TALLINN (Estonia) - The recent FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers provided the perfect platform for a proud step in basketball production in Estonia as an all-female camera operating crew worked together to cover the games with Sweden and Denmark. Contributing positively to developing an even more diverse and inclusive approach to sports production in the Baltic nation, the team in Tallinn included a camera assistant and sound boom operator, as well as the camera operators.
The talented all-female crew expertly captured the intensity of the action on the floor and also the passion of the Estonian fans courtside. They had the joy of covering the ecstatic home ballers and supporters both celebrating a super victory against Denmark in their second game of the window.
Camera operator Loviisa Lill was delighted to have been part of the event and stated: "I must say that basketball is a beautiful sport. Watching it on TV is one thing, experiencing it live is another, but seeing it through the camera lens is truly magical. You can feel through the camera the players' joy, frustration, anxiety, and tension. "Usually, when I film any event, about 98 percent of the crew are men. However this time, having an all-female camera crew drew positive comments from nearly everyone I've encountered in the TV industry. Many remarked how incredible it was to see women operators at a women's game.
"While this might seem like a surprising concept in Estonia, it highlights the need to re-think old norms. It showed that we can use terms like 'camera woman' just as naturally as 'camera man' because women are just as much a part of this field as men. It's simply a shift in perspective that's long overdue."
She continued: "I'm grateful to have been trusted by Estonia’s best basketball director, Kristjan Saar, who has given me the opportunity to bring basketball to the screens for the past two years. His brilliant idea of making the women’s game a 'women’s project' by having an all-female camera crew was truly inspiring." Meanwhile fellow camera operator Laura Oks added: "To have a 100 percent female camera operating team truly shine, there needs to be someone like Kristjan. Someone who brought us together, trusted us and takes risks. "The three of us had never filmed basketball before. He guided us and believed in us. I am sincerely grateful that there are men like him who empower women and create opportunities for us to excel," she concluded. FIBA