Eili Sild (born 26 October 1942) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n stage, film, television and radio actress whose career began on the theatre stage in the early 1960s and has spanned over fifty years.

Early life and education

Eili Sild was born in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. She attended the Tallinn 7th Secondary School (now, the Tallinn English College), graduating in 1961. In 1963, she graduated from the Tallinn Feature and Newsreel Film Studio (now,

Tallinnfilm Tallinnfilm () is the oldest surviving film studio in Estonia. It was founded as Estonian Culture Film in 1931, and was nationalized in 1940 after Estonia was integrated into the Soviet Union. During the first year of Soviet occcupation (1940 ...

) and afterwards studied acting at the Lunacharsky State Institute for Theatre Arts (GITIS) (now, the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts) in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where she graduated in 1976.

Stage career

In 1963, shortly after graduating from the Tallinn Feature and Newsreel Film Studio, Sild began an engagement as an actress at the

Ugala Ugala is a theatre in Viljandi, Estonia. The theatre was founded in 1920 opening on January 10 of that year. The first production was Oscar Wilde's "Salome (play), Salome". Ugala's Artistic Directors *1925 - 1926: Andres Särev *1926 – 1928 ...

theatre in

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

. She would remain an actress with the Ugala (with some intermissions) until 1980. Afterward, she joined the Vanalinnastuudio theatre (Old Town Studio theatre) in Tallinn in 1980, leaving in 1996 and becoming a freelance actress. Notable performances during her years onstage as a theatre actress include those in works by such varied authors and playwrights as: Rainis, Venta Vīgante, Boris Kabur, Gunnars Priede, Oskar Luts, Eduard Vilde, Aldo Nicolaj, Erskine Caldwell,

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, August Jakobson, Ardi Liives, Hella Wuolijoki,

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, and Terence Rattigan. Sild has also performed onstage at many others theatres throughout Estonia, including the Vanemuine in Tartu, the

Tallinn City Theatre Tallinn City Theatre () is a repertory theatre located in the medieval old town of Tallinn, Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from ...

and the Vana Baskini Teater (Old

oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Baskin's Theatre).

Television and radio career

Eili Sild's first prominent television appearance was the character Mari in the 1965 feature-length Ants Kivirähk and Valdur Himbek-directed drama for Eesti Telefilm. The television film was based on the 1896 novel of the same name by Estonian author Eduard Vilde. Following this, Sild would concentrate on her stage career and not appear in television roles until the early 2000s after she had become a freelance actress. In 2001 and 2002, Sild appeared as Ellen in two episodes of the popular, long-running Eesti Televisioon (ETV) drama '' Õnne 13'' in 2001 and 2002. In 2010, she made an appearance on an episode of the Kanal 2 crime drama series , and the same year she had a small role on the TV3 comedy-crime series '' Kättemaksukontor''. Sild has also had a prolific career as a radio theatre actress and as a narrator and presenter. She has appeared frequently on

Eesti Rahvusringhääling Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) – ''Estonian Public Broadcasting'' – is a publicly funded and owned radio and television organisation created in Estonia on 1 June 2007 to take over the functions of the formerly separate Eesti Raadio ...

(ERR) in radio plays and reading monologues and short stories by authors such as A. H. Tammsaare, Lilli Promet, and Jaan Kaplinski, among many others.

Film career

Eili Sild's first substantial film role was that of Maia in the 1964 Grigori Kromanov and Jüri Müür-directed black-and-white drama '' Põrgupõhja uus Vanapagan'' for Tallinnfilm, based on the multi-layered eponymously titled 1939 novel by A. H. Tammsaare. This was followed in 1966 by the Jüri Müür-directed drama , also for Tallinnfilm, and based on several works by author Juhan Smuul. In 1977, Sild was cast in another small role as a housewife in the Jüri Müür-directed Tallinnfilm period piece drama , which was based on the 1926 novel (''The Pastor of Reigi''), by Finnish author Aino Kallas. After a ten year absence, Eili Sild returned to the screen in the role of a witch in the 1987 Tallinnfilm , directed by Helle Karis. The film was an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's 1838 fairy tale '' The Wild Swans''. The following year, she appeared in a two minor roles; the Roman Baskin-directed Tallinnfilm dramatic short , based on the 1968

Arvo Valton Arvo Vallikivi (14 December 1935 – 26 July 2024), commonly known under the pen name of Arvo Valton, was an Estonian writer known for a number of books and, among other things, the script for Viimne reliikvia, the highly successful film adaptati ...

-penned short story ; and in the Elo Tust-directed short dramatic film , starring Ülle Kaljuste and Enn Kraam. Both film shorts were produced for Tallinnfilm. In 1992, Sild made a small appearance in the

Lembit Ulfsak Lembit Ulfsak (4 July 1947 – 22 March 2017) was an Estonian stage and film actor. Ulfsak starred in the 2014 film Tangerines (film), ''Tangerines'' which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Foreign Language F ...

-directed family comedy , which follows the adventures of two young boys who discover a painting that was believed to be lost long ago. The following year, she appeared in another small role in the Pekka Karjalainen-directed Finnish-Estonian comedy ''Hysteria''. In 2012, Sild returned to the screen as the character Ilme in the Anna Hints-directed dramatic short , opposite actors Rita Raave and Raivo Trass.

Personal life

Eili Sild married actor and director Heino Torga. The coupled remained married until his death in 2012. They have one child, daughter Mari Torga, who became a television presenter and theatre manager and director. Her nephew is poet and writer Ivar Sild.HMSX
''Luuletaja Ivar Sild paneb lugejad punastama'' 14 March 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sild, Eili 1942 births Living people Estonian stage actresses Estonian film actresses Estonian television actresses 20th-century Estonian actresses 21st-century Estonian actresses Actresses from Tallinn