Cinema has always been very popular in Estonia - but when the country became independent, the cinema network collapsed. Movie theaters closed and attendance figures plummeted. According to the statistics, the numbers are quite frightful: In 1990, the number of cinemas was 611; in 1992, it decreased to 452. By 1997, only 53 cinemas were left, and only 12 of those were operating regularly (i.e., on a daily or weekly basis). The situation remains the same in 2008, complicated by the shuttering of cultural centers and rural movie theaters, escalating ticket prices (still one of the highest in Europe), and the growth of alternative media and other recreational activities. To renew Estonia's cinema scene, six young Estonian filmmakers came up with a bold idea to bring back the cinema culture and the art of Estonian film for local people. In 2001, they established a traveling cinema project called Kinobuss. .

During the last eight years, Kinobuss has been working to recreate the local cinema network, to promote and make local films available to communities, and to introduce alternative and student films. Kinobuss' selection of films -presented at partner venues including cultural centers, rural cinemas, and schools - consists mainly of Estonian films and non-commercial world cinema. Collaborating with schools and youth centers has allowed Kinobuss to work closely with children and youth. The aim of Kinobuss' film and animation workshops is to teach the basics of audiovisual language: the elements of a story, design, directing, photography, editing, and different techniques using digital video technology (for both home users and non-professionals). The simple idea is to prove that anyone can make their own film, no matter how young they are!

With the increase of media education, media classes and film clubs, and new media, the worlds of film, animation, and videogames are all part of the language of modern daily life. For that reason, Kinobuss also offers film and media training for teachers to expand their familiarity with technology (the use of cameras, etc.). Such instruction widens the teachers' variety of instruction processes and methods, and introduces the use of film as a teaching tool - i.e., "teaching with film". Kinobuss works with young people from many different social and cultural backgrounds, including those with disabilities and ethnic minority groups. Kinobuss activities support these children's creative expression and their thoughts and views of life, while teaching them new skills. Always ready for new and exciting challenges in the art of filmmaking, Kinobuss has been and continues to be involved in several local and international (European Union) projects, including "Kinobuss in Orphanages", "Kinobuss Against Drugs", "Environmental Education with Film", and "Digital Arts".

The most famous Kinobuss project is the annual summer film festival "Kinobuss is Coming". During 15 days and 15 stops, Kinobuss presents a varied film program, workshops, and lectures by film professionals. Since 2006, a "live" film-concert - a combination of a silent film screening with live music - has excited Kinobuss audiences. Traveling cinema and workshops have also taken Kinobuss to Latvia, Sweden, North Ireland, Finland, and - this spring - to Germany. The Kinobuss concept may sometimes confuse people, who think of it as a huge bus or truck with a screening room inside! This is not at all the case, since the original Kinobuss is too old and fragile to drive on a daily basis, has no space for a screening room inside, and really serves more as a nostalgic symbol uniting the tradition of traveling cinemas with the modern view of art and digital technology. Still, the Kinobuss itself is quite a sight - a redesigned antique model KAVZ-53 bus, which was found in a swamp and rescued for better use!

Mikk Rand - head of the board (Kinobuss), a producer, an animator, a film-maker; a film teacher
Ülo Pikkov - an animator and a director (animation film studio Eesti Joonisfilm), an extraordianry assistant professor (Estonian Academy of Arts, department of animation)
Lauri Nagel - a technical manager (Kinobuss), a film teacher
Kaili Lehtemaa - a film and animation teacher (Kinobuss) , a director of a home-studio tv-series