Tallinn Film Cluster: Realities, Expectations and Alternatives

The article takes a close look at the entrepreneurial practices of the Estonian film industry and at how these particular practices may be understood to influence the evolution of the film production cluster in Tallinn. It asks how these processes of institutional evolution of the local film industry may be understood to influence the specific nature of audiovisual culture in contemporary Estonia. The article is based on a study that was conducted in mid 2012. The study consisted of interviews with the representatives of the local film industry, including respondents from production companies (“studios”), post-production companies and distributors. The second phase of the study was a confirmative roundtable with the select group that included the previously interviewed filmmakers and a few additional industry insiders. The key research questions were: (1) what are the existing co-operation practices between companies like and (2) considering the further evolution of the industry cluster in Tallinn, what are the companies’ specific expectations and needs. The current status of the cluster’s competitiveness was evaluated by using Michael Porter’s model for analyzing conditions of competition (Porter’s diamond). Also, development perspectives of the cluster were evaluated, considering the needs and expectations of entrepreneurs. Key results of the research were divided into two basic categories: (1) current state of clustering of AV enterprises and (2) perspectives and alternatives of further development of the AV cluster.