The little big nation of Animation- Estonia excited about collaboration with India

Mumbai - The magic of animation was explored at the Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival in the presence of well known Estonian animator Priit Tender who is in Delhi to meet students and introduce them to a land where imagination can make anything possible- Animation according to Priit is a simple narrative that could be educative as well as entertaining.


Commenting on the Indian animation industry, Priit said that “It is still at a nascent stage and a lot of government impetus is needed to grow the industry here”. He pointed out that animation in Bollywood and Hollywood are made for earning money and it needs to generate revenue for the film makers, this does not allow the filmmakers the independence to experiment. Elaborating further on it he said, “This explains why animation industry the world over has not been popular as much as in Estonia”.

Priit though expressed lot of interest to tie up with Indian filmmakers. “I am looking forward to tie-up with Indian film makers and produce animation movies; it would be greatly exciting to explore characters that are different than the ones I dabble with in Estonia” he said.

Speaking on the tradition and popularity of Estonian animation industry Priit commented “Animation industry in Estonia is funded by the ‘State government’, which has set-up a film fund to finance animation films thus it doesn’t need to struggle for funds to produce movies or search for co-producers. This has popularized the animation industry in Estonia and provided it with the much needed boost. It has also enabled film makers to be independent in their film making and not be driven by commercial interests. In Estonia as animation is closer to an art form and heritage”.


He also pointed out that moving further there would be great demand for feature animation that is made for adults and not typically for children.



Sharing his thoughts on the sudden increase in the number of animation schools and commercialization of the trade, Priit believes that it is not the schools that teach animation but the actual on-ground studio experience that sculpts the animator. He believes that the relationship between the animation master and the student is the best way to learn the trade.


Priit also pointed out that there is a huge difference in short animation films and feature films, as in short films one can experiment. However in a feature animation film the character, visuals, as well as the plot needs to be defined and there is lesser scope of experimentation as one has to keep the viewer engaged for larger duration of time.

Priit would be conducting a master class for school students at Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival tomorrow introducing them to the world of animation and its technique.