International premiere
The Shadow
A gripping thriller about a silenced poet who dares to dream of the freedom of his homeland.
To quote the legendary Estonian poet Juhan Liiv: “My sun doesn’t recognize me; the night is left to me.” It’s 1894. In these dark and frightening times, a secret hope begins to bloom in the hearts of Estonians – a hope of breaking free from the chains of Russian rule. The courageous Juhan Liiv expressed these patriotic dreams in his poetry, only to be locked up in a psychiatric clinic in Tartu.
The brilliant actor Pääru Oja portrays the persona non grata of Juhan Liiv, solving mysteries in his gloomy homeland, guided by his inner whispers and his passion for helping Mari. The film follows Juhan’s struggle to defend himself against false accusations, deceitful friends, and worsening mental illness. Amidst this chaos, he still managed to dream and write about freedom – a concept unknown at the time, even in poetry.
Edvinas Pukšta
Jaak Kilmi (1973) graduated from the film school of the Tallinn Pedagogical University (1998) with the short film “Külla tuli”. He has worked as a film critic, in advertising and as a lecturer. Together with Andres Maimik, he made several documentaries at the beginning of the new century, such as “Suur õde" (2000), “Beauty of Fatherland” (2001), “Elav jõud” (2004), etc., which have strongly influenced the Estonian reality genre. Together with Rene Reinumägi, he directed his first feature film, “Revolution of Pigs”, which received the Special Jury Prize at the Moscow Film Festival. To date, Kilmi has directed or co-directed more than 20 feature-length fiction and documentary films, including “Disco and Atomic War” (2009), “The Dissidents” (2017), “The Sleeping Beast” (2022) and most recently “The Shadow” (2024).
Sigade revolutsioon (PÖFF 2004, co-dir), Disko ja tuumasõda (PÖFF 2009, doc), Kristus elab Siberis (2015, co-dir, doc), Sangarid (2017), Minu spioonist isa (2019, co-dir, doc), Jõulud džunglis (2020), Tagurpidi torn (PÖFF 2022), Vari (Shadow, 2024)
Grand Prix for The Best Film, grant of 20 000 euros from the city of Tallinn, Award for Best Director, grant of 5000€ from Alexela
