(04.02.1934)

Andres Sööt, director and cinematographer, the mind behind more than 70 documentaries. After graduating from the pan-Soviet cinematography institute he served as assistant to the cinematographer at Tallinn Cinema Studio from 1954–1957. From 1963–1972 and 1980–1984, he worked for Tallinnfilm as director and cinematographer with a stint at Eesti Telefilm in the intervening years. In 1993 he established Monofilm and also continued collaborations with other studios.
From 1999–2000 he was chairman of the Estonian Film Union.

In 1992, Sööt received Estonia’s national prize for culture. In 2004 he won an award handed out by the National Culture Foundation in gratitude for his contribution to Estonian documentary film-making, and he followed this by winning the equivalent of Estonia’s national lifetime achievement award for culture in 2010.

Sööt’s  filmography includes many films considered to be major works in the Estonian documentary film canon. He has also made many newsreels.