Riho Västrik

Riho Västrik (born August 4, 1965) is an Estonian filmmaker, producer, screenwriter, journalist, and historian.

Biography

Between 1988 and 2000, Västrik studied at the University of Tartu, where he received his bachelor's degree in history and journalism. He earned his master's degree in Film Arts at the Baltic Film and Media School in Tallinn, where he has worked as an associate professor in film since 2009. From 1987 to 1990, Västrik was an actor in Tallinn's VAT Theater and, from 1990 to 1993, he worked on the editorial board of Estonian Radio. He was the chief editor of the news department for the Estonian television network RTV from 1993 to 1995. From 1997 to 2001, he worked as a news broadcaster for Eesti Televisioon. In 1996, he founded the Vesilind production company in Tallinn and has served as its managing director ever since.

Västrik's documentary films focus on exploration in post-Soviet Eurasia, particularly in Siberia, the Far North, and Central Asia. He has collaborated with Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Finnish, and German filmmakers. His collaborations with Russian filmmaker and scientist Vasily Sarana began with his work on Alexander von Middendorff's explorations of the Taymyr Peninsula and have won many awards. Produced by Västrik, Sarana's film The Return of the Musk Ox won the Laurel Branch National Award for the Best Popular Science Film in Russia in 2008.

In 1998, Västrik participated in the first Estonian expedition to the Himalayas. In 2011, he participated in the reburial of Hermann Walter, a member of Eduard Toll's Arctic expedition team, on Kotelny Island in the Laptev Sea. That same year, Västrik directed the documentary film Journey to Ararat on Friedrich Parrot and Khachatur Abovian's 1829 expedition to Mount Ararat. It was screened at the Golden Apricot International Film Festival in the Armenian capital Yerevan in 2013.