A humoristic coming-of-age story of Johannes who is born prematurely to a very young single mother. His destiny is to be always separated from his loved ones, to be “different”, to lose his hair because of pollution and to fall in love with a Chechen girl. All this during the turbulent times of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The first film in the Seto language in the world speaks about the brightest heroine of a small people, the folk singer Hilana Taarka, a woman who lived her whole life as an outcast in a small chimney-less hut; as an unmarried mother of children in poverty, begging her bread, doing odd jobs and singing. She always sang the truth, sometimes bitter, sometimes funny, sometimes cruel. She was feared, despised and coveted. Taarka sang throughout her remarkable life, throughout her fate, from a small Seto village to international fame. And she sang well. Really well. Taarka became the Mother of the Song, a legend. But as a woman, as a member of the community, the Seto people never really accepted her. Taarka - a despised woman and a worshiped singer.
A young boy lives with his mother on a farm surrounded by deep forest in the remote wilds of the Finnish countryside. From time to time, the boy visits his father - a man of great violence - in prison. Locked in the stable is an unruly horse, the boy´s only other companion. Their simple life is disrupted when a stranger appears, with a note from the father and a bullet in his side. Reluctantly, mother and son offer the stranger refuge.
A teenage girl has problems with her family and life when her little brother is born with a heart problem.
Year 1208. The first Eastward enlargement of Europe is under way. Brutal forces of the Teutonic Order are steadily marching on. In their path live a simple and peaceful people, whose main pastimes include cultivating the earth, singing and, if possible, doing both at the same time. They are the Estonians. Ignorant in the ways of war, they find an unlikely leader in a young boy with Catholic upbringing. In their fight for freedom, the Estonians encounter numerous obstacles, including the Germans, French, Russians and, worst of all, the Latvians. Will they succeed in defeating their enemies or will they experience a cultural awakening?
Six fresh short films on the topic "Own and Stranger" from even more fresh Estonian directors.
The main character, Helmi, is born into the house of Baron von Strandmann in Old-Town Tallinn, in 1908. The only thing that she knows for sure about her past is that her mother was an Estonian servant girl. Everything else is a discovery during a life that runs the course of a century - a life that has quite a lot of surprises in store for Helmi. In this house she finds happiness and suffering, passion and disappointment. She grows up alongside young Erik and waits for her big love to blossom. But one floor down lives projectionist Julius - a man who is far from indifferent when it comes to Helmi. All of the biggest historical events of the century leave their mark on the house. Its hardwood floors have born soldiers' gruff boots and gentleman's shiny oxfords. Its walls have held the fates of people from far and near, foreigners and locals. Helmi's home becomes a German salon, a revolution museum, and a working class commune. And as freedom comes, real estate crooks start sniffing ...
As a young woman, Claire left her hometown in disgrace. Now she is old and unimaginably rich, as for the first time she returns. The town is nearly bankrupt and in urgent need of money. Everybody hopes Clara will come to the rescue. And she will. However, there is a condition: somebody must kill the man who was her lover all those years ago.
While searching for his missing dog, Meelis stumbles upon a mysterious crime. As he struggles to piece together what has happened, growing suspicion begins to overshadow reason. The fear of the unknown looms when the truth is hopelessly lost.
Hans Wild Duck Gens, an old school industrial spy becomes suicidally jealous when the firm brings in a German performance artist who becomes not only the top agent, but also replaces him in his girlfriend Monika's affections.
Three film segments.
The mirror image of a pop star falls in love with the singer's wife and enters the world of people through the mirror. What to do if your own reflection becomes life-threatening to you?
Mati, a 70-year-old bibliophile, cannot cope with his wife's death. As loneliness and indifference overrun his thoughts, he contemplates suicide until he meets a younger man who sparks his interest in life.
A documentary portrait of Tiit Pääsuke, the most prominent painter in contemporary Estonia. Artist per excellence, creator of the imaginary picture-landscapes, a charming person, adorer of the woman’s beauty, gentleman and a colonel in local whisky club - Tallinn Uisge Beatha Club. “When painting, I compose the details of my pictures, my human models not as traditional painter, but more like film or theatre director works with actors, my compositions are as performances, theatrical happenings”. - Tiit Pääsuke
In August, 1991, Estonia reclaims its independence from the USSR and brings to its national bank nearly $1 billion in gold bullion hidden in Paris for 50 years. Russian mobsters have a bold plan to hijack the gold after shutting down the capital's power at midnight
Three friends return from a vacation and discover that the TV studio they work for has gone bankrupt - so they decide to start their own costume renting business.
Maher, a Palestinian man, a former political prisoner. He is an electrical engineer by profession but an artist at heart. He dreams of staging a contemporary dance performance in Ramallah. In order to do so, he must deal with his disapproving family, tight budgets and cultural norms. Set in today's most contested location, Maher's story is a parable about a society in conflict, where the real war is between dreams and traditions.
Documentary about man's place in society based on life of Georg, Peeter, Arto.
Pathologist Abrikosov gets a phone call that a fly has taken a refuge inside Lenin's sarcophagus. No one knows how to get rid of it. Its Mayday 1936 and Stalin himself is about to come to inspect the body prior to Mayday festivities.
One rainy night in futuristic Neo Berlin, nine year old Tina and her guardian robot, SAM-53, set off on a quest that asks: if cyberspace has made romantic love obsolete, do we still need love in the real world?
