Killing Tartu

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

An average guy of an Estonian high-school decides to defend his bullied classmate. This starts a war between him and the informal leader of the class.

In a poor Estonian village, a group of peasants use magic and folk remedies to survive the winter, and a young woman tries to get a young man to love her.

It is the night of March 25, 1949. A full moon hangs over Estonia. Endless rows of cattle cars are waiting to transport thousands of Estonian families, asleep in their homes, to Siberia. The Stalinist regime is ready to treat people like animals.

Viktor Kingissepp has been the underground head of the Communist Party of Estonia for three years. He corresponds with Moscow, writes speeches for the members of the Communist Workers' Party and makes leaflets for the events of trade union. His purpose is to overthrow the Republic of Estonia since he does not believe in Estonian independence nor in any national ideals. Yet the clock keeps ticking, tuberculosis spreads rapidly, the world revolution is being postponed. What to do in order to make one's efforts work?

Anne leaves Estonia to come to Paris as a caretaker for Frida, an elderly Estonian lady who emigrated to France long ago. Anne soon realizes that she is not wanted. All Frida wants from life is the attention of Stéphane, her younger former lover. Stéphane, however, is desperate for Anne to stay and look after Frida, even against the old lady's will. In this conflict of strangers, Anne will find her own way…

A three episode film consisting of three short films: "Promenade", "Poacher" and "Tattoo". The action of the films takes place in the 1930s in Estonia.

Unforgettable melodies, unique timbre and a memorable, soul-stirring voice. A mystery for women and authority for men, his talent was revered by the highest ranks of the Soviet Union and millions of ordinary people. Georg Ots took the stage when a huge country was recovering from the horrors of war, and his voice returned them faith in a bright future. Few people know what his life was really like.

It is the year 1947. The war is over but Estonian forests are still hiding armoured men. When the message comes that Western spies will arrive to support the local bushwhackers, security officer Rein Taim starts to lead the counter operation of the Communist Secret Police in order to catch the Western diversionists and the leader of the Estonian bushwhackers.

50s quiet Estonian town. After a long separation, two brothers met in their parents' house. The younger one, Ilmar, a formerly capable artist, has just been released under an amnesty from a camp where he ended up for some youthful prank. Older brother Alex, by nature a more reserved person who prefers to find compromise solutions, is the complete opposite of Ilmar. The meeting of the brothers develops into a conflict, complicated by the fact that Ilmar got in touch with repeat offenders in the camp, and now they are threatening him with violence.

Five people who have recently reached middle-age are driving through Estonia to visit a famous witch-therapist to get rid of their problems. The somber-funny road movie gives a good overview of the life, people and daily problems in Estonia at the end of the Soviet period.

Living alone in an Estonian slum and unable to afford basic needs, a top high school student reluctantly enters the drug game to make ends meet.

This modern western depicting juvenile crime takes as its theme the struggle of an individual against a vicious circle of violence. The spiral of violence and revenge is only broken when one person conquers himself and refuses to continue the vendetta. Siim, a 14-year old who grew up in the streets, is only spared the violence because he has a natural antipathy to it. Ultimately he too is caught up in the fighting when he tries to save money for his girlfriend's Christmas gift and the cash is stolen.

A woman's adult son has fallen into a coma after being shot. Taking care of him at home, she has to face a whole town trying to solve the mystery of what exactly happened.

August 1991, military coup d'etat in Moscow. When Soviet tanks are on the streets of Tallinn, Estonia, all hopes for independence seem to be lost. People in the only local television station, ETV, are facing their own choices.

A state commissioned film on the dangers of drunk driving.

It's December and Christmastime, but outside the summer sun blazes. Something is wrong! The Mayan calendar predicts that the world will end on December 21, 2012. Every Estonian has to decide how they will spend their last days. Rait finally wants to confess his feelings to his lifelong love, the starlet Lenna Kuurmaa. His friend Mihkel, hits his head, goes bonkers, and needs to save the world by sacrificing that very same Lenna to the Sun Gods. Brenda wants to escape her dictatorial mother but insane asylum orderlies chase her. Ervin wins the world's last lottery and is so upset by not having any way to spend it that he wants to die from misery. Confusion reigns, but hope always dies last... And, fortunately, the end finally comes.

A family that just moved to their new city apartment, has to figure out what to do with a goat that was suddenly gifted as part of a charity program.

In a small Swedish town, the murder of Frome, the owner of a public relations research firm, takes place. A day later, his friend Touraine, the police commissioner leading the investigation, is killed...

Multiplying the existing point of view the actual oneness seems changes to unevenness.

Erik is convinced he has a stone for a heart. That’s why he doesn’t mind that his parents have no time for him, or that he is bullied at school, or that he has no real friends. When his family moves to a villa they inherited, he is confronted by Maria whom Erik's parents want to kick out along with her father. Maria refuses to move and promises to make Erik's life a living hell. As a last attempt to defeat Erik, Maria goes to look for her mother who disappeared two years ago. Together they end up on a fantastical journey to the In-Between-World and Erik learns how hard it really is to wear a heart of stone.

"Love for Three Oranges" is the first play by Carlo Gozzi (December 13, 1720 - April 4, 1806). He wrote it in 1761. The play is based on a parody of the fairy tale "Love Against Three Oranges". It was originally written as canovaccio (the explanation of the content on which commedia dell'arte actors improvise the text), but later Gozzi also added some dialogue instructions and critical explanations.

September is a film about the complicated choices of simple people. The internationally renowned Estonian author, Jaan Kross (1920-2007) was arrested in 1944 by the Nazis. A year after the Soviet forces entered Tallinn and he was arrested again. The accusation was the same both times: conspiracy with the underground independence revolutionaries. Based on the author's journal, pieces from his oeuvre and interviews, the film creates a story about a few monumental weeks in Tallinn, in September 1944.