Newsreels over years methodology

Annual production of newsreels by Eesti Kultuurfilm and Tallinnfilm studios in 1920-1997 by issue number and newsreel title.

In which years the production of Estonian newsreels peaked? When did the newsreel production experience difficulties and journal titles changed?

The visualisation above shows the number of newsreels in this dataset produced every year in Estonia. It covers the newsreel issues “Eesti Kultuurfilmi ringvaade”, “Ringvaade Nõukogude Eesti”, and “Eesti Kroonika” produced by Eesti Kultuurfilm and Tallinnfilm studios in 1923-1997 that have been stored in archive and digitized by the end of year 2022 in Estonia. This visualisation covers the major part of the professional newsreel production in Estonia in 1932-1997.

Production of newsreels by Eesti Kultuurfilm and Tallinnfilm studios in 1920-1943 by issue number and newsreel title.

The closeup of the visualisation covering years 1920-1943 shows that the newsreel production in Eesti Kultuurfilm was minimal in the 1920s and early 1930s, and not all the issues have been preserved or digitized. This visualisation does not show the production of the Estonia film or Theodor Lutsu filmproduktsioon studios in the 1920s and the 1930s. The issue numbers can reach up to 130 or more, because the same running numbering was used for several years. For example, the first newsreel issue of year 1939 followed the number of the last issue of year 1938. The first Soviet occupation in 1939-1941 is visible as a launch of production of “Nõukogude Eesti” newsreel series, that was inerrupted by the German occupation in 1941.

Production of newsreels by Tallinnfilm studio in 1943-1997 by issue number and newsreel title.

The closeup of the visualisation covering years 1943-1997 shows that domestic newsreel production during the World War II was very small, but was re-established rapidly by the Soviet authorities in 1946. The production of the “Nõukogude Eesti” newsreel journal reached annually around 36-52 issues in 1948-1968, and diminished into annual number of 24 issues in 1969-1988. In 1989 the title was changed into “Eesti kroonika”, which was produced until end of newsreel production in Estonia in 1997. In 1994-1997 the annual number of newsreels diminished into 12 issues per year.