Elektriteater – Tartu’s Independent Cinema

Located in the heart of Tartu, Elektriteater is the city’s only arthouse cinema. It’s a place where film lives to its own rhythm, and the experience begins the moment you step through the door. Elektriteater is not just a cinema – it’s a unique cultural space that honours film heritage, experiments with new forms, and invites viewers to think along.

The cinema is housed in the former church of the University of Tartu, a building steeped in history. Built in 1860, this Lutheran church once hosted services for the university congregation. Over the decades, the building has served as a library and an academic hall, earned the nickname “Tuubikum,” and shared its walls with both science and spirituality. Now, after many transitions, it is once again a gathering place – this time for light, image, and sound.

Elektriteater’s programme focuses on Estonian and European feature and documentary films, alongside animation, short films, and timeless film classics. It gives space to both fresh new cinema and enduring film heritage – so that good cinema can live on, be seen, and felt by new generations.

Over the years, the cinema has also held special screenings beyond its walls – in forests, on beaches, in garages, ruins, and empty churches. This led to the creation of Estonia’s only regularly running open-air cinema, bringing films throughout the summer to people across the country – even to places where cinemas usually don’t reach.

In addition to its daily screenings, Elektriteater is home and a partner to many beloved events: PÖFF, tARTuFF, UIT Urban Festival, Prima Vista, Fashion Film Festival, FestHeart, and many more. The cinema also hosts retrospectives that dive deep into the worlds of directors like Jim Jarmusch, Hayao Miyazaki, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin Scorsese.

Elektriteater is a place where film is not just to be watched – it is to be experienced. Come and discover what arthouse cinema can mean in a space where once an organ echoed and now the cinema screen glows.

The box office opens 30 minutes before the first screening and closes 15 minutes after the start of the last screening.

Please refer to the weekly schedule for specific screening times.