Baltic Event Works in Progress Presentation

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1 Baltic Event Works in Progress Presentation November 26 at 17:30-18:30 A Nordic Hotel Forum room Sirius 1944 (Estonia) Ghost Mountaineer (Estonia) Secret Society of Souptown (Estonia, Finland) Zero Point (Estonia) The Fencer (Finland, Estonia, Germany) Tsamo (Finland) Chronicles of Melanie (Latvia, Finland) Dawn (Latvia, Estonia, Poland) The Garden of Eden (Lithuania) 63

1944 Estonia In 2002-2003 the film Names in Marble broke all audience records in Estonia.

2 1944 Estonia In the film Names in Marble broke all audience records in Estonia. Now the same team - director Elmo Nüganen, producers Kristian Taska and Ilkka Matila - are making a new war drama written by Leo Kunnas. The title of the film is The story describes the faith of men fighting on the boarder of Europe and Russia during the last year of war on Estonian turf. Some men had been taken to the Red Army, some volunteered to Waffen SS. Now 70 years on, the filmmakers try to show the hopes, aims and drama of these men as objectively as possible. Production company Taska Film is the leading production company of feature film in Estonia. It has produced films in co-production with Russia, Finland and USA. Recent filmography: 1944, in production, screenwriter Leo Kunnas, director Elmo Nüganen, co-production with Ilkka Matila of Matila-Röhr Productions (Finland); Purge, 2012, based on the novel by Sofi Oksanen, director Antti Jokinen, co-production with Markus Selin of Solar Films (Finland). 100 min, DCP, Dolby Digital Original title: 1944 Genre: war drama : Elmo Nüganen Screenwriter: Leo Kunnas Cinematographers: Rein Kotov/Mart Taniel Main cast: Kristjan Üksküla, Kaspar Velberg, Maiken Schmidt Producers: Kristian Taska, Maria Avdjushko Co-producers: Ilkka Matila Production companyies: Taska Film (Estonia), MRP Matila Röhr Productions (Finland) To be completed: February 2015 Production budget: 2 mln EUR Financing in place: 100% Project status: in post-production Looking for: distribution, sales Kristian Taska Taska Film Tartu mnt Tallinn, Estonia Phone: film@taska.ee 64

Ghost Mountaineer Estonia Urmas Eero Liiv s feature film Ghost Mountaineer is a youth film with elements of horror which is based on real life events which took place during the Soviet era.

3 Ghost Mountaineer Estonia Urmas Eero Liiv s feature film Ghost Mountaineer is a youth film with elements of horror which is based on real life events which took place during the Soviet era. It tells the story of an Soviet Estonian student hiking group which gets caught up in a series of scary events unfolding in wintry Siberia. The unpopular group leader Olle (Reimo Sagor), who becomes disappointed in his companions during the trip, disappears on the last day in the mountains. His rival, liberal-minded and adventurous Eero (Priit Pius) guides the descending hikers into a Buryate village on the mountain to seek help. A weird and insane chain of events is unleashed which seems to be orchestrated by the missing Olle. In a foreign land and among people they do not know, the hikers are faced with a task which they at first do not want to undertake and later are unable to tackle. 90 min, DCP, 1:1,85, Dolby Stereo Original title: Must alpinist Genre: adventure thriller : Urmas Eero Liiv Screenwriter: Urmas Eero Liiv Cinematographer: Ants Martin Vahur Main cast: Priit Pius, Liis Lass, Hanna Martinson, Reimo Sagor, Veiko Prokanen Producer: Anneli Ahven - Production company: Kopli Kinokompanii To be completed: Autumn 2015 Production budget: EUR Financing in place: EUR Project status: in production Looking for: co-producer, sales Urmas Eero Liiv is graduated from Tartu University majoring in biology and Tallinn University majoring in film directing. He is an author of several Estonian documentaries and TV documentaries that have reached the highest ratings in local TV channels. For the last few years, he has worked in commercial TV channels and been engaged in production of several successful documentary shows as a director/author and a host. Ghost Mountaineer is his first full-length feature film. Production company Kopli Kinokompanii was established at the end of 2006 by the film producers Anneli Ahven and Kaspar Kaljas with the aim to establish a creative environment for various documentary and feature film projects. Anneli Ahven Kopli Kinokompanii Gonsiori 27, Tallinn, Estonia Phone: anneli@kinkompanii.ee 65

Secret Society of Souptown Estonia Secret Society of the Souptown is a story of a 10-year old smart and brave girl Mari who lives in a citypart called Souptown.

4 Secret Society of Souptown Estonia Secret Society of the Souptown is a story of a 10-year old smart and brave girl Mari who lives in a citypart called Souptown. Her parents are obsessed with work, so she spends most of the time with her grandfather Peeter, theprofessor at the university. Mari has 3 best friends and together they form a Secret Society of the Souptown to play the hide-and-seek games Mari s grandfather is inventing for them. One day their city is attacked by mysterious poison which turns adults into children. Our children embark on adventure to discover a magnifi - cent antidote. Their path is paved with challenges: run from bullies and from an invisible poisoner. Adventure you cannot even imagine... Can children fi nd the antidote and take it to the hospital within 48 hours to save the victims? Margus Paju (1983) is representing a new generation of Estonian fi lm makers. He graduated in fi lm directing from Baltic Film and Media School and is currently completing his master s degree. Since 2008 Margus is an in-house director in NAFTA Films. Together with NAFTA and producer Esko Rips, Margus has directed several short fi lms, two scientifi c documentaries, TV series and a great number of commercials. Besides directing Margus also writes scripts, fi lm reviews and articles about fi lm history for several Estonian culture magazines. 110 min, DCP, 1:2,39, 5.1. Original title: Supilinna Salaselts Genre: family adventure fi lm : Margus Paju Screenwriters: Mihkel Ulman, Christian Gamst Miller-Harris, Mika Keränen Cinematographer: Meelis Veermets E.S.C Main cast: Olivia Viikant, Arabella Antons, Karl Jakob Vibur, Hugo Soosaar, Mirtel Pohla Producers: Esko Rips, Diana Mikita Co-producers: Jesse Fryckman Production companies: Nafta Films (Estonia), Solar Films (Finland) To be completed: Spring 2015 Production budget: 1.4 mln EUR Financing in place: 1.2 mln EUR Project status: post-production Looking for: fi nancer, distributors, sales agent Production company & producer Nafta Films is a full service production house established in Company has produced more than 300 commercials for Scandinavian, Russian and Baltic markets. Nafta Films has produced acclaimed documentary fi lms, Estonia s best short fi lm in 2008, and several shorts that were selected to international fi lm festivals. Esko Rips Nafta Films, Soo 4, Tallinn, Estonia Phone: esko@nafta.ee 66

Zero Point Estonia After being denounced as an outcast in school and frightened away from home by his mother s developing schizophrenia, there is no other way out for Johannes but to start improving

He has directed commercials, short fi lms, documentaries and several TV programmes for Estonian Public Broadcasting. Zero Point is his fi rst feature fi lm. 105 min, DCP, 16:9, 5.

5 Zero Point Estonia After being denounced as an outcast in school and frightened away from home by his mother s developing schizophrenia, there is no other way out for Johannes but to start improving his life by reforming himself. Mihkel Ulk graduated from Tallinn University s fi lm studies BA program cum laude in 2006 and Baltic Film and Media School Masters course in 2010 as a fi lm director. He has directed commercials, short fi lms, documentaries and several TV programmes for Estonian Public Broadcasting. Zero Point is his fi rst feature fi lm. 105 min, DCP, 16:9, 5.1 Original title: Nullpunkt Genre: coming of age / drama : Mihkel Ulk Screenwriter: Margit Keerdo Cinematographer: Mihkel Soe Main cast: Märt Pius, Epp Eespäev, Saara Kadak, Linda Kolde, Hendrik Kalmet Producer: Evelin Soosaar - Penttilä Production company: Allfi lm To be completed: December 2014 Production budget: EUR Financing in place: 100% Project status: in post-production Looking for: sales, distribution, festivals Production company Allfilm holds the position of the strongest and largest production company in Estonia. Since Allfi lm s establishment in 1995, it s main activities vary from producing features and documentaries to TV-commercials, TV-series, music videos and promotion fi lms. The company has currently fi ve producers on board and more than twenty projects in different development or production stages. The fi lms produced by Allfi lm have gained recognition both nationally and internationally. Longterm and wide experience give Allfi lm a solid platform for international co-operation. Allfi lm has provided production services for features, documentaries and TV-commercials from Nordic countries, United Kingdom and the US. Latest titles include In the Crosswind directed by Martti Helde, Tangerines by Zaza Urusadze and Landscape with Many Moons by Jaan Toomik Allfi lm is a member of Association of Estonian Film Producers and International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers. Allfi lm won the award for successful Estonian company in 2010 by the Credit Information Agency. Evelin Soosaar-Penttilä Allfi lm Saue 11, Tallinn, Estonia Phone: Evelin@allfi lm.ee lm.ee 67

6 The Fencer Finland In 1952 a young fencing champion Endel arrives in a small town Haapsalu to work as a physical training teacher. For an introvert man it is hard to get contact with the children who have been through a lot. In spite of the opposition of the principal of the school, Endel manages to get a permit to teach fencing for children. Slowly it becomes a therapy for the children as well as the teacher himself a way to deal with everyday grim. The defeated principal is holding a grudge and starts to investigate, why did the champion of the Soviet Union really come to a small town. The Fencer is partly based on true life events of an Estonian sportsman and coach Endel Nelis ( ). Klaus Härö studied directing and attended screen writing seminars at the University of Industrial Arts in Helsinki. He has directed four feature films Elina: As If I Wasn t There (2002), Mother of Mine (2005) and The New Man (2007), Letters to Father Jacob (2009) as well as documentaries and short films. His films have won more than 60 prizes in festivals all over the world, and they have been successful with both critics and audiences. In 2003 Klaus Härö was awarded the Ingmar Bergman prize, the winner of which is chosen by Ingmar Bergman himself. Härö s first two features were chosen to represent Finland in the best foreign film category at the Oscars. 95 min, DCP, 1:2,35, 5.1 Original title: Miekkailia / Vehkleja Genre: feature film, drama : Klaus Härö Screenwriter: Anna Heinämaa Cinematographer: Tuomo Hutri F.S.C Main cast: Märt Avandi, Ursula Ratasepp, Hendrik Toompere, Lembit Ulfsak Producers: Kai Nordberg, Kaarle Aho Co-producers: Jörg Bundschuh, Ivo Felt Production companyies: Making Movies (Finland), Kick Film (Germany), Allfilm (Estonia) To be completed: March 2015 Production budget: EUR Financing in place: 100% Project status: post-production Production company & producers Kai Nordberg and Kaarle Aho are the producers and shareholders of Making Movies Oy. During the last 15 years they have produced 5 feature films an over 40 documentary films that have been distributed or broadcasted in over 40 countries. At the moment they have in production Klaus Härö s new feature film The Fencer and Markku Lehmuskallio s and Anastasia Lapsui s new feature film Tsamo. Kai Nordberg Making Movies Oy, Torkkelinkatu 3, Helsinki, Finland Phone: kai.nordberg@gmail.com 68

7 Tsamo Finland In the 1860 s Alaska and Finland are at the same time parts of the Russian empire. The governor of Alaska is a Finland s Swede whose brother, a mining engineer called Simon, buys a 10-year old Alaskan Indian girl and brings her to Finland. The girl, Tsamo, is babtized to Christianity and Simon and his sister start to teach her European habits and Swedish language. The girl thinks that she s married to Simon and acts accordingly. Simon marries a lady of her own age and class and Tsamo gets confused. Simon is forced to send the girl away and the battle over Tsamo s identity gets even more complicated. Based on the true story. s Markku Lehmuskallio (b.1938, Finland) and Anastasia Lapsui (b Yamal Peninsula, Western Siberia) are a filmmaking couple who s been working together since the early 90 s. They ve had altogether seven films (both fiction and documentaries) in different sections of Berlinale. Their feature films include Seven Songs from the Tundra (2000, Berlinale Forum), A Bride of the Seventh Heaven (2003, Berlinale Forum) and Pudana: The Last of the Line (2010, Berlinale Generation Competition). 86 min, DCP, 1:1,85, Stereo Original title: Tsamo Genre: drama s: Markku Lehmuskallio & Anastasia Lapsui Screenwriters: Markku Lehmuskallio & Anastasia Lapsui Cinematographer: Johannes Lehmuskallio Main cast: Albina Tologonova, Wilhelm Grotenfelt, Niklas Groundstroem, Alma Pöysti, Ylva Ekblad Producers: Kaarle Aho, Kai Nordberg Production company: Making Movies Oy To be completed: Spring 2015 Production budget: 0.7 mln EUR Financing in place: 100% Project status: in post-production Looking for: distributors, sales agent Production company & producers Kaarle Aho and Kai Nordberg are the producers and shareholders of Making Movies Oy. During the last 15 years they have produced 5 feature films an over 40 documentary films that have been distributed or broadcasted in over 40 countries. The feature films produced by them include films like Black Ice (Berlinale Official selection 2008) and Rat King (Tribeca, Shanghai International Film Festival 2011) by Petri Kotwica. Kai Nordberg and Kaarle Aho were selected as the best film producers in Finland in Kaarle Aho Making Movies Oy, Torkkelinkatu 3, Helsinki, Finland Phone: kaarle.aho@mamo.fi 69

Chronicles of Melanie Latvia In the early morning hours of June 14, 1941, following Stalin s orders, over 40 000 people from the flourishing Baltic States were arrested, shoved into cattle cars and

8 Chronicles of Melanie Latvia In the early morning hours of June 14, 1941, following Stalin s orders, over people from the flourishing Baltic States were arrested, shoved into cattle cars and dispatched on their way to camps of permanent exile in Siberia. Among them were journalist Melanie and her eight year old son Andrei, who were forcibly separated from her husband and his father Alexander. Not everyone survived the two weeks of arduous train journey. Those who reached the destination were close to death from starvation. The inhumane conditions continued in the Siberian village where women, still completely ignorant of the fate of their husbands, were settled in a badly built barracks and forced to work like slaves. Melanie keeps herself alive for the sake of her son and because she hopes to see her husband to whom she writes hundreds of love letters that are never sent, since his address remains unknown. That helps her to keep her pride and personal integrity in the face of death from starvation, hard work or disease, to which many others succumb. Melanie s inner strength becomes the source of emotional support to others who cannot cope with the hard life of exile. After 16 years, Melanie is released and returns to Riga, only to find out that her husband Alexander died in the camps in min, DCP, 1:2,40 anamorphic, Dolby Stereo Original title: Melanijas hronika Genre: feature drama : Viestur Kairish Screenwriters: Viestur Kairish, Inga Abele Cinematographer: Gints Berzinš Main cast: Sabine Timoteo, Guna Zarina, Viktor Nemets, Erwin Leder, Maija Doveika, Edvins Mekšs Producers: Inese Boka-Grube Co-producer: Klaus Heydemann Production companies: Film Studio Mistrus Media (Latvia), Inland Film Company (Finland) To be completed: 2015 Production budget: EUR Financing in place: 69% Project status: in production Looking for: co-production partners for post-production (sound mix, VFX, color grading, deliveries), sales agent, distributor, pre-buys from broadcasters. Viestur Kairish is a film, theatre and opera director. His last documentary Pelican in the Desert (2014) was on the competition at the Visions du Reel in Nyon, France, as well as received special jury prize at the Let s Cee Film Festival in Austria. His feature Leaving by the Way (2002) premiered at the Karlovy Vary competition program in 2002 and won FIPRESCI award, as well as the Best Debut Award at the 10th Raindance Film Festival in London. Inese Boka-Grube Film Studio Mistrus Media, Blaumana Str. 11/13-13 Riga, LV 1011, Latvia Phone: inese.boka@mistrusmedia.lv

Dawn Latvia This film is based on Soviet propaganda story (most likely false) about Young Pioneer (Soviet equivalent to the Boy Scouts) Morozov who denounced his father to Stalin s secret police and

9 Dawn Latvia This film is based on Soviet propaganda story (most likely false) about Young Pioneer (Soviet equivalent to the Boy Scouts) Morozov who denounced his father to Stalin s secret police and was in turn killed by his family. His life exemplified the duty of all good Soviet citizens to become informers, even at the expense of family ties. In the Soviet Union this story was a subject of many books, songs, plays, a symphonic poem, opera and also the basis of Bezhin Meadow, an unreleased film from 1937 that was directed by Sergei Eisenstein. In our film 75 years later we call him little Janis. He is a pioneer who lives in the Soviet collective farm Dawn. His father is an enemy of collective farm (and Soviet system) and wants to burn down its headquarters. Little Janis betrays his father. The father is taking a revenge on his son. Who in this old Soviet fairy-tale is the good one and who is the bad guy? This film reveals that distorted brain is always dangerous. Laila Pakalnina s selected filmography: Features: Pizzas (2012), The Hostage (2006), The Python (2003), The Shoe (1998). Shorts: Silence (2009), Stones (2008), Fire (2007), Water (2006), Anna s Christmas (1992) 90 min, 4K DCP, scope, stereo Original title: Ausma Genre: ironic (poetic) tragedy : Laila Pakalnina Screenwriter: Laila Pakalnina Cinematographer: Wojtec Staron Main cast: Antons Grauds, Vilis Daudzins, Andris Keis, Wiktor Zborovsky, Liena Shmukste Producer: Laila Pakalnina Co-producers: Kaspar Kallas, Małgorzata Staron Production companies: Hargla Company (Latvia), Digital Sputnik (Estonia), Staron Film, Miracle Worker (Poland) To be completed: September 2015 Production budget: EUR Financing in place: EUR Project status: in production Looking for: sales agents, distribution, co-production Production company Hargla Company was founded in 1997 in order to enable the founders of the company to make their own films. So far by producing 4 feature films, 10 creative documentaries, 4 short fictions and 1 animation film the activities of Hargla Company have been targeted at the same direction. Almost all the films have festival awards. 2 were selected for the official programme of Cannes IFF, 2 for Venice IFF, 2 for Berlinale, 3 - for Locarno IFF etc. Laila Pakalnina Hargla Company, Valtaiku 19, Riga LV1029, Latvia Phone: laila.pakalnina@inbox.lv 71

The Garden of Eden Lithuania The story takes place in 2023 in Lithuania that has become a desirable country for immigrants and wealthy senior Lithuanians who are returning to their homeland to spend

10 The Garden of Eden Lithuania The story takes place in 2023 in Lithuania that has become a desirable country for immigrants and wealthy senior Lithuanians who are returning to their homeland to spend their last years living in a respectable assisting care homes. Linda is a forty year old Swedish woman who has been living in Lithuania for the past years. Her husband dies and having to pay debts she gets a job at an exclusive nursing home - the Garden of Eden. Once she has started her job, Linda begins to understand the rules of the nursing home as well as some of the unusual requests, such as the residents are to be addressed by their full professional titles and their whims are to be fulfilled unconditionally. However, they all have various symptoms of illness: Parkinson s, Alzheimer s, dementia. So, as time goes by, Linda gets to know the residents better and starts to love them. She becomes not only a witness, but also a participant in their sad and happy journey of memories. While dealing with her job at Garden of Eden, Linda faces some dramatic changes in her own life, including a dying man with whom she has entered into a close relationship. At the end we see Linda on a suburban train holding an urn with the ashes. A comment made by a funeral director continues to echo in Linda s head To know how to live with the dead ones, one has to learn how to live with the living ones. 110 min, DCP, 1:2,36, Dolby Digital Original title: Edeno sodas Genre: drama : Algimantas Puipa Screenwriter: Algimantas Puipa Cinematographer: Viktoras Radzevicius Main cast: Juozas Budraitis, Viktorija Kuodyte, Vytautas Paukšte, Vidas Petkevicius, Vaiva Mainelyte Producer: Kestutis Petrulis Co-producer: Goda Rupeikaite Production companies: STUDIJA 2, UP Records To be completed: 2015 Production budget: EUR Financing in place: EUR Project status: in post-production Looking for: distributors, sales agents, festivals Algimantas Puipa graduated from Moscow Institute of Cinematography (VGIC) in Selected filmography, features: Fortress of Sleeping Butterflies (2012), Whisper of Sin (2007), Forest of Gods (2005), Elze s Life (1999, official selection Berlinale 2000), The Wolf-Teeth Necklace (1997), Fish Day (1989), Eternal Light (1987). Goda Rupeikaite UP Records, Lauru Soduu1-oji st. 113 LT-10150, Vilnius, Lithuania Phone: goda@uprecords.lt 72

The Find Russia / B EST 2010 project The senior fishery control inspector Trofim Rusanov, elderly, morose and unsociable, considers all people surrounding him criminals and is unforgiving of even the

11 The Find Russia / B EST 2010 project The senior fishery control inspector Trofim Rusanov, elderly, morose and unsociable, considers all people surrounding him criminals and is unforgiving of even the slightest deviation from fishing rules and norms of humanity. During his usual route across lakes Trofim gets into conflict with local fisherman s and loses his boat. On his 20 km way home around the huge lake he finds abandoned child in hunters lodge. His 5 days quest through the forest and search after that for guilty mother of the child turns out a quest for Trofim s soul. He finds his own soul and maybe for the first time in his life feels compassion. Victor Dement has studied in GITIS ( Russia State Theatrical University) major in Theatrical Directing in and in VGIK ( Russia State Movie Academy) major in Film Directing in He has workd as Theatrical in Moscow Theater of Russian Army and as a freelance in several other theatres. He has directed several TV series and films and documentaries for Russian TV channels. 96 min, DCP, Dolby Original title: Находка Genre: drama : Victor Dement Screenwriter: Victor Dement Cinematographer: Andrei Naidenov Main cast: Alexey Gusykov, Nadezhda Markina Producer: Dimitri Klepatski Co-producer: Natalia Budkina Production company: Talan To be completed: 2015 Production budget: 1.1 mln EUR Project status: in post-production Looking for: sales agent, distributor Production company and producer Klepatski production company was founded in 2008 in Moscow. Company specializing in production and co-production of feature films, aiming at Russia/CIS and international markets. Dimitri Klepatski - EAVE graduate in 2011, graduated from VGIK ( Moscow film academy), has 6 years experience in movie production and 12 years acting experience. Company s filmography: Probation Period (2008, short feature), Transition of Reality (2009, short), I am Going to Change My Name (2012, feature), Alpinists (2013, feature), Last Summer in Chulimsk (2014, feature) Dimitri Klepatski Klepatski production, Talan Urlovskiy per 21, Moscow, Russia Phone: Klepatski@yandex.ru, 73

A FILM BY S ALES & FES T I V A L INF O. Making Movies, Kick Film and Allfilm present T H E F E N C E R MÄRT AVANDI URSULA RATASEPP HENDRIK TOOMPERE

A FILM BY S ALES & FES T I V A L INF O Making Movies, Kick Film and Allfilm present T H E F E N C E R MÄRT AVANDI URSULA RATASEPP HENDRIK TOOMPERE Klaus Härö s THE FENCER is a touching drama about love