Madis Ligema is a director and producer who makes people care about things they never expected to. He has done it in films for ERR, ARTE, VPRO and HUMAN, about mosquitoes, the talharpa, a town park and a satellite built by students. He is drawn to communication tasks that look impossible, like the campaign that brought 100,000 Estonians into the national biobank. Trained as a semiotician at the University of Tartu, he founded the production company Davai Laama in 2013. What drives him is simple: bringing people closer to each other and to the ideas that shape their lives.

[email protected]  ·  Instagram  ·  LinkedIn  ·  SoundCloud

Selected press
Full CV
Work

2026 – present
Advisor to the Minister of Culture of Estonia, Ministry of Culture

2025
Advisor to the Deputy Mayor of Tallinn, Tallinn City Office

2013 – present
Director & producer, Davai Laama

Present
Co-founder & owner, Uus Laine and Pilsneri Baar, Tallinn

2021 – 2023
Creative director & producer, Creative Union / VURR / Newton

2015 – 2018
Founder & CEO, KUMA soft drinks brewery

2014 – 2018
Founder & CEO, VÄLK – Events, Media & PR

2011 – 2013
Director & producer, Kuukulgur Film

Education

2024 – 2025
AI Atelier, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event

2013 – 2016
MA, Semiotics & Cultural Theory, University of Tartu
Thesis: “The Strategy of Effective Political Campaign”

2013 – 2014
BalticLab 2.0 project development programme, Swedish Institute / CBSS

2006 – 2009
BA, Semiotics & Cultural Theory, University of Tartu
Thesis: “On Political Metaphors”

Clients & collaborators

ERR, ARTE, VPRO, HUMAN, Eesti Pank, University of Tartu, North Estonia Medical Centre, Tele2, Guardtime, Creative Union, Newton

Research interests

Narrative and public trust  ·  Visual semiotics  ·  Media literacy and manipulation  ·  Practice-based research in film

Languages

Estonian (native)  ·  English (advanced)  ·  Russian, German, Finnish (conversational)

All press & writing
Portrait of Madis Ligema
Photo: Iris Kivisalu