Music and film

MERLI ANTSMAA, Filmus, Estonian World

Michael Pärt, the curator of the Music Meets Film programme, talks to Estonian World about his work and the Estonian film and film music industry in general.

Would you imagine meeting someone who has worked with international Oscar and Grammy-nominated talents – musicians like Björk and Arcade Fire, or film directors Peter Jackson, Francis Ford Coppola and film music composer Howard Shore. The Estonian music producer, Michael Pärt, is just that person and he’s very modest about his work. He grew up in Germany and received his master’s degree at Kingston University in London. His family lived until 2007 in Iceland but has now settled in Estonia where Michael has been most recently active in the centre dedicated to his father – the Arvo Pärt Centre.

For the eighth year in a row, the Music Meets Film programme takes place alongside the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in November and Michael Pärt has been curating the process for the last three years. The initiative is aimed at composers and directors; from music and sound creatives through to producers, agents and the wider music and film industry. Where is the Estonian film and film music industry going, what are relevant issues and who are the guests at this years’ Music Meets Film?

Let’s talk about the film industry in Estonia – are there any benefits for a small industry?

There are lots of benefits. First, a smaller industry can be very versatile. For example, we see how Estonia has embraced technology and has built up infrastructure from zero from just a few decades ago. It started at the right time – which also coincided with the birth of the internet.

If one wants to be versatile and push something through, then a small country can give you that freedom. Basically, you know everyone in your pool. Obviously, there is a silver lining to that, too. The more free and compact you are, the smaller the pool of competency. It’s just a matter of mathematics. Obviously, this is not a general stance, but rather a guide. If you look at film industries in larger countries, let’s say England or France, you see how the competition, both positive and negative, pushes the standard of the industry, purely by its nature.

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