
Elmo Nüganen (born February 15, 1962 in Jõhvi) is an Estonian theatre director, film director, and actor. He has been the artistic director of the Tallinn City Theatre since 1992. He was a graduate of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 1988 and then a professor at the academy in 1998–2002 and 2008–2012. He directed the war films Names in Marble from 2002 and 1944 from 2015. Names in Marble was seen by more than 168,000 people in Estonia and was selected for the 2003 Taormina Film Fest, while 1944 had the highest opening-week audience numbers in Estonian film history and became the country's submission for the Academy Awards. Nüganen has received multiple awards for his work in theatre, including the Estonian Annual Theatre Award for Best Director in 1992, 1995, 2000, 2007, and 2010, and the Estonian National Cultural Award in 1996, 1999, and 2009.

Tangerines
MOVIE • 2013

Prompter
MOVIE • 1993

Purge
MOVIE • 2012

One-Dimensional Man
MOVIE • 2025

Lotte's Stories
TV • 2017

Dawn of War
MOVIE • 2020

Sunday Only
MOVIE • 1990

Kalamaja Blues
TV • 2023

Portugal
MOVIE • 2018

Names in Marble
MOVIE • 2002

For Crazies Only
MOVIE • 1991

Demons
MOVIE • 2012

Father, Son and Holy Theatre
MOVIE • 2010

Conversation
MOVIE • 2022

Rebel with a Bow Tie
MOVIE • 2025

Love for Three Oranges
MOVIE • 1994

Marraskuun harmaa valo
MOVIE • 1993

Mushrooming
MOVIE • 2012