Helle Karis

Helle Karis (February 4, 1944 Vändra - June 5, 2021) was an Estonian television and movie director, screenwriter and producer. 

 Life 
From 1952 to 1957, Helle Karis studied at the Ida Urbel Ballet Studio in Tartu . When her father joined ERSO in Tallinn, Helle Karis entered Tallinn Secondary School No. 24 , graduating in 1962 with Leo Tõnisson . In 1960–1962,  she studied at the Henno Arrak Painting Studio of the ESSR State Art Institute and in 1962–1964 at the Estonian National Puppet Theater Studio. From 1965 to 1970, she studied television directing at the Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography (LGITMiK). The theatrical music films "Legend" and "Organ Reflections" were completed as a graduation project of this school. 

After graduating from high school, Helle Karis worked at Estonian Television as an assistant television director. As a TV director, she continued on ETV even after graduating from the institute. 

As a feature film director, Helle Karis has moved from a fairy tale to mythology and from there to existential problems. Vesta Reest and Meelis Piller have considered the introduction of fairy-tale-mythological material to Estonian feature films to be “epoch-making”.  

Helle Karist has also been named the mother of an Estonian fairy tale film. 

Helle Karis was a member of the Estonian Audiovisual Authors' Union ,  the Estonian Cinema Union (1985) and the Estonian Film and Video Studios Union (1997), a founding member of the Estonian Film Women's Union (1995).

 References 

Category:1944 births
Category:2021 deaths
Category:Estonian writers
Category:Television directors
Category:Television producers
Category:Movie directors
Category:Movie producers
Category:Screenwriters