Madli Lääne

Following a serious domestic violence incident, 13 year old Paul arrives in an unfamiliar town where in his pursuit of happiness he makes one bad decision after another. His seemingly inevitable downfall is thwarted, however, by a strange disabled man.

When Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power in 1985, his reform policy sparked an independence movement in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. But as cries for help from the Baltic States were met with silence from the international community at large, two small nations – Iceland and Denmark – answered the call, motivated by the personal connections of their foreign ministers, Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson and Uffe Elleman Jensen.

In the midst of the political upheaval of the early 1990s in Soviet Union, an Estonian girl and a Russian boy reach across cultural lines to unite over a shared bottle of American soda.

Alar Sudak alias Elaan is the don Quijote of Estonian theatre - predestined to eternal loneliness. Sudak's dream to become an officially acknowledged actor has never come true. He has failed the entrace exams to the Drama School of Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and other schools. The documentary tells a story related to the Old Testament - including good-hearted Satan, water wars, unrequited love of theatre, jurisprudence, community's revenge that lasts over several generations and regimes. Elaan's life and destiny includes so much drama that he is unable to let go of it - as his actor's spirit cannot live without it.

A lonely traveler embarks on a journey to find relief for a hidden yearning. Her restless longing spreads around and forces fellow passengers to face their own desires and disappointments.

Three teenagers meet while hanging out at the seaside. They start to seduce and challenge each other to hide their own insecurities in this intense triangle. The playful provocation leads to humiliation and the inexperienced youngsters are taken over by instincts that are out of their control.

The daily bread of ministers of small congregations is not sermons in the church; it is constant work with the old and the dying. A holy man who has been removed from his friends and peers and suddenly transplanted into another culture is often lonely and broken himself. Three ministers have been invited from Estonia to serve the exile congregations in Toronto. By now, the main job of Jüri, Kalle and Mart is to bury the generation that fled Estonia in 1944.

The winding paths and unexpected turns of the Tallinn Cruise Terminal mirrored the complexities of our achievement-driven society. Should we strive for perfection, confining ourselves to a narrow path, or embrace the risk of failure and venture into the unknown?

For 25 years, world-famous Estonian clowns Haide and Toomas, better known as Piip and Tuut, have brought joy and laughter to children and families across the globe. But behind the face paint and curtain lies a different story. While entertaining thousands, their own children – Emma, Siim, and Anni – have been growing up at home without them. Eldest daughter Emma dreams of following in her parents' footsteps, but balancing her passion for theatre with caring for her autistic brother and younger sister has forced her to grow up fast. Meanwhile, Haide and Toomas grapple with guilt, exhaustion, and the toll of trying to give their all both on stage and at home.

Vele is 17 years old and all she wants is to learn how to read and write - to keep up with her seven year old daughter. After endless years of the Liberian civil war her ability to sign in her own name means the next big step towards independence - away from the painful past, into a brighter future.

In 2007, the artist Jaan Toomik says that the ideas that brought him success no longer attract him. He wants to do something new - a feature film. It doesn't have a concrete form yet, and until it takes shape, he makes sketches. He films, paints, analyzes, but it's all like an echo from the past. The future is hidden in his inner world, where he does not let others. Art is born from loneliness, is his realization.

The film about Merle Karusoo, the Estonian stage director and collector of local biographies, takes a look at the stories of her own life, reflecting on her personal beliefs and the role of remembering throughout life.

A mild-mannered fast-food worker seeks out a controversial cure for his overwhelming oral obsession, in this goofy farce—which is also a not-so-subtle sendup of so-called "gay reparative therapy".

At the heart of the film is a generation born after Estonia joined the European Union and who decided to go abroad to work, study or explore the world. But years later, returning to Estonia is often not as easy. The new place of residence often offers attractive career prospects and better living conditions, and important close relationships have developed. People fall in love and get married, find new comfort zones and ways to step out of them again. Terje Toomistu's documentary brings to the viewer a story about Estonians with colorful destinies living in different parts of the world, who honestly and openly share their personal stories, thoughts and feelings about migration, belonging and roots.

A rebellious rock film from the cult band from Taaralinn. The usual rock film's abundant alcohol and drug scenes are replaced by scientific research by the band members who are PhD students. Punk rock is not opposed to nature and science. On the contrary, through revolutionary punk music, the band members promote sustainable lifestyles and point out the shortcomings of a consumer society. The spring band offers creative self-expression as an alternative to mindless consumption.

The hybrid documentary Song of Sleepless Nights gives voice to teenage boys as they share personal stories about friendship, love, and bullying. Growing up between the real world and constant online presence, they reveal their fears, hopes, and need to belong. Through honest and emotional reflections, the film captures what it means to be a boy searching for identity in today’s connected world.