Arts of Survival: Short Films about Southern Estonia

The short film collection Wild South presents eight stories about Tartu and Southern Estonia, capturing the tricks and mysteries about the arts of survival. Renowned filmmakers from Estonia and abroad bring us wild tales of people, communities, and the culture they live in. The films were made on the theme Arts of Survival, portraying the people living in the region around Tartu in southern Estonia which had the title of European Capital of Culture in 2024.

These films paint a multi-layered image of a region, where we meet peculiar vehicles known as “karakat” from Peipsi, charming non-places of Tartu, the wild German woman living an off-grid life without water and electricity, mischievous goats and crazy village parties, the diverse Annelinn residents of Tartu and nostalgic Petseri, slime mould and space exploration, and of course, the artists of survival from today and past.

Arts of Survival Documentaries is a part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.

The Art of Looking (dir. Andris Gauja, Estonia, Latvia 2024, 16 min)
Hilda Ha. Off the Grid (dir. Eva Kubar, Estonia 2024, 18 min)
A Perfect Day for Karakat (dir. Andrey Paounov, Estonia, Bulgaria 2024, 16 min)
The River and a Cat (dir. Maria Aua, Estonia 2024, 13 min)
Artists of Survival (dir. Jaan Tootsen, Estonia 2024, 15 min)
Cohabitants (dir. Viesturs Kairiss, Estonia, Latvia 2024, 20 min)
Sewing Machine (dir. Ulo Pikkov, Estonia 2024, 17 min)
The House (dir. Carl Olsson, Estonia, Sweden 2024, 15 min)