Priit Pärn

Priit Pärn is the most well known animator from Estonia. He was born in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, in 1946. He originally planned to be a biologist, but always was a caricaturist and illustrator. Eventually he could no longer face the monotony of the biological field so he turned (ironically) to the field of animation. He worked at Eesti Joonisfilm, the cel-animation studio in Estonia. He worked his way up as an art director and animator until he directed his first film Is the Earth Round in 1977. Pärn incorporates black humor with his absurd and minimalist drawing style. These crude drawings disturb some, but his distinct style has also been emulated and has obvious influences on animations such as The Rugrats Movie. Perhaps his most significant film was Eine Mural (Breakfast on the Grass) made in 1987. This film, along with his earlier shorts, is a critique of the Soviet way of life and bureaucracies and it won many awards in international film festivals. Pärn's latest film is Frank and Wendy, 2005.