Estonia Documentary
Introduction
Through years of occupations and foreign rule, the people of Estonia relied on music to preserve their heritage. Song and dance celebrations are an important tradition for Estonians and part of their national DNA.
The Estonia Song and Dance Celebration is held every five years at the Grounds in Tallinn. It is a celebration of friends and family, heritage and culture, and most importantly, freedom of expression.
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Producer, Web Development
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• Bill Frakes – Director, Lead Photographer
• Laura Heald – Editor, Videographer
• Christine Casey – Photographer
• Dan Edwards – Colorist and sound editing -
Nikon Nordic
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Straw Hat Visuals
Challenge
Our goal was to showcase this time-honored tradition from multiple vantage points within 48 hours. With this large-scale event, there are several other smaller events, such as a parade and a torch ceremony we also wanted to include in addition to the dancing and singing itself.
Process
We created eight videos including one of the president of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik, and the lead conductor of the festival, Taavo Virkhaus.
I compiled the short videos and other storytelling materials, into a long-form website for the project.
Product
“Let Freedom Sing” won National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) News Multimedia 48 Hours award, and the product was shared on Nikon Nordic’s social media channels.
The winds of change move constantly over the Baltic region, bringing darkness and light in rhythmic succession. For the Estonian people, they’ve seen this before and have weathered the storm, relying on their most basic of traditions to steer them.
The Estonia Song and Dance Celebration is held every five years at the Grounds in Tallinn. It is a celebration of friends and family, heritage and culture, and most importantly, freedom of expression.
Through years of occupations and foreign rule, the people of Estonia relied on music to preserve their heritage. Song and dance celebrations are an important tradition for Estonians and part of their national DNA. Though the festivals have taken place regardless of foreign occupation, music has been a key part of protest over the years as well as an expression of love, unity, and a need for freedom and sovereignty. During the “Singing Revolution” in 1988, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the Song Celebration grounds to demand Estonia’s independence from the Soviet Union by singing patriotic songs. Faced with similar festivals in the neighboring Baltic States of Lithuania and Latvia, the Soviet Union responded with military intervention and celebrants were killed. However, no blood was shed in Estonia.
Estonia regained its independence in 1991.