Where and when
As part of the exhibition VISIONI DAL NORD. PITTURA ESTONE DALLA COLLEZIONE ENN KUNILA, 1910 – 1940 the museum presents an exhibition dedicated to Estonian cinema.
The selection of films and short films aims to offer the public a diverse overview of contemporary Estonian film production. All films are presented in their original language with English subtitles. The project is carried out in partnership with the Estonian Film Institute.
Program
Friday 7 April H9.00pm
Vehkleja / The Fencer (2015), A movie directed by Klaus Härö, 93’
In the early 1950s, Endel Nelis, a young and ambitious fencer, was forced to leave Leningrad and his dreams of glory to escape from Stalin’s secret police. He takes refuge in Haapsalu, a small and quiet village on the Estonian coast, where, after finding a job as a teacher for the local school, he founds a sports club for his young students. Endel soon ends up becoming a point of reference, almost a father figure for his students, mostly orphans following the Soviet occupation of Estonia, and begins to transmit his boundless passion for fencing to them. Word soon spreads and the training reaches the headmaster who, annoyed by the stranger’s growing popularity, begins to investigate Endel’s mysterious past. The real dilemma, however, comes when the little athletes express their desire to participate in the national tournament which will take place in Leningrad. At that point Endel will have to make a choice: risk his own future, or even his own life, to grant their wish; or disappoint them, putting their own safety first… The Fencer was nominated for best foreign film at the 2016 Golden Globes.
Friday 14 April H9.00pm
Ristuules / In the Crosswind, 2014, A film by Martti Helde, 90’
On June 14, 1941 at three in the morning, more than 40,000 Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians are deported to Siberia by the Soviet authorities. Among them is Ema, a 27-year-old young philosophy student, happily married and the mother of a little girl. Her husband is sent to a prison camp, Ema and her daughter, along with other mothers and children, are confined for 15 long years in uninhabited territories of Siberia. In spite of hunger, illness and humiliation, Ema does not want to give up the hope of one day returning to her native land. The film is based on a true story. On the occasion of the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014, the film, based on a true story, was screened in the section dedicated to contemporary cinema.
Friday 21 April H9.00pm
Kirsitubakas / Cherry Tobacco, 2014, A film by Katrin and Andres Maimik, 90’
Cherry Tabacco is the story of Laura, a young girl from a small town, constantly bored, in conflict with her mother and disinterested in everything around her that she considers monotonous and childish. One day Merit, a vital friend of Laura, invites her on an excursion to a swamp, led by Joosep, a middle-aged man, a lover of nature. The start of the trip is anything but promising: the relationship between the reserved girl and the extrovert Joosep, who tries to impress the company with his mountain style and bizarre rituals, is tense. To her surprise, however, Laura discovers during the excursion that she is attracted to Joosep’s rough charm. The research comes to its inevitable conclusion and Laura finds herself having to decide whether the relationship with an older man is a simple step on the tortuous path to becoming a woman, or if it really is her first love.
Friday 28 April H9.00pm
Superbia, 2014, A short film by Martti Helde, 17’
“If you have been hit, one day you will be hit again. If you haven’t been loved, you won’t love anyone either. I have friends who say they have never seen their father. In response I tell them: don’t you have a mirror at home? Those who have fathers call their character traits negative, genes passed down from their parents, while they attribute the positives to themselves. We need a microscope to find the qualities of our parents in ourselves. However, even in the absence of this, the question remains: am I ready to become a father if my father within me has not yet dissolved?”.
Oleg, 2010, A short film by Jaan Toomik, 20’
A soldier is discharged from the army and returns home. Twenty-five years later, in an attempt to free himself from the anguish that has plagued him for years, he embarks on a symbolic journey to a cemetery in a distant village to free himself from the anguished memory and the dark sense of guilt that he still carries after a tragic accident. happened when he was in the army. Jaan Toomik’s second short film is a psychological tale, characterized by a dark atmosphere and based on the artist’s personal memories referring to the years he spent in the Soviet Army.
Communion, 2007, A short film by Jaan Toomik, 12’
A middle-aged couple, her desperate attempt to get pregnant and the man’s fear of facing any commitment, are at the center of the first short film by video artist Jaan Toomik characterized by decidedly pictorial sets. The forced competition between research and denial of points of reference, masculine and feminine, hope and despair is underlined by single symbolically repeated sequences. The images and the cyclical nature of the film, devoid of any dialogue, occasionally lead us from the main story to the atmosphere of Toomik’s first video-installations. The soundtrack, written by Rainer Jancis, plays a crucial role in the emotional rendering of the film. Communion received special recognition at the 54th International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen and in 2011 it was screened at the Center Pompidou.