Best Estonian movies

War in Abkhazia, 1992. An Estonian man Ivo has stayed behind to harvest his crops of tangerines. In a bloody conflict at his door, a wounded man is left behind, and Ivo is forced to take him in.

At the height of the Cold War, a troubled soldier forms a forbidden love triangle with a daring fighter pilot and his female comrade amid the dangerous surroundings of a Soviet Air Force Base.

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.

The events of the war in 1944, from the Blue Hills to Sõrve Peninsula. Shown through the eyes of Estonian soldiers who had to pick sides and fight against fellow brothers. Choices have to be made, not only by the soldiers, but also by their loved ones.

Fleeing from the Russian secret police, a young Estonian fencer is forced to return to his homeland, where he becomes a physical education teacher at a local school. The past however catches up and puts him in front of a difficult choice.

Estonia, 1872. The uncompromising new owner of Robber's Rise must battle with hard work, his spiteful neighbor and with his own family and beliefs to transform the poor land into a flourishing farm of his dreams.

CIA agents Palmer and Gagano are tasked with the perilous mission of destroying “The Soviet Union!" As they enter the system using a VR simulation, their mission quickly turns into a delirious trap, far more complex than expected, as the fabric of reality starts unraveling around them.

June 14, 1941, 3 a.m. Over 40000 people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are deported by Soviets to Siberia. Among them is a philosophy student Erna, a happily married mother of a little girl. Separated from her husband, Erna and her daughter are dispatched together with other women and children to remote Siberian territories. Despite hunger, fear and brutal humiliation Erna never in next fifteen years loses her sense of freedom and hope of returning to homeland.

Four children - Mari, Sadu, Olav and Anton form a secret society to play hide-and seek games invented by Mari's grandfather, a professor at the university. When the city is attacked by a mysterious poison which turns adults into children our gang embarks on a quest for the antidote.

A historical spy-thriller set in 1939 about an Estonian intelligence agent tasked with uncovering the Soviet double agent in their ranks.

A village girl travels to the Lao capital, Vientiane, to care for her rich cousin who has lost her sight and gained the ability to communicate with the dead.

Despite peaceful speeches, the army of the Soviet Russian is attacking Estonia, and the country's government is declaring a mobilization for all. Henn Ahas, the son of a poor family, hesitates to go to war.

Somewhere in Europe by a great sea stands a small village, where inventing all manner of domestic gadgets is held in great esteem. Every year the villagers organize an annual competition of new inventions. One of the best inventors in the village is Oskar, Lotte's father. His primary rival is Adalbert, whose wife also partakes in the competition. On the eve of the next competition, Lotte and her friend Bruno find a book soaked in the sea, from which Susumu, a gardener from distant Japan, climbs out. Susumu teaches the villagers some judo throws before a big judo competition, which the latter will eagerly use to facilitate their daily lives.

In the midst of Stalinist tyranny, six-year-old Leelo's mother is sent to a prison camp. Haunted by her mother's last words telling her to be a good kid, Leelo vows to be on her best behaviour in the confusing grown-up world in the hope that it will bring her mother back.

Insecure and balding Leo has closed himself in his apartment to try a hair growth liquid for fixing up his looks. As Leo tries to get his bodily changes under control the evening quickly turns into chaos.

Plucky young Lotte embarks on an adventure with her uncle Klaus to solve the mystery of three stones that a pair of hooded figures are attempting to retrieve.

In medieval Tallinn, a famous knight who is freed from the pirates of the Baltic Sea is murdered. The hero's head is cut off and his mouth is stuffed with coins. The gold chain he bought the same day is missing. The bailiff orders Melchior, an apothecary, to investigate the crime. The clever young man discovers that the slain was looking for a mysterious "Tallinn prisoner" and the traces lead to the Dominican monastery. A fabulous sequence of bloodwork is unleashed - anyone who comes into contact with this secret is in danger of dying.

In Soviet-era Estonia, three young mavericks drop everything and flee to Sweden, but soon learn the free world is not all it's cracked up to be.

One sleepy Saturday morning a 30-year-old construction worker Erik gets some earth shattering news: his ex-girlfriend Moonika who he hasn't even seen for the past six months is about to go into labor. She however is not ready for motherhood and if Erik doesn't want the kid either, the little girl will be put up for adoption.

An outrageous road movie about The Old Man and his grandkids in a 24 hour race against time to stop a milky madman hell bent on killing his prized cow to save the world.

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.

The Soviet Union teeters on the verge of collapse in 1990 and tiny Baltic nations struggle to take back their independence. A rising tide of public opinion opposes the Estonian national team's participation in the USSR's basketball championship. The team makes the unpopular choice to participate.

A 10-year old girl's Christmas plans take an unexpected turn after she is brought to a mysterious Estonian farm.

Manivald is a fox in his early 30s. He is still living at home with his mother. One day a young hot wolf called Toomas comes to fix the washing machine. A love triangle develops between the three of them. Things get out of hand and Manivald realizes that it is time to move out.

A poetic and atypical nature film about the various inhabitants of an old-growth forest, on the ground, in the air and in the water. There's no commentary, only the rich, almost palpable sounds of the forest and the magical situations captured by the camera. Although we might sometimes be puzzled as to what's actually happening a mating ritual or the start of a fight? the lack of explanation leaves space for us to associate freely and simply experience the images. The film offers a close-up view of a wide range of creatures such as the insect that appears out of the melting snow, gradually begins to move and impatiently waits until all its legs are free so it can fly away. The scale of the portraits is sometimes grand and at other times modest, but always filmed with precision, whether in daylight or at night. Time doesn't seem to matter in this extraordinary piece of slow cinema.

In this decidedly cheeky and deliriously fun animation, a decent, hard-working wolf must rely on his physical gifts in order to make ends meet for the sake of his family.

Pirx, an experienced pilot, is hired to go on a top-secret mission to evaluate some 'nonlinears' (an experimental model of android) for use as crewmembers on future space flights. Pirx and this intriguing crew are sent out to launch two satellites into the rings of Saturn, but he is determined to find out and identify a hostile unhuman coworker among them.

Autumn in Estonia, where six people live, six solitudes, prisoners of the monotonous architecture of Soviet-era concrete buildings, in search of human companionship, of love, of a ray of light in an ocean of gray.

An Estonian student hiking group get caught up in a series of scary events unfolding in wintry Siberia. The unpopular group leader Olle, becomes disappointed in his companions during the trip and disappears on the last day in the mountains. His rival, liberal-minded and adventurous Eero guides the descending hikers into a Buryate village on the mountain to seek help. A weird and insane chain of events is unleashed which seems to be orchestrated by the missing Olle. In a foreign land and among people they do not know, the hikers are faced with a task which they at first do not want to undertake and later are unable to tackle.

After being whacked on the head with a shovel, Valdis no longer shows interest in the things that used to make his life worthwhile: alcohol, techno, cars and fights. His friends desperately try to help him regain his memory, but nothing works.

The main character, Helmi, is born into the house of Baron von Strandmann in Old-Town Tallinn, in 1908. The only thing that she knows for sure about her past is that her mother was an Estonian servant girl. Everything else is a discovery during a life that runs the course of a century - a life that has quite a lot of surprises in store for Helmi. In this house she finds happiness and suffering, passion and disappointment. She grows up alongside young Erik and waits for her big love to blossom. But one floor down lives projectionist Julius - a man who is far from indifferent when it comes to Helmi. All of the biggest historical events of the century leave their mark on the house. Its hardwood floors have born soldiers' gruff boots and gentleman's shiny oxfords. Its walls have held the fates of people from far and near, foreigners and locals. Helmi's home becomes a German salon, a revolution museum, and a working class commune. And as freedom comes, real estate crooks start sniffing ...

After surviving a deadly attack, a guard on the Soviet-Chinese border decides to become a monk but must continually prove along the way that he's capable of becoming the enlightened man he set out to be.

Politician Aadu Kägu goes to the mushroom forest with his wife Viivi to rest his nerves from the reputation campaign. They are joined by a voter, penniless rock star Zäk. In order to avoid common mushroom forests, they drive to some countryside at random. Soon the trio discovers that they are lost, at the same time a media scandal breaks out - the investigative press suspects that Kägu has misused state money. The fight for honor, life and death begins, both in the forest and in the city.

Following a serious domestic violence incident, 13 year old Paul arrives in an unfamiliar town where in his pursuit of happiness he makes one bad decision after another. His seemingly inevitable downfall is thwarted, however, by a strange disabled man.

A humoristic coming-of-age story of Johannes who is born prematurely to a very young single mother. His destiny is to be always separated from his loved ones, to be “different”, to lose his hair because of pollution and to fall in love with a Chechen girl. All this during the turbulent times of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Adventures await when new lovers are separated by a chainsaw killer.

Children are left at grandma's house without their smartphones. Real life seems rather boring until they find instructions for the Kratt - a magical creature who will do whatever its master says. All they have to do now, is to buy a soul from the devil.

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.

Not to mention the story of the Estonian unit Estcoy-8, which suffered the biggest losses in the history of Estonian foreign missions in Afghanistan.

Aymas, the 55-year-old protagonist of the film, has seen a lot in his life. A lawyer from Germany brings along bitter news that Aymas's only daughter has passed away and left her fortune to his father. Aimlessly ,Aymas wanders along the streets of the town which is constantly filled with fog. Fog lies both in the streets and in Aymas's brains. The fog can only be dispelled by wind or a girl named Samal, whom Aymas accidentally meets in the fog. If fact, the word samal means 'wind' in Central Asia. The girl is really like the wind - she's wayward, impulsive and unpredictable. She behaves exactly like she pleases. She scatters foundations. She's in love with another girl and she's very unhappy. To Aymas, Samal reminds of his daughter. For her sake, Aymas delves into a series of adventures with unpredictable consequences. It seems to him that they're getting closer to each other. But how can you can get closer to the wind and lock it into a cage?

Three months before elections the president of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenka claimed: "You have no other choice, you will vote for me!" We were trying to figure out how did it happen that 83% of the population voted for Lukashenka? The film tracks the opposition struggle during few post-election days. The movie shows the falsehood of the official propaganda and the ambiguous, sometimes polar, attitude of simple people. Assembling together all the debris of the opinions, comparing different historical events, jeering at dictator's arrogance and manners, admiring courage and dedication of the young generation, the feature approaches the understanding of what is really going on in the middle of Europe. And one more thing -the director's sarcastic comment throughout the film does not make you bored!

Maria Avdjushko’s documentary Good People offers a heartfelt look into the work of the Hille Tänavsuu Cancer Treatment Foundation “The Gift of Life” – and the people it helps. In a world where terminal diagnoses often come with no options, this film introduces us to patients who refuse to give up, their loved ones, and the dedicated volunteers and donors who make life-saving treatments possible. Through honest and emotional testimonies, we see the very real impact of hope, community, and care. Over ten years, the foundation has become an essential part of Estonia’s healthcare landscape. Good People is a tribute to those who help others carry on – a moving story about resilience, compassion, and the value of every single day.

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.

In the middle of the night, a drunk town guard happens to meet the daughter of a rich merchant… who drowned herself into a well 10 years ago. Soon after the town guard falls dead from the tower. This is followed by two other suspicious deaths. Doubting the existence of the ghost, Melchior has a hunch that these ‘accidents’ are part of a heinous crime. Tracking down the killer, his path will cross with heretics, old feuds and dark family secrets.

A mid-level manager who develops an aversion to being a good person questions his morality as he faces the challenges of middle age and loses control of his life.

Melchior’s bride Keterlyn happens to witness an attack on a young man. The victim, who has lost his memory, does not know who he is and how he ended up in a Tallinn. A ring found at the scene leads Melchior to the trail of the nocturnal brotherhood, questions are also raised by the troupe of freaks who performed on fair day. Ominous signs suggest that not only is the stranger recovering from a murder attempt at risk, but Melchior and Keterlyn as well. At the same time, an inquisitor known as a ruthless witch hunter arrives in town. Melchior's ability to "speak to the dead" and to notice invisible traces of murder have raised the suspicion that he may be a dangerous heretic. And the place of the enemy of the church is at the stake…

You’re a detective with a unique skill system at your disposal and a whole city to carve your path across. Interrogate unforgettable characters, crack murders or take bribes. Become a hero or an absolute disaster of a human being.

Cleo feels bored and lonely in life. At work both she and his boss Nathan are under pressure to deliver results faster. A bartender gives her advice that she dismisses at first. Or did he have a point...

Documentary about the work of the Estonian cartoonist and animation director Priit Pärn

The Class: Life After is a follow-up to the feature film The Class (not the French one) and deals with the aftermath of a school shooting. Each one-hour episode focuses on a different character who survived or witnessed the tragic event. There are kids from the class, their parents, the class teacher, a boy who survived the shooting, and finally, one of the culprits in the very last episode.

30-year old Kertu has lived under her father's power her whole life. Because of her gentle nature, she is thought by locals to be a little simple-minded. The young woman makes her first timid attempt to change something in her life - she send a postcard to Villu, a handsome but degenerate village drunk.

Bad fortune has deported a ballet dancer Sergei to a suburban kolkhoz. Here he's having his mundane fights against routine, domestic animals and alcohol.

At a late-night seance, attended by twelve people, the medium announces that five secrets will be revealed before midnight. There might, however, be one more - the darkest of them all.

Three middle aged men are going to their high school reunion after 25 years and the troubles that come with it.

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.

Vitaly Mansky’s intimate and insightful new documentary finds him crisscrossing Ukraine in the wake of the Maidan uprising, which has left his relatives scattered on both sides of a highly charged and dizzyingly complex political situation.

When 15-year-old rebellious Stefi goes missing, her mother Helena has nothing left to lose. Why cling to sanity when madness offers a chance for reconciliation and love?

The death of Jon's mother forces him to take on a journey with her corpse in the backseat to fulfill her last wish. Bresnef the dog comes along and this trip will be the gamechanger Jon never dreamt of.

12-year-old Shahad is studying at Tartu Descartes School. The film looks at the girl's everyday life, which is not quite everyday. The Shahadi family fled Syria six years ago. Four years ago, they arrived here, in their new home. How are they?

Year 1208. The first Eastward enlargement of Europe is under way. Brutal forces of the Teutonic Order are steadily marching on. In their path live a simple and peaceful people, whose main pastimes include cultivating the earth, singing and, if possible, doing both at the same time. They are the Estonians. Ignorant in the ways of war, they find an unlikely leader in a young boy with Catholic upbringing. In their fight for freedom, the Estonians encounter numerous obstacles, including the Germans, French, Russians and, worst of all, the Latvians. Will they succeed in defeating their enemies or will they experience a cultural awakening?

Many years after leaving the small town behind, Joel returns to move his mother Monika, a home for the elderly struggling with dementia. However, Monika’s health takes a turn for the worse soon after her arrival. She experiences terrifying visions of her late husband, Joel’s abusive father, and begins exhibiting violent behavior. Joel begins to believe that something malevolent and supernatural has taken control of his mother. But with his own history of substance abuse and mental instability, can he trust his own perceptions? As Monika’s memories fade, Joel must confront the demons of his own past, dredged up by his return to the home where he grew up.

A different history of the Cold War: how Estonians under Soviet tyranny began to feel the breeze of freedom when a group of anonymous dreamers successfully used improbable methods to capture the Finnish television signal, a window into Western popular culture, brave but harmless warriors who helped change the fate of an entire nation.

Little bird Pippo fell behind the flock of birds. Lotte decides to go after a flock to take Pippo to relatives. Together with her dad Oscar, inventor, who has just invented a flying machine, and old traveler Klaus.

At an ever-accelerating pace, this thriller / dark comedy tells the story of 8 very different groups whose paths cross in the space of 24 hours. We meet a wide range of characters - from spoiled rich brats to real bottom-feeding criminal scum, and everyone in-between. In the best traditions of Commedia dell’arte, the characters each have easily recognizable roles

My 5-year journey from bereavement to the last goodbye, through an exploration of "existence" and "life", from different perspectives and stages of the mind.