NEW ESTONIAN ANIMATION

Antipolis

Director: Kaspar Jancis
Year: 2023
Length: 25:36
Country: Estonia
Production: Nukufilm

Synopsis:
Some people believe that the Earth is flat. And then there are those who think that somewhere there, under the Crust of the Earth, another civilization exists. The events of “Antipolis” take place in the world inside the Earth. Unlike some of the well-informed inhabitants of our civilization, the occupants of Antipolis have no idea that they are living inside a gigantic globe. Getting to know this is a sobering shock.

Gate

Director: Francesco Rosso
Year: 2022
Length: 3:57
Country: Estonia
Production: Kaasaegse Kunsti Eesti Keskus, Von Krahl

Synopsis:
It feels like a vision of a pilgrimage gone south. Desperately looking for a gate in forgotten lands where only military planes dare to fly. By using gouache painting and digital processing, animation artist Francesco Rosso imagines two monks rehearsing, finding the perfect pitch which flows through walls and fences despite their layers. The impulse for this animation comes from an existing musical composition by Karl Saks who recorded chanting Buddhist monks while on a trip to China.

Epitaph

Director: Silvia Lorenzi
Year: 2021
Length: 13:23
Country: Estonia
Production: Parrot & Stick

Estonian premiere

Synopsis:
Elena decides to end her abusive relationship. One morning, she is murdered by her ex-partner outside her home. Her death triggers a journey which blends present and memories, transforming her violent murder into a tranquil departure from life. Narrated via a visual stream of consciousness, Elena represents the destiny and voice of the many women like her who die from femicide every day.

Kõverdama

Director: Karl Kaisel
Year: 2022
Length: 4:16
Country: Estonia, Austria
Production: University of Applied Arts Vienna

Synopsis:
The film consists of broken and incomplete 3D scans of beings from Kõverdama. They tell stories of the place that used to be, is and will be. In this work, ghosts of trees float above the destroyed landscapes, flowers grow in punctured spaces, memories creep in the broken world. It’s clear that a forest cannot be reduced to numbers and pictures, a few species or resources. If the destruction is done, the result is this haunting presence.

On the 8th Day

Director: Kristjan Holm
Year: 2023
Length: 6:00
Country: Estonia
Production: Karabana

Synopsis:
On the 8th day they started the war.

Operation LARP

Director: Mattias Mälk
Year: 2023
Length: 9:58
Country: Estonia
Production: Eesti Joonisfilm

Synopsis:
After a clash with a flock of ducks, the military loses its missile into a thick forest.

On the outskirts of the same forest, a woodsman and his lover Vicky are caught red-handed by the local huntress Selma. Vicky runs naked into the forest with the vengeful huntress hot on her heels. Fortunately, an ongoing LARP camp provides a hideout for Vicky who tries to blend in.

Growing tired of the larpers’ capture-the-torch games and believing the danger is over, Vicky heads back to the woodsman’s house. To her horror, she finds Selma digging a pit for his remains. Now a witness to a crime, Vicky tries to escape yet again but trips over the lost missile.

As the military arrives on the scene, so do the larpers who in a drunken state mistake the missile for their torch. Now it’s up to Vicky to either run or be a hero.

Piano in the Bushes

Director: Dashka Dementeva
Year: 2023
Length: 6:56
Country: Estonia, Russia
Production: Eesti Kunstiakadeemia, Revival Studio

Synopsis:
Empty handed head,
Mystery girl, piano keys,
New awakening.

The Swimmer

Director: Kätrin Sibul
Year: 2022
Length: 2:18
Country: Estonia
Production: Pallas University of Applied Sciences

Estonian premiere

Synopsis:
The swimmer starts to see tempting patterns on the ground of the swimming pool. The sky, too, has beautifully aligned shapes that are almost addictive to watch. Reality, however, doesn’t let it go too far.