Riho Västrik
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Riho Västrik (born August 4, 1965) is an
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n filmmaker, producer, screenwriter, journalist, and historian.


Biography

Between 1988 and 2000, Västrik studied at the
University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
, where he received his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in history and journalism. He earned his
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in Film Arts at the
Baltic Film and Media School Baltic Film, Media and Arts School of Tallinn University (BFM) is a film and media school created in 2005 (as Baltic Film and Media School) as a college of Tallinn University, one of the biggest educational institutions in Estonia. BFM offers ...
in
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
, where he has worked as an associate professor in film since 2009.Riho Västrik - DOKweb - Institute of Documentary Film
/ref> From 1987 to 1990, Västrik was an actor in Tallinn's VAT Theater and, from 1990 to 1993, he worked on the editorial board of Estonian Radio. He was the chief editor of the news department for the Estonian television network RTV from 1993 to 1995. From 1997 to 2001, he worked as a news broadcaster for
Eesti Televisioon Eesti Televisioon (ETV) ( en, Estonian Television) is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Televis ...
. In 1996, he founded the Vesilind production company in Tallinn and has served as its managing director ever since. Västrik's documentary films focus on exploration in
post-Soviet The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...
, particularly in
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
, the Far North, and
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. He has collaborated with
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n, Latvian, Lithuanian,
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
, and German filmmakers. Riho Västrik - EstDocs
/ref> His collaborations with Russian filmmaker and scientist Vasily Sarana began with his work on
Alexander von Middendorff Alexander Theodor von Middendorff (russian: Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ми́ддендорф; tr. ; 18 August 1815 – 24 January 1894) was a zoologist and explorer of Baltic German and Estonian extraction. He is known for his ex ...
's explorations of the
Taymyr Peninsula The Taymyr Peninsula (russian: Таймырский полуостров, Taymyrsky poluostrov) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. Administrat ...
and have won many awards. Produced by Västrik, Sarana's film '' The Return of the Musk Ox'' won the Laurel Branch National Award for the Best Popular Science Film in Russia in 2008. In 1998, Västrik participated in the first Estonian expedition to the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
. In 2011, he participated in the reburial of Hermann Walter, a member of
Eduard Toll Eduard Gustav Freiherr von Toll (russian: Эдуа́рд Васи́льевич Толль, translit=Eduárd Vasíl'evič Toll'; 1902), better known in Russia as Eduard Vasilyevich Toll and often referred to as Baron von Toll, was a Russian ge ...
's
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...
expedition team, on
Kotelny Island Kotelny Island ( rus, Остров Котельный, r=Ostrov Kotelny; sah, Олгуйдаах Aрыы, translit=Olguydaax Arııta) is part of the Anzhu Islands subgroup of the New Siberian Islands located between the Laptev Sea and the East ...
in the
Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, t ...
. That same year, Västrik directed the documentary film '' Journey to Ararat'' on
Friedrich Parrot Johann Jacob Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot (14 October 1791) was a Baltic German naturalist, explorer, and mountaineer, who lived and worked in Dorpat (today Tartu, Estonia) in what was then the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. A pio ...
and
Khachatur Abovian Khachatur Abovian ( hy, Խաչատուր Աբովյան, Khach’atur Abovyan; (disappeared)) was an Armenian writer and national public figure of the early 19th century who mysteriously vanished in 1848 and was eventually presumed dead. He was ...
's 1829 expedition to
Mount Ararat Mount Ararat or , ''Ararat''; or is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in the extreme east of Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and th ...
. It was screened at the
Golden Apricot International Film Festival The ''Golden Apricot'' Yerevan International Film Festival (GAIFF) ( hy, «Ոսկե Ծիրան» Երևանի միջազգային կինոփառատոն) is an annual film festival held in Yerevan, Armenia. The festival was founded in 2004 w ...
in the
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
n capital
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...
in 2013.


Filmography


Director and Producer

* ''Forty Years Later'' (1998) * ''Estonians on the Summit of America'' (1998) * ''Cho-Oyu'' (1998) * ''Snow Leopard'' (1999) * ''
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
- Man and Mountain'' (2001) * ''The Warlord'' (2004) * ''In the Footsteps of Middendorff'' (2006) * ''The Otepää Gonne'' (2008) * ''Saint George'' (2009) * ''The Lake and the City'' (2010) * ''The Life of a Coastal Fisherman'' (2011) * '' Journey to Ararat'' (2011) * ''Man with the Top Hat'' (2012) * ''The Burden of a Fire'' (2013) * ''Landscape Patterns'' (2014) * ''Bonus Track'' (2016)


Producer

* ''Master Hunter: Portrait of Mati Hõbemägi'' (2004) * ''Songs of Coastal Meadows'' (2005) * ''Last Man Standing'' (2005) * ''Karula National Park'' (2005) * ''Time'' (2008) * ''The Return of the
Musk Ox Musk ( Persian: مشک, ''Mushk'') is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial sub ...
'' (2008) * ''Summer of a Newspaper Kid'' (2008) * ''How to Dance with Bears'' (2008) * ''Amateurs'' (2008) * ''Unlucky Talisman'' (2009) * ''The Drum'' (2009) * ''Old Man and the Moose'' (2009) * ''Journey to the Source of the
Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in ...
'' (2010) * ''Delta'' (2011) * ''The Pigeons'' (2012) * ''Tallinn City Symphony'' (2012) * ''Estonian Nature: Alam-Pedja'' (2013) * ''The House Guard'' (2015) * ''Life on the Mother River'' (2015) * ''Woman and the Glacier'' (2016) * ''Come Back Free'' (2016) * ''A Fragile World'' (2016)


References


External links

*
Riho Västrik
on
Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software a ...

Vesilind Productions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vastrik, Riho 1965 births Living people People from Abja-Paluoja Estonian documentary filmmakers Estonian film directors Estonian film producers 21st-century Estonian historians Estonian journalists University of Tartu alumni