PUBLIC & MEDIA
Some of my recent public talks, interesting reviews of my work and interviews.
MILLENNIALS MIGHT PREFER TO LIVE ABROAD DUE TO EASTERN EUROPEAN MENTALITY IN ESTONIA
2024
Although economic conditions may prevent young people who have moved abroad from returning to Estonia, they are also deterred by values perceived as Eastern European, write researchers from the University of Tartu. However, most young people who have moved across the border still consider it important to identify as Estonian.
The so-called Generation Y came of age after Estonia joined the European Union. According to Terje Toomistu, a researcher in ethnology at the University of Tartu, it is now the norm for this generation to go abroad for studies or work for a while.
Interview by Airika Harrik for the Estonian Public Broadcast.
2022
For Canadians of Estonian heritage, Estonia can be seen as quite an idyllic place to be—to the extent that some wouldn't understand why an Estonian would want to leave the Estonia of today. Anthropologist and documentary filmmaker Dr. Terje Toomistu, who is a Research Fellow at the University of Tartu's Department of Ethnology, has revealed the reasons for leaving in detail in her postdoctoral research, for which the new film Homing Beyond (Põlvkond piiri taga) is a central part.
Interview by Vincent Teetsov. Published at Estonian Life No. 18 2022.
2019
It was a subculture shaped by communism, inspired by the west – and watched by the KGB. Now, a new documentary charts the movement’s charismatic leaders, conflicts and future.
2019
In the Soviet Union the hippy movement was more controversial, and longer-lasting, than its forebear in America.
Film review by R.D. in the Economist.
2018
USSR: Vivid memories of home-made psychedelic drugs and Soviet revolutionary times are brought to life in Soviet Hippies.
Film review by Nick Holdsworth at Modern Times Review.
2018
The hippie movement that captivated hundreds of thousands of young people in the West had a profound impact on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Within the Soviet system, a colorful crowd of artists, musicians, freaks, vagabonds and other long-haired drop-outs created their own system, which connected those who believed in peace, love, and freedom for their bodies and souls.
Interview with Terje Toomistu Cece (October, 2017) by Klemen Breznikar published at It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine.
2017
Listening to Steely Dan and the Beatles whilst consuming industrial amounts of mind-altering substances was not only a thing in the USA and western Europe. In the Soviet Union, hippies and bohemians organised themselves in a loose network called Sistema. In her colourful documentary Soviet Hippies, Toomistu explores the history of Sistema and meets up with survivors of the movement.
Interview published at Deep Baltic conducted by Tom Peeters
Terje Toomistu in conversation with JP Pulkkinen about her film Soviet Hippies at Love and Anarchy International Film Festival in Helsinki
Soviet Hippies Finnish Premiere, 2017
Interview during the first 23 minutes