Finno-Ugric Film Foundation

Fenno-Ugric Film Festival 2020

“ When I saw in my heart what was happening with “my Finno-Ugric people” I decided to make a change and “be the change myself”. Edina Csüllög, founder of Finno Ugric Film Foundation

The Finno-Ugric Film Foundation was founded in 2014. Our main focus is providing film education, distribution and support to the small nation filmmakers, especially people, who do not speak their own language any longer. We also run a diverse range of side projects - co-operation with other small nations, network building with different festivals and cultural NGOs worldwide, field expeditions and projects focused on environmental issues, saving the nature. We also run the database for Finno-Ugric films and a network for Finno-Ugric activists.

FUFF VISION
FUFF MISSION

Film Education Projects

Our main activity is providing film education for the youth of Finno-Ugric small nations under the name of Forest Film School. This includes organizing film education camps and showcases. Our film camps are practical, covering all aspects of filmmaking from scriptwriting, storyboarding, camera, editing and sound and the camps take place in the wilderness. The tutors are all film professionals on their own respective fields. Here is an overview of the camps and showcases we have organized:

Udmurt film making camp in Tsiistre, Estonia 2015
Mari film making camp in Tsiistre, Estonia 2016
Karjala and seto film making camp in Tsiistre, 2017
Karjala film camp, FUFF minifestival and expedition in Vuokiniemi, Russia, 2017
Showing FUFF films in Siberia Krasnoyarsk, Russia 2017
Ethnofuturistic film camp in Tsiistre, Estonia, 2018
Seto Comics workshop in Meremäe, Estonia 2018
FUFF showcase and film showing in Narva, 2018
FUFF FILM yurt at Seto Folk Festival, Estonia 2018
Animation workshop in Ülem-Seotuk, Siberia and in Tuva, Russia, 2018
Film making camp in Num sang Joh, Siberia, 2018
FUFF showcase in Konya, Turkey, 2018
FUFF showcase in St. Petersburg conference, 2018
Film making camp in Num sang Joh, Siberia, 2019
FUFF filmshowing at Seto Folk Festival, Estonia
Filmmaking camp in Mari El, 2019
FUFF showcase and film showing at the Estonian Embassy in Moscow
FUFF showcase and film showing at Kinoklub Zagreb, Croatia 2019
Wikimedia camp in Misso, Estonia 2020

If you are interested in conducting scientific research which aligns with our activities or joining as a film tutor, please contact us.

Co-operation projects with small nations

“Indiginous Friends” - exhibition of photos and films gathered over 6 years in Forest Film School in Helsinki Library OODI 17.-27.

September 2020 “Explore the Gap”

“Finno-Ugric Environmental Youth Exchanges” -  Creating a network of young people from the Finno-Ugric territories who can work together for a cleaner and safer environment. The first goal of the exchanges is to develop joint projects to clean and protect the natural environment in the Finno-Ugric territories. The second goal is creating a deeper and more meaningful connection to our shared and individual cultural heritage, which is inseparably connected to our natural environment. The meetups are also an important social platform for the young people from Estonia, Finland, Hungary and Finno-Ugric territories of the Russian Federation to meet, learn each other's languages and form a supportive social network for future cooperation.

Expeditions to Russia

Together with film education projects we started a series of expeditions to the small nations, in order to find students for our Forest Film School and at the same time present Estonian film and culture to them. On all our expeditions we have been showing the newest Estonian feature, documentary and animation films, which the kindreds people would otherwise never see, whether it is the national theatre of Joskar Ola in Mariland or a small culture club on the banks of Volga. In 2015 the first expedition to Mariland took place, followed by 2017 expedition to Karelia and Udmurtia. The same year we visited the Estonian Siberians and participated in the Finno-Ugric culture events in Krasnojarsk by showing Estonian films. Later many expeditions have merged with Forest Film School camps, but we've been showing films and making connections also in Turkey, Moscow and elsewhere.

Expedition to Bashkortostan visiting Mari people 2015
Visiting Mediawave with FUFF activists 2016
Expedtion to Karjala area RU, 2016
Participating in the udmurt ethno futuristic camp organised by Zhon-Zhon Sandyr, 2017
Karjala film camp FUFF minifestival and expedition in Vuokiniemi 2017
Expedition to Siberia Krasnoyarsk and to Tuva 2017
Visiting Siberian Seto villages, 2018
Expedition to Khanty-Mansisk area 2018
Expedition to Mari El Republic, 2018

Databases

Finno-Ugric Film Database: www.sufa.ee
Wikimedia links: Overview of Finno-Ugric peoples
The Network of Finno-Ugric Activists: please contact us for more information

Calendar

Finno-Ugric Cultural Events All Over the World

Media

“Reisikiri 7. Soome-Ugri filmifestivalilt”
Ave Taaveti muljed 2020 aasta FUFFilt
“Kohtumine tundmatuga kesk kurnatud loodust”
Anti Lillaku intervjuu Edina Csüllögi ja Anti Naulaineniga

Animation Workshop at FUFF 2019

Forest Film School at Numsang Joh in Khantyland 2019