Maian Kärmas

Eurolaul was an annual televised competition to select a song to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest made by the Estonian Public Television Service ETV. For many years the competition differed from the national selections of most other countries in that the outcome was solely determined by an international jury. The rules were changed to entrust the Estonian public with the choice by means of televoting in 2004 and 2005, but due to the disappointing results in the ESC in those years there was a return to the former system in 2006. Eurolaul also selected Tanel Padar and Dave Benton's song "Everybody" in 2001, which went on to win the contest for Estonia. In 2009, Eurolaul was discontinued after a long period of bad results for Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest and was replaced with a new contest entitled Eesti Laul.

One of the traditions peculiar to Europe is the annual Eurovision Song Contest, in which hopeful singers from across the continent - from Slovenia to Sweden and Cyprus to Croatia - attempt to prove their nation's dominance in the field of pop music. Filmmaker Marina Zenovich took her cameras to host country Estonia - the winner in 2001 - to document preparations for the 2002 contest, and found a hotbed of jealous rivalries, national outrage and soap-opera-style scandals. Why did winning duo Tanel and Dave break up just weeks after their win? Why is handsome actor Mart Sander passed over for the presenter job? How does Tanel's sister react when she fails to make the cut for the 2002 contest? Through interviews and observation, Zenovich creates what the London Guardian described as "A Star is Born with extra snow."