Veiko Õunpuu

Veiko Õunpuu ( born March 16, 1972, the island of Saaremaa ) is an Estonian film director.

Life and work

Veiko Õunpuu closed 1996 private Estonian Business School in Business Management. Until 1999 he studied at the Estonian Humanitaarinstitut literary theory and semiotics. He then worked in the advertising industry. In 2000, Õunpuu the film production company Suhkur film. Since 2005 he works for the production company Kuukulgur film as a director.

In February 2010 Õunpuu also debuted as a theater director in Tallinn with Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Garbage, the City and Death.

Successes celebrated Õunpuu with its current three major feature films. His first film Tühirand (2006) was voted the best Estonian film of the year. His second film, Sügisball, won the " Horizon Award " at the International Film Festival in Venice. The third feature film Püha Tõnu kiusamine is Estonia's contribution to the category " Best Foreign Film " at the Academy Awards 2011.

Õunpuus films are characterized by an artistic slowness and eccentric figures.

Filmography (director and writer)

• Tühirand (2006, short film, after a novella and Mati Unt; German release title: " The pure emptiness" )
• Sügisball (2007, after a novel by Mati Unt; German release title: "Autumn Ball" )
• Püha Tõnu kiusamine (2009; German release title: " The Temptation of St. Tony" )