Culture.ee’s weekly recommendations: 12–18 Nov 2018

Open Mic is the show where both new and more experienced comedians can try out their new material in a free and relaxed space. It also gives the opportunity for new performers to have a go and learn more about doing stand-up. This show is fully in English!

The event will invite participants to discover the Nordic philosophy of life and uncover the reasons behind the happiness and well-being for which the day-to-day lives of people in the Nordic countries are renowned. Nordic Culture Week offers a diverse programme of events for adults and children alike: exhibitions, films, themed get-togethers and debates and plenty of exciting experiences, ranging from Finnish saunas to Nordic cuisine. We will be showcasing hygge, the Danish philosophy of relaxing together in cozy surroundings, and championing the Norwegian saying Ut på tur, aldri sur, which roughly translates as ‘You can never be in a bad mood when hiking’. We will be explaining the roles that fika and lagom play in the everyday lives of Swedes and what sisu means as one of the foundations of Finland as a nation. We will be sharing tips given by people from the Nordic region on coping with your workaday routine and getting through the long, dark days of winter.

A Prime Mover is an impulse to act. It is the giant machinery of the environment, technology, history, sensations and dreams that we are a part of. The audience enters a breathing universe with no beginning and no real end, where play and seriousness merge, where thought and movement are the same. Authors-directors Külli Roosna and Kenneth Flak deal with movement as cause and effect, freedom and inevitability.

Improtest is a concert series that brings improvisational music from local and foreign authors to the local audience. Curva minore piccolo ensemble is a band from Sicily, Palermo which makes contemporary, experimental and improvisational music. Band members are Alessandro Librio (violin, alt-violin, electronics), Benedetto Basile (flute) and Lelio Giannetto (doublebass).

Andres Tenusaar and Taavi Kerikmäe present pre-composed material that is mixed with an image and sound editing in real time. The material is based on 13 Estonian films that were produced in 1964-2013. The concert is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia.

On November 16, the Dutch avant-garde composer and lute player Jozef Van Wissem will perform in Tallinn. Van Wissem has written music for Jim Jarmusch’s “Only Lovers Left Alive,” collaborated with Zola Jesus and is named by Quietus as the best-known lute player in the western world. Wissem’s hypnotizing concerts include dark baroque and minimalist avant-garde. On the same evening, the full-length solo concert will be given by Mauno Meesit. In addition to the music from the albums “Varjudemaa” and “Closer”, for the first time, you can hear something from his new album. Meesit presents minimalist and minor instrumental pieces, using effect blocks, microphones from 1940s, and guitar played with a bow.

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival aka PÖFF is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is the only A-category film festival in Northern Europe, sharing that status with world’s leading festivals including Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Karlovy Vary, Warsaw, and San Sebastian. With over 600 films, over 1200 attending film professionals and journalists and attendance of more than 80,000 people PÖFF is the largest annual cultural event in Estonia.

The great hall will be filled with comfortable loungers, a cozy atmosphere will be created, and everyone will be allowed to let their thoughts wander away from everyday concerns by listening to beautiful native zither music. Spending time is especially pleasant because of the special atmosphere and light solution. The well-known Estonian zither players (Kadri Lepasson, Ann Maria Piho, Eva Väljaots, etc.) create a mysterious and light atmosphere which balances between reality and dreams.

The exhibition tells the story through videos, installations and staged environments of how in 1978, the Marko Mäetamm’s father visited his grandfather, who had emigrated to Canada during the Second World War. It was to be their first since 1944 and their last. One Month in Canada is a combination of the imaginings of the teenage Karksi-Nuia boy Marko, the stories told by his father and the known (and sought after) fragments of facts about grandfather, the verbal and real history, and the mental mixing of East and West. Marko Mäetamm collaborates with the Canadian playwright Ken Cameron and the Canadian writer of Hungarian origin Rita Bozi. Curator Anneli Porri.

This time, the concert series “The Ringing Masterpieces” hosts Duo Telluur. The duo was created in 2015 and got its name from the chemical element (Tellurium), which is rare, silvery, and fragile – just like the band’s sound. The instrumental combination of guitar and cor anglais is a rare one. The musicians are inspired by the dimly fitting instrumental sound and the chance to play new musical compositions and special arrangements of their favourite pieces. In addition to music, the artwork “Tantsijanna” (The Dancer) by Peet Aren will be introduced by an art scholar Kerttu Männiste.