NEWS film On the Water. In 2021, Neitsi Maali went to Veiko Õunpuu’s The Last Ones. Maria Ulfsak was elected film journalist of the year. “We recognized Maria for her outstanding work as the head of the cinema section in Eesti Ekspress, and sharp statements as a critic. In addition, we would like to mention Sten-Kristian Saluveer, who has elaborately covered the future of Estonian film and cinema in general in his writings,” said Liimets. Award for the theatrical release of the year went to the three-time Oscar winner Nomadland, distri buted by Hea Film. Neitsi Maali was given out for the 29th time which makes it the longest-running film award in Estonia. Neitsi Maali is supported by Olympic Casino Estonia and the Cultural Endowment Fund of Estonia. The Estonian Film Journalists’ Association was founded in 1993, and is a member of the International film critics’ association FIPRESCI. EF
Neitsi Maali for best film: A Loss of Something Ever Felt (directed by Carlos Lesmes). The award was received by the film’s editor Hendrik Mägar and sound designer Haendel Gabriel Solis.
Film Journalists Elected Their Favourites In the beginning of January 2022, the Estonian Film Journalists’ Association announced the recipients of their annual awards: best Estonian film of 2021 (laureate of Neitsi Maali), best theatrical release, and film journalist of the year. By EFI Photos by Eero Vabamägi
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eitsi Maali, an award that has been given out since 1993, went to Carlos Eduardo Lesmes Lopez for the documentar A Loss of Something Ever Felt. It is a first time since 2011 for a documentary to win this prize. “Film journalists acknowledge Carlos Lesmes for a courageous and emphatic approach to a complicated
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social issue, in an especially personal story of a family,” said Andrei Liimets, chairman of the association. Four more films were nominated for the award and the prize money of EUR 2500: Rasmus Merivoo’s family horror film Kratt, German Golub’s short film My Dear Corpses, documentary portrait u.Q. by Ivar Murd, and Peeter Simm’s feature
Film journalist of the year: Maria Ulfsak
