Arvo Iho

A documentary series exploring the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood’s notoriously “cursed” horror film productions. From plane accidents and bombings during the making of The Omen, to the rumored use of real human skeletons on the set of Poltergeist, these stories are legendary amongst film fans and filmmakers alike. But where does the truth lie?

Open details →

Dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Andrei Tarkovsky. The film uses unique materials related to the years Tarkovsky spent in Italy, personal accounts of friends and professionals, the shooting locations of his films, to what degree his works reflects his personal life. The film brings us closer to the man to whom contemporary filmmaking owes so much.

Open details →

Half the film was shot with a video camera taken from a television station without permission, the cast and staff were unpaid, and the script was written as a screenwriting class assignment.

Open details →

Arabella is a daughter of the world's most terrifying pirate captain. She loves her father but also dreams about a life of a usual girl. One day a weird stranger is saved from the sea who will be the only friend of Arabella. At the same time a rival pirate called Raudpats plans to kidnap the girl. Will she be safe and can she ever live a normal life?

Open details →

Set in the post-war years when sovietization was still being resisted by partisans, often at the expense of a farming population intent on rebuilding.

Open details →

A young partisan imagines himself as a superhero, escaping from German soldiers.

Open details →

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

Open details →

A young Estonian goes to the Siberian Taiga to live as a hunter in a remote forest hut. He hopes to find his true self far from civilisation. The natives he meets introduce him to the myths of the north. The first is a young village teacher who wants to be a good wife to him. The second is a wild and untameable native who becomes his mythical bear-woman. When he accidentally kills a great black bear, his own shadow-creature, he burdens himself with guilt. However, he is given a chance of finding his inner balance. A romantic drama with mythical elements and breathtaking landscapes.

Open details →

Based on the tales of Chinese writer Pu Songling, the film depicts the romantic relationships of a Chinese student with an undead girl and a fox spirit maiden. Rainer Sarnet's diploma film.

Open details →

When two half-sisters, thirteen-year-old white-haired Sigrid and seven-year-old black-blooded Saara meet for the first time, it turns out that their common grandmother has been taken to a nursing home. The girls come up with the idea to steal him from there and hide him in the attic where they can be with her undisturbed. Everything goes well beyond expectations until drunkards, thugs and extortionists intervene and the girls have to act decisively to escape from them.

Open details →

Nighttime at the tram depot. A closed tram car, from which a young businessman who fell asleep on the tram finds himself waking up. However, he is not alone...

Open details →

The film is based on the works of Milarepa, the most renowned Tibetan poet and Buddhist teacher of the 11th century. A young scholar and a student journey through the sacred sites of Buryatia and Mongolia, guided by a mentor on an exploratory expedition, seeking a path to self-discovery through Milarepa's philosophy and Buddhist culture.

Open details →

16-year-old Mari, raised without a mother by a drunkard father, is put in an orphanage which she immediately, though unsuccessfully, tries to flee from. The sensitive Mari finds it hard to adapt to the coarse manners and brutal games amongst the children. Only gradually does she develop a sense for the similarly difficult fates of her fellow sufferers, who have long forgotten how to cry. She even falls in love for the first time, not with her self-appointed “protector” Tauri, but with the rough-mannered Robi.

Open details →

Georg Lurich was a world-famous Estonian professional wrestler in the early 1900-s who became a legend already in his lifetime. He was called not only the world's best technique-wrestler but he was also a sports-philosopher, health and temperance activist, an efficient sports manager, a talent in acting, writing and chess, a "world's citizen" who spoke more than ten languages and an athlete with enormous popularity. At least 14 wrestling clubs in Europe and USA carried his name. This film is an unpretentious attempt to recall that unique man, the first world-famous Estonian.

Open details →

Arabella is a daughter of the world's most terrifying pirate captain. She loves her father but also dreams about a life of a usual girl. One day a weird stranger is saved from the sea who will be the only friend of Arabella. At the same time a rival pirate called Raudpats plans to kidnap the girl. Will she be safe and can she ever live a normal life?

Open details →

Osvald, a man in his sixties, his wife Ragne who is about half his age and full of life, and her ex-lover Tarmo, have reached a decisive point in their lives where important choices need to be made. The isolation of a lonely island sets the characters face to face with each other, depriving them of social safety measures.

Open details →

In post-World War II Estonia, Mait Kukemeri, an activist of the Young Communist League arrives to the Metsa collective farm in the back of a traveling cinema truck. As a commissary of the spring sowing, he has orders to usher all the people to the field, even if the water is high enough to soak your boots and the machines sink in the mud. Harald Tuvikene, the head of the farm, keeps dragging his feet, trying to pitch his peasant wisdom against the senseless demands of the central power. For the first time in his life, Kukemeri faces a real problem - does he do what's right or does he follow the party's inept commands in order to further his own career?

Open details →

Heino Pedusaar (born in 1931) was a sound director in Eesti Raadio. He has collected old audio records all around Estonia. For already twenty years he has been actively involved in restoring Estonian cultural heritage. Filmmakers follow his trip to Mooste in Põlva county and observe his skillful work in restoring old audio records.

Open details →

Set in the post-war years when sovietization was still being resisted by partisans, often at the expense of a farming population intent on rebuilding.

Open details →

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.

Open details →

Ants Jõgi (1892-1983) is a dignified gentleman whose main profession in life has been acting. He also has a spirit of an artist and an artisan. The 85-year-old man is lonely and has to go to a retirement home. Director Leida Laius' documentary tells a story about the life and work of the old actor as well as contemplates on the true values of life, old man's connections to the present and the past. The thoughts of the wise old man are enchanting with their simplicity and warmth.

Open details →

It can sometimes seem as though all sorts of machines will be able to solve all problems. But this notion is wrong. Once a polar explorer once again began his research. He never imagined that the elements of nature could be so powerful that no machine would be able to stop them.

Open details →

Coming into this world is an important event in a person's life, perhaps the most important. The film purely and sincerely captures the moments of birth. In the 1970s, it was rare for filmmakers to be able to film in a maternity hospital. Director Leida Laius and cameraman Arvo Iho succeeded. What's more, the shots taken with a hidden camera are genuine, warm and humanly honest.

Open details →

A thoughtful and sad film about toddlers who spend their days or even weeks away from their mother and home, whether in a day nursery or a day group. The camera observes the great sadness of the small citizens and their subconscious attempts to adapt to a strange situation.

Open details →

The First World War is over. A young soldier, having endured all its horrors, returns home to his mother, who has been anxiously awaiting his arrival. But the homecoming is far from joyful. The atmosphere of war has left fatal scars on the minds and souls of those who lived through it...

Open details →