30 April 2012 (ERR)

It was 100 years ago today that the country's first filmmaker, Johannes Pääsuke, premiered his first short in Tartu, a chronicle of Russian aviator Sergei Utoshkin's stunt flight.

To mark the occasion, movie enthusiasts are holding major events in the city today, ETV reported. Among them is an awards ceremony that will honor top Estonian filmmakers in nine categories. ETV will begin broadcasting the event tonight at 20:00.

Other events celebrating the 100th anniversary of Estonian movie-making are being held throughout the year. Readers can keep up to date on the festival's English-language website.

The first moving pictures shot in Estonia were made by foreign cameramen in 1908, when the King of England met with the Russian tsar.

In 1912, Pääsuke shot the first-ever Estonian documentary, which unfortunately has not been preserved. Although the stunt pilot Utoshkin did fly in Tartu, it has been ascertained that the first film itself was not made in Tartu. Evidence shows, though, that the film was in fact made by Pääsuke (little information about the man, other than his creations, remains).

Two years later, Pääsuke's feature film "Karujaht Pärnumaal" (The Pärnu County Bear Hunt) was completed. Also a photographer, Pääsuke took thousands of photos of towns across the nation, depicting the diversity of the various regions of Estonia.

Read more about the anniversary of the Estonian film