

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic “Luther: The Fallen Sun” starts by punishing its protagonist — scruffy, cross-the-line Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba) — for all his past sins after the franchise’s latest villain, played by Andy Serkis, releases details of Luther’s rule-bending tactics to the media. On the phone with some kind of Estonian henchman, Serkis’ Robey implies that it will be tricky to dig up the dirt on Luther because “he doesn’t have much of an online presence,” but the next thing we know, Luther’s being tossed into a high-security prison. Guess they got their hands on the past five seasons of the BBC Television series. Or maybe the last episode was enough — although we won’t retroactively give it away here, for those who haven’t dedicated the past dozen years to following Luther’s exploits. Suffice to say, this was the role that got people speculating that Elba might make a suitable replacement when Daniel Craig decided to retire his license to kill. Like Craig’s 21st-century 007, Luther was a darker, more tortured kind of action hero, torn between a constipated psychology and his locomotive drive to capture and punish wrongdoers.

Marta Balaga DR Sales has closed a deal with Walter Presents on the popular drama series “Carmen Curlers.” The company has picked up the show for the U.K. and Ireland, as well as taking North American rights for PBS Masterpiece. Based on true events and kick-starting in the 1960s, the show chronicles the invention of the electric curler in Denmark. It also focuses on its female workers, making their own money for the first time in their lives, and societal changes, already lurking around the corner. “I am absolutely delighted to welcome ‘Carmen Curlers’ in the Walter Presents collection of the very best international drama,” says executive director Walter Luzzolino, calling it “a warm, incisive, emotionally absorbing piece with a gorgeous vintage aesthetic and a truly remarkable script.” 

Christopher Vourlias Latvian director Viesturs Kairiss, who won the international narrative competition at the Tribeca Film Festival last year with his coming-of-age drama “January,” is prepping his next feature film. “Ulya” is based on the real-life story of Ulyana Semjonova, a girl raised in the Latvian countryside who reaches a height of seven feet and would go on to become a famous professional basketball player. Set in the 1970s in Latvia, which was then part of the Soviet Union, the film follows its titular heroine from the time she leaves the countryside at the age of 14 and travels to Riga to play basketball. Kairiss described that as a “crucial stage” in Semjonova’s life, as her body was undergoing dramatic — and traumatic — changes for a teenage girl, while she also began to learn how to overcome adversity and, through basketball, find her place in life.

Christopher Vourlias When a rock festival held in Tallinn in the summer of 1988 was shut down by Soviet authorities, thousands of Estonians took to the streets, waving Estonian flags and singing patriotic songs in a bold show of defiance of Soviet rule. By the festival’s final night, some 200,000 people had joined what would later be dubbed the Singing Revolution, a catalyst for the non-violent movement that swept across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the early-‘90s and paved the way for independence. Even under Moscow’s thumb the Baltics demanded to be heard. For decades the three small nations have drawn on their historical, cultural and economic ties to create a sum that’s bigger than its parts, a collaborative spirit that’s also energized the countries’ growing screen industries, which will share the stage as joint Countries in Focus at this year’s European Film Market.

Christopher Vourlias This year, Latvia is sharing a spotlight with neighboring Lithuania and Estonia at the European Film Market, which has dedicated its 2023 Country in Focus Spotlight to the Baltic nations. It’s a sign of the tremendous strides the country has taken to put itself on the world cinema map, with the screen industries both producing more films and TV series than ever before and luring increasingly ambitious international projects to Northeastern Europe. Here’s a rundown of some of the top Latvian projects in the pipeline that their producers will be pitching in Berlin: Blue BloodDirector: Juris KursietisProducers: White Picture, Stellar Film, Asterisk*The follow-up to Kursietis’ Cannes Directors’ Fortnight player “Oleg” is the story of a successful couple whose comfortable life is turned upside-down when the husband is implicated in a massive corruption scandal.Sales: N/A

Christopher Vourlias When the European Film Market kicks off in Berlin on Feb. 16, the three Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will share the stage as the EFM’s joint Countries in Focus. The showcase, which is supported by the Estonian Film Institute, the National Film Center of Latvia and the Lithuanian Film Center, will offer a range of events within the framework of the EFM, along with a selection of market premieres and screenings of Baltic films already making waves on the festival circuit. Twelve up-and-coming Baltic producers will also be presented to the international industry during a happy hour on Feb. 17 in the Gropius Bas. Here’s a selection of Baltic buzz titles that the region’s top producers will be taking to Berlin:

Christopher Vourlias When a young Viesturs Kairiss started to dream about becoming a filmmaker thirty-some-odd years ago, he knew his path wouldn’t be straightforward or easy. Before the fall of the Soviet Union, aspiring Latvian directors would have to travel to Moscow or St. Petersburg to enroll in venerable Soviet film schools. After independence, Kairiss was among the first class of graduates from the newly launched film studies program at the Latvian Academy of Culture, one of many ways in which the small Baltic republic attempted to assert its own identity after half a century of Soviet rule. “We didn’t have any technique,” Kairiss admits of he and his film school peers, laughing. For his first feature film, “Leaving by the Way” (2001), he enlisted friends for below-the-line work and recruited actors from the local theater school. When the film bowed in the Crystal Globe competition at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, it was the culmination of what he describes as “a totally crazy, passionate journey” for a group of filmmakers laboring in an industry that didn’t truly exist.

Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish had a happy Valentine’s Day, swashbuckling to a new global milestone. The spinoff sequel crossed $400M with Tuesday’s numbers bringing the worldwide kitty to $401.5M. The split is $160.1M domestic and $241.4M at the international box office. 

Naman Ramachandran Banijay’s Endemol Shine India and Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan’s Black Knight Films will adapt hit Danish/Swedish scripted series “Bron/Broen” (“The Bridge”) for Indian audiences.  ” ‘The Bridge’ is actually something that I was actively looking to produce. So I went looking for it,” Khan told Variety. The original show opens with a dead body on a border that is shared by two countries and the discovery leads to a joint investigation by the police forces of the two regions, forcing detectives from both sides to work together to solve the crime. The global success of “The Bridge” – which has aired in 188 countries – has led to its adaptation in multiple languages, set across the international borders of U.S./Mexico, U.K./France, Germany/Austria, Singapore/Malaysia and Russia/Estonia.

Environmental Activism Pic ‘Finite: The Climate of Change’ Lands UK Release & Global Sales EXCLUSIVE: Feature documentary Finite: The Climate of Change has secured a UK theatrical release from indie distributor Espresso Media from February 15. Espresso is also handling global distribution, with sales to Japan (NHK) and Estonia (ERR) confirmed. The pic is currently in release in Germany. Directed by climate activist turned filmmaker Rich Felgate, the film follows concerned citizens in Germany who step forward to save an ancient forest from one of Europe’s biggest coal mines. However, the local citizens also form an unlikely alliance with a frustrated community in rural northeast England who are forced into action to protect their homes from a new opencast coal mine.

, has died. She was 56.“I never sold my soul,” Patitz said in a 2020 interview. Born in Hamburg to an Estonian mother and German father, she moved with her family to Skanör, an idyllic seaside town in the south of Sweden when she was quite young.

EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker William Brent Bell has signed with Range Media Partners for management in all areas.

NBCUniversal Global Distributor has struck an old school multi-year content deal in Europe’s Baltic region.