Lioness

Local title
Emalõvi
Director
Liina-Triškina Vanhatalo
Country
Estonia, Germany, Latvia
Year
2024
Festival
28th Black Nights Film Festival
Programme
Baltic Film Competition
Genre
drama, psychological drama, thriller
Subject
drugs, child-parent relationships, motherhood

When a 15-year-old rebellious Stefi goes missing, her mother Helena has nothing left to lose.

Helena is a 48-year-old paramedic – a strong and efficient woman who has no difficulty handling the practical details of everyday life. Due to her work Helena is well aware of what goes on behind closed doors and in the dark shadows of the night. But the fact that she herself has emotionally abandoned her daughter Stefi a long time ago, remains invisible to her. Deeds that haven’t been done and words that haven’t been spoken lead Helena’s life towards that very darkness on a fast track.

This autumn, the smart but lonely 15-year-old Stefi actualizes every mother’s worst nightmare. The girl shaves her head, stops going to school, stops coming home at night, she becomes a member of a violent youth gang at the instigation of her new and charming girlfriend Mariann. Helena spends her days being afraid and her nights waiting or cycling around the city searching for Stefi. One night at the police station as she is waiting for Stefi, Helena meets Priit – a policeman and a father whose son has been a member of that same gang for three years already. The perspective for the future looks increasingly more terrible. Helena is unable to do her job properly. The 9-year-old Sander witnesses her sister’s drug episodes and suffers from a lack of attention from his parents. Husband Kaarel is caught between two fires – naively trying to maintain the crumbling trust with her daughter while also trying to cope with the continuous disappointment.

When Stefi ends up in the hospital after a serious overdose, a desperate, crazy plan forms in Helena’s mind. Even though Priit refuses to help her, Helena still plans to secretly kidnap Stefi and lock her up in the family’s old summer house. Every day Helena would go and see her daughter, prepare warm food for her and hope that the shock captivity works. But as things take an unexpected turn, Helena gets trapped in the delicate balance between reality, expectations and hopes.

Director
Liina-Triškina Vanhatalo
Screenwriter
Liina-Triškina Vanhatalo
Cast
Katariina Unt, Teele Piibemann, Ivo Uukkivi
Producer
Ivo Felt, Sebastian Weyland, Guntis Trekteris, Toomas Ili
Cinematographer
Erik Põllumaa
Composer
Nils Kacirek
Sound
Pink Nose Studios, Studio Funk Hamburg
World sales
Allfilm
Runtime
Language
Estonian
Subtitles
English
Other festivals
Warsaw
Director
Liina-Triškina Vanhatalo

Award for Best Baltic Film, grant of 5000€ from Piletilevi

Screenings

9th Hall Apollo Kino Coca-Cola Plaza
Screening090906 / Emalõvi
SubtitlesEnglish
Q&A guestsIvo Felt (Producer), Erik Põllumaa (Cinematographer), Teele Piibemann (Cast), Katariina Unt (Cast)
Q&A duration
Screening duration
7th Hall Apollo Kino Coca-Cola Plaza
Screening120706 / Emalõvi
SubtitlesEnglish
Screening duration
6th Hall Apollo Kino Coca-Cola Plaza
Screening160603 / Emalõvi
SubtitlesEnglish
Screening duration
Trailer
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