As of 2001, Kinobuss has been working to recreate the local cinema network, to promote and make local films available to communities, and to introduce alternative films.

Kinobuss main activities are: exhibition (travelling cinema) and distribution; developing film and media education; providing film and animation workshops / trainings for youth and school teachers.

The main purpose is to combine film, media and education by teaching the language of film and animation or simply - Teaching with film and animation.

Kinobuss' selection of films consists Estonian and non-commercial world cinema. As the visual language (film) can be entertaining as educative, our program contains features, documentaries, shorts, student films etc. Films will be screened at partner venues including cultural centers, rural cinemas, and schools.

The collaboration with schools and youth centers has allowed Kinobuss to work closely with children and youth. The aim of Kinobuss' film and animation workshops is to teach the basics of audiovisual language: the elements of a story, design, directing, photography, editing, and different techniques using digital video technology (for both home users and non-professionals). The simple idea is to prove that anyone can make their own film, no matter how young (or old) they are!

Kinobuss works with young people with different social and cultural background, including children with disabilities and youth from ethnic minority groups. Kinobuss activities support childrens creativity, expand their ways to express themselves, their thoughts and views of life, while teaching them new skills. Always ready for new and exciting challenges in the art of film making, Kinobuss has been and continues to be involved in several local and international (EU) projects, including "Kinobuss in Orphanages", "Kinobuss Against Drugs", "Environmental Education with Film", "Digital Arts", Teaching with Animation!, Animated Science, international travelling festival Moving Baltic Sea and many more.

With the increase of media education, media classes and film clubs, and new media, the world of film, animation, and video games - are all part of the language of modern daily life. For that reason, Kinobuss also offers film and media training for teachers to expand their familiarity with technology (the use of cameras, etc.). Such instruction widens the teachers' variety of instruction processes and methods, and introduces the use of film as a teaching tool - i.e., "teaching with film".

The best known Kinobuss project is the summer film festival "Kinobuss is Coming" which was also the start-up project for Kinobuss as an organisation back in 2001. But why would you need a travelling cinema these days? To understand the need for a modern mobile cinema, firstly, a short flashback on the background of Estonian cinema network. The culture of cinema have always been very popular in Estonia but along with the re-independence of Estonia the cinema network collapsed, cinema attendance changed and decreased around ten times. According to the statistics the numbers were quite frightful - in 1990 the number of cinemas were 611, in 1992 already 452. By 1997 there were only 53 cinemas and only 12 of them were operating regularly on daily-weekly bases. This unfortunate situation was caused by the increase of cinema ticket price, different new and alternative media forms, and the growth of enlarged activities.

Kinobuss is Coming - is an annual summer film festival which offers people a 2 week long outdoor event all over the country. Kinobuss screens a varied film program, offers film and animation workshops and lectures by film professionals and other cultural activities. In 2006, a "live" film-concert - a combination of a silent film screening with live music was introduced to Kinobuss audiences. In 2007 we changed our concept and turned into a CinemaBoat (KinoLodi) as we took our equipment, loaded it on a unique one-masted and restored old-fashioned river barge Lodi (www.lodi.ee). We sailed on local rivers and lakes and (as far as we know) offered the world´s first screening on a boat sail! Nice weather, no wind and that is all it takes to have a cozy evening in an open air Sail-Cinema! ;) And in 2008 we visited people not only with our magnificent Bus and LodiBoat but also with a Train!

Through the years, Kinobuss has been invited to visit other countries to introduce Estonian film culture and educate youth in making films! As of 2003 Kinobuss has visited Latvia, Sweden, many times Finland and two times the USA (taking part of the Kids Euro Festival ´08 and ´09).

In 2009 we had a magnificent 1,5 month long tour around Europe, starting from the the Balkans (Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia&Herzogovina, Croatia and Slovenia), continuing to Austria (Linz - the European Culture Capital ´09) , Germany and ending the tour in Russia (Novgorod - International Hansa Days ´09). The tour was performed together with our good friends / sailors from Lodjaselts (Barge Society) who characterised the events with handicraft workshops and their wooden VikingBoat.

Even though sometimes people might call our unbelievable-looking ´caravanning´ a Woodstock :) - we are always open for new adventures and opportunities! Interesting and unexpected solutions for screening Films and surprising ways to introduce Cinema - that is US!


Kinobuss (founded in 2001) is an independent film-organisation (NGO) who has many important tasks in Estonian film scenery:
*to keep the local cinema culture alive in small towns and villages, where cinemas dont exist (anymore) or have been closed down;
*to promote Estonian and European film production;
*to distribute the knowledge of film-making among youth