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16-12-2009

PRODUCTION: Red Quicksilver preps March release

By Martin Aadamsoo

    Red Quicksilver (Punane elavhõbe) is the first Estonian-shot feature by Andres Puustusmaa who directed two features in Russia (notably 1814) and has now returned to his native country.

     

    The film is based on a best-selling novel by Andres Anvelt, former head of Estonia's criminal police turned writer. It is alleged to be based on real-life events and persons in the local criminal world and law-enforcement.

    The film recounts a story ot the Estonian underworld and the law of the early 1990's, a troubled time around the collapse of the Soviet Union. The three protagonists include a young police officer, possibly modelled on the book's author, his ferocious boss (also drawn from life) and a criminal just released from prison. The film is conceived as a genre thriller, a relative rarity in Estonia's cinema.

    Red Quicksilver is produced by Kris Taska of Taska Producions (Names in Marble, Mat the Cat, Golden beach, Set point, Mindless) and co-produced by Russia-based Jusup Bakhshiev of Arnold&Gregor Productions, best-know for the Russian Antikiller sequels.

    The reported budget of the film is 810,000 EUR.

    www.taska.ee

    Planned release date: 1 March 2010

    Credits:

    Original title: Punane elavhõbe

    Director: Andres Puustusmaa

    Script: Andres Anvelt

    DoP: Mait Mäekivi

    Art design: Ervin Seppel

    Production Manager: Erika Laansalu

    Co-producer: Jusup Bakhshiev, Arnold&Gregor Productions, Russia

    Producer Kris Taska, Taska productions, Estonia

    Principal cast:

    Juhan Ulfsak, Peeter Oja, Märt Avandi, Mait Malmsten, Taavi Teplenkov, Inga Salurand, Ilja Nartov, Lembit Ulfsak, Epp Eespäev, Kirill Käro, Egon Nuter, Aleksandr Baširov, Sergei Barkovski.

    Planned length: 100 min