Tanel Toom is a film director and screenwriter. He studied filmmaking at the Tallinn University, graduating with a BA in 2005 after which continued his MA studies at the National Film and Television School, UK. His films have been screened around the world in numerous film festivals (including Venice Film Festival, Busan, Warsaw, San Sebastian, Black Nights Film Festival etc) and won several awards. His short film The Confession won the Student Academy Award and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. His first feature film Truth and Justice premiered in 2019, breaking all the box office records in Estonia and quickly became the most watched film in the country. It was Estonia's submission for the 2020 Academy Awards, making it to the shortlist in Best International Film category. The film won the Best International Motion Picture at the Satellite Awards 2020, was selected as Film of the Year by Estonian Critics Association, Film of the Year by Estonian Cultural Endowment and won seven EFTAs at the Estonian Film and Television Awards including Best Director, Best Screenwriter and Best Film. In 2020 Tanel was chosen by Variety as one of the "10 Europeans to Watch".
At the moment he is in post-production with his second feature film which will premiere early next year.