Jaan Kristjan Utno

Jaan Kristjan was born in Tallinn, Estonia into a family of 6. After having lived 2 years of his life, he and his family were given the opportunity to move to the United States, where he began his initial education in North Carolina. At 10 years old, he decided that his Estonian heritage was at a loss, and he went back to Estonia to reacquaint himself with the language, the history and the people of his homeland. What was meant to be a quick two-year refreshment of his mother tongue and studies turned into 11 years of school, where he eventually graduated from Baltic Film & Media school, with a BFA in Crossmedia Production. Jaan Kristjan returned to the United States to further his education, this time on the west coast of the United States in Los Angeles, California, to strengthen his skills in storytelling and film-making, achieving a MFA in Cinematography in 2017.