Estonia - special guest

This year, Cinéma Tous Ecrans has chosen to include a country focus in their program and to our greatest delight, they have selected a small and seemingly mysterious Baltic country called Estonia. Why Esto­nian film? I doubt any of you know that Estonian film will celebrate its 100th birthday next year so, to a cer­tain extend, the Geneva showcase will be the launch of the worldwide activities planned for that occasion. We feel closely connected to the Festival team here in Geneva and are extremely happy that they have given us this opportunity.

Estonia has always been on the cultural and geogra­phical frontline of different opposing sides, an inter­section between East and the West, Left and Right, Catholic and Orthodox. Through wars, power strug­gles and conflicts, Estonians have somehow been able to preserve their own language and culture, al­though their own country has often been taken away and annexed by some foreign power. Estonia’s long 100-year film history reflects a culture of disruption and turmoil and encapsulates the whole nation’s constant struggle for self-identification.

There are dark films and there are light films – like in everyday life. I am glad to say that Cinéma Tous Ecrans has chosen the very best available films to re­present Estonia. I hope you will enjoy them as well.

Tristan Priimägi

International Relations Director, Estonian Film Foundation

www.efsa.ee


Autumn Ball

site du film
de Veiko Õunpuu • Not a Premiere / Pas une première
Estonie, 2007, 123' , vo estonien , st fr/ang

Set among a complex of Soviet-era tower blocks in Tallinn, the people in Sügisball are eager for their lives to change. Looming over the landscape, the concrete towers represent the crumbling past and the daunting challenge of creating a new present. ...read more

Wednesday 9 , 20h30, Grütli Langlois

Plus d'infos


Disco And Atomic War

de Jaak Kilmi • Not a Premiere / Pas une première
Estonie, Finlande, 2009, 78' , vo estonien, finnois, ang, russe , st fr/ang

Is disco really all that innocent? Not at all! During the Cold War In Estonia, it was considered a weapon quite as dangerous as the H-bomb. Faced with rebellious hair-dos and a youth that wouldn't dance in line, the apparatchik didn't know what to do. ...read more

Tuesday 8 , 19h00, Uptown - Rive

Plus d'infos voir la bande annonce


Shift

site du film
de Anu Aun • World Premiere / Première Mondiale
Estonie, 2010, 15' , vo estonien , st fr/ang

When a beautiful and apparently wealthy woman is caught shoplifting, the female police officer treats her with obvious contempt. At this moment, none of them quite realize that in their seemingly opposite lives lies something dreadfully similar. An intense reflection upon the question of domestic ...read more

Monday 7 , 10h30, Grütli Langlois Séance gratuite
Tuesday 8 , 19h00, Uptown - Rive

Plus d'infos


Taarka

de Ain Mäeots • Swiss Premiere / Première Suisse
Estonie, 2008, 99' , vo estonien/seto , st fr/ang

Taarka is a compelling film that fuses ethnography with music to depict the real-life story of international singing sensation Hilana Taarka, a folk singer who overcame all kinds of economic and social disadvantages to practice her art and become a legend. ...read more

Thursday 10 , 16h30, Grütli Langlois

Plus d'infos


The Ideal Landscape

de Peeter Simm • Not a Premiere / Pas une première
Estonie, 1980/restored 2008, 91' , vo estonien , st fr/ang

This film takes place during one of the darkest periods in Estonian history: the forced collectivization that took place after World War II. We follow a member of the Young Communist League as he arrives in a collective farm. ...read more

Saturday 5 , 11h00, Grütli Langlois Séance gratuite

Plus d'infos voir la bande annonce


The Singing Revolution

site du film
de James Tusty/Maureen Castle Tusty/Mike Majoros • Swiss Premiere / Première Suisse
Estonie, 2007, 94' , vo anglais/estonien/russe , st ang/fr

First occupied by the Soviets, then by the Nazis, and then by the Soviets again, Estonia lived through decades of terror. By the end of World War II, more than one-quarter of the population had been deported to Siberia, been executed, or had fled the country. ...read more

Tuesday 8 , 13h30, Grütli Langlois
Thursday 10 , 16h00, Grütli Simon

Plus d'infos