The Jõhvi film studio complex project is being financed by funds from the EU's Just Transition Fund (JTF); the studio complex planned for Tallinn, meanwhile, is to be funded from the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

"If you look today, we're short on money in every sector – but then it turns out that the two buildings of the Jõhvi film studio are bigger than the first stage of [the planned] Tallinn film studio," Isamaa deputy whip Priit Sibul said.

Sibul noted that they've called into question whether this constitutes sustainable management. "And whether and who exactly needs them," he added.

The National Audit Office then contacted the Ministry of Culture in turn for more precise information.

According to Karlo Funk, audiovisual field and digital culture adviser at the Ministry of Culture, the two planned studio complexes should not be pitted against one another.

"Since I haven't seen this Jõhvi business plan, I can't say how they're going to relate to one another, but at the same time it's known that a major share of the film and television industry is basee in Tallinn," Funk said. "It'll certainly be possible to find projects from the international market. But there are some logistical issues here as well."

He acknowledged that it may seem a bit paradoxical for both film studios to suddenly be planned after not a single building designed for anything like it had gone up in Estonia in 40 years.

"But in the long run there will surely be room for both studios," the ministry official confirmed.

Tallinn Film Wonderland (TFW) lead Gren Noormets explained that they've exchanged ideas with the founders of the Jõhvi studios precisely so that the two studios could benefit one another.

"We understand perfectly that we complement one another," Noormets said. "In other words, our goal is to more firmly put Estonia on the international map. If both are built, then Estonia's comprehensive offer for major international projects will improve."

Politicians are likewise concerned about whether these studios will later need to be sustained using public funds, i.e. from the state budget.

Noormets, however, reaffirmed that their plan doesn't envisage this.

"Once the studio is built, we'll still be sticking to the promise that there will be no further need for support from the state," he said.

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