The Baltics Visiting: Soviet Times
Hobby
A little spider's hobby is to saw, a pun from the Russian language meaning “nagging”. The spider saws everything that gets in his way, he saws a pole, he saws water in a fountain, just like pushy advisors and criticasters in your daily life “saw” and “saw” with a reason or without it.
Breakout
The uncanny atmosphere of this amateur film captures the hopes, fears and uncertainties during the decline of the Soviet regime.
Velikan Tõll / Suur Tõll / Tyll the Giant
An Estonian folk tale about Tõll, the giant hero who lived on the Baltic Sea island of Saaremaa.
Trikotnik / Kolmnurk / The Triangle
When Eduard becomes involved in Julia and Victor’s loveless relationship, a sensual triangle is created which… Well, you’ll have to watch it to see.
Pet mačk / Pieci kaķi / Five Cats
Five Cats interprets a Latvian folk tale, but in modern setting. The relationship between cats and mice is a symbol for the clash of generations and different worldviews – mice are like the older generation, the keepers of countryside traditions, and cats are like city dwellers, wanderers, and bohemians.
Bavbav / Baubas / Hobgoblin
The film was made on the basis of a Lithuanian mythological creature, the hobgoblin/baubas, who is usually represented as a demon sent to scare children behaving badly. It tells the story of the friendship between a girl and an imaginary hobgoblin (which her parents have invented).
Drevo / Medis / The Tree
An unconventional adaptation of a folk tale. A nine-headed dragon chases a girl, who is saved not by her brothers but a magic tree.
Želve / Bruņurupuči / Turtles
The rhythm of the film reflects the slow pace of turtles’ life: the days come and go, cars flow by, hurried human beings break into the ever so preserved world. The only thing that can ease the worried minds of turtles is an encounter with a family. They understand the need for peace in the turtles' family, they help the turtles get to the other side of the highway, where nature has not been touched by technology.