Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR)

Robert De Niro is famous for his award-winning portrayals of gangsters, criminals and socially disturbed men who show surprising traces of vulnerability. By analyzing his astonishing roles in iconic films through the years, the documentary reveal the complex actor behind these extreme characters. Because the public knows little about the man who is largely silent about his own life and emotions, this film tries to unwraps one of the most fascinating and enigmatic American actors of all time for the audience. For this the filmakers use clips from his feature films, archive footage of his sparse interviews and probe into his background to illustrate De Niro’s methods for becoming the characters he plays and the reasons he’s able to do so. All of this culminates in a rare exposé of the genesis of the hidden pain that enables the masterful actor to bring such intensity to the big screen.

Sensitive and restless Johannes is accepted to an elite school in Tallinn and expects life to go uphill. Instead, he becomes the victim of mental abuse by his classmates. In search of recognition, he goes to his old Lasnamäe friends, who spend their time doing drugs, hanging around, and partying, rather than focusing on schoolwork. At home, Johannes must deal with his mother’s deteriorating mental health. As the tension grows, he finds himself at zero point, where he must completely reset his life to build it up from scratch.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s iconic Eurovision victory, a milestone that calls for a celebratory cinematic tribute fitting for the ultimate pop band. ‘ABBA: Against the Odds’ unveils the epic journey of ABBA’s rise to global fame. Starting with the moment they won Eurovision, it tells the story of how they overcame critical backlash, societal attitudes and marital break-up to deliver their ground-breaking music and prove themselves as a live act.

The film follows 10-year-old Oleg, whose life has been turned upside down by the ongoing war in East Ukraine. Oleg lives with his beloved grandmother Alexandra in a small house in a village on the frontline. Most people have left the village, but Oleg and Alexandra love their life together there and want to stay on and take care of each other. But life is becoming more and more difficult and the war does not seem to end.

Unustatud rahvad (1970 - 1989) by Estonian composer Veljo Tormas is based upon six Balto-Finnic peoples traditions. Collegium Musicale choir brought the songs to different sides of Baltic coasts to liven current citizens connections for fleeting past and strengthen their identity.

Enn Lillemets' film about his close friend and spiritual teacher Betti Alver. Through personal memories and Betti’s creative masterpieces, Lillemets sheds light on one of Estonian poetry’s brightest and most engaging personalities.

In a quiet resort town Haapsalu four kids are spending their summer holidays together. Suddenly they are dragged into events that started in the 15th century in the local bishop's stronghold. The children must solve a difficult mystery of a clock robbery and they have to find a treasure that has been lost for centuries and contains a formula of making gold.

Erik is a young guy, successful in his profession. Yet he has decided to be a volunteer on a suicide helpline, answering calls in the middle of the night from people who feel that they have nowhere else to turn and no one who would listen to them. What will his first shift look like?

He is the most performed contemporary composer in the world. And yet he rarely ventures out in public, prefers to keep quiet about his music, feels at home in the forests of Estonia and generates therewith - perhaps involuntarily - the impression of a recluse, which is attributed to him again and again: Arvo Part. In The Lost Paradise, we follow him over a period of one year in his native Estonia, to Japan and the Vatican. The documentary is framed by the stage production of Adam's Passion, a music theater piece based on the Biblical story of the fall of Adam featuring three key works by Arvo Part. The world-renowned director Robert Wilson has brought this work to the stage in a former submarine factory in Tallinn. Tracing their creative process, the film offers rare and personal insights into the worlds of two of the most fascinating personalities in the international arts and music scene.

After World War II, Estonian (Latvian and Lithuanian) soldiers, airmen and sailors who had fought (been conscripted) on the German side ended in POW camps on the US side. They were the lucky ones. The others went to Siberia. This story is about those soldiers who were sitting in their POW camps when all of a sudden they were conscripted yet one more time, this time into a civil variant of the US Army.

"Teet Härm - Maniac or Victim?" - suspected of killing a prostitute, Teet Härm became as famous in Sweden as Hannibal Lecter on the cinema screen. At the end of September 2003, the long-running murder scandal took a new turn as Anders Agell, emeritus professor at the Uppsala University, one of the most authoritative legal experts in Sweden, filed a new petition seeking annulment of Teet Härm and his accomplice Thomas Allgén. In the summer of 1984, an accidental passer-by found a black plastic bag containing a young woman's cut body under the motorway in Stockholm's Solna district. A little later, two other similar packages were found nearby.

Until the restoration of independence of Estonia in 1991, a collective farm operated in the village of Pähkla in Saaremaa, which employed almost all the villagers. Lembri Uudu also worked there as a tractor driver. After the collapse of the collective farm, most of the villagers lost their jobs and Uudu died. Sometimes, however, it happens that a person's real life force comes out only after his death.

The self-help and counseling association for the elderly has been operating in Kadriorg for almost 30 years and is fondly called the "Academy of Elegant Aging". The day center gives elderly people the opportunity to realize themselves and communicate with others. Simple tasks help seniors feel needed.The house is run by 70-year-old Heino, who is one of the few men among the lively ladies.

In the same vein as Meri's other documentations, this one takes advantage of the glasnost policy to discuss the social and ecologic impact of the Russian oil industry on the natives and the lands they inhabit.