The Chancellery of the Riigikogu in cooperation with the School Film project of the Cinema Bus is announcing the Freedom to Choose film competition for school students. 

The competition will run until 20 March and there are two categories: 8^th and 9^th grade, and 10^th to 12^th grade. The criteria for choosing the winners include creativity, the quality of story-telling, artistic ambitions and technical execution. The films may be up to 10 minutes long. The contributions are judged by a jury made up of Estonian cinema experts and representatives of the parliament. The Chancellery of the Riigikogu will award prizes for the three best films of each category. The films will be shown during the Riigikogu Open House on 22 April and can also be viewed on the Riigikogu web page. 

According to the Secretary General of the Chancellery Maria Alajõe, the idea of the competition is to invite young people to think about how to shape the future of their country. “We want to expose the ideas of young people, their approaches to making choices and decisions,” Ms Alajõe said. “The films show the expectations of young Estonians for the present and the future, their interpretations of the terms “rights” and “responsibilities”, and the extent to which they have the sense and the will to function as citizens.” 

Terms of the competition can be viewed on the web at: https://www.riigikogu.ee/index.php?rep_id=15169539

The Riigikogu will celebrate its 95^th anniversary this year. The first representative body elected by the independent Estonian nation – the Constituent Assembly – convened in Tallinn on 23 April 1919. The Assembly functioned as a parliament, passing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Land Act, and solving issues of vital importance for the Republic of Estonia.

The Riigikogu Press Service