Shooting began on the new feature film The Little Comrade this week and will continue until the summer of next year. The premiere is planned for 2018 when the Republic of Estonia will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
The Little Comrade is a debut feature for director Moonika Siimets. The script is based on Leelo Tungal’s books The Little Comrade and Velvet and Sawdust. The film tells the story of six-year-old Leelo (Helena-Maria Reisner) whose mother Helmes (Eva Koldits) is sent to a Siberian prison camp during the Stalinist repressions of 1950. As the little girl waits for her mother to come back, she has to learn how to stay true to herself despite the dark times and sometimes tragicomic events taking place in her homeland.
Helena-Maria Reisner, who was chosen from among more than 150 children, plays the main character, 6-year-old Leelo. The other main characters are played by distinguished Estonian actors, including Tambet Tuisk (The Poll Diaries, The Idiot, Demons, Family Lies etc.), Liina Vahtrik, Juhan Ulfsak (Roukli, Autumn Ball, The Days That Confused) and others.
The shooting period will last from August of this year until June of next year. There will be a total of 45 shooting days. The film’s budget is 1.4 million Euros.
This February, The Little Comrade became the first Estonian project to be selected for the Berlin Film Festival Co-Production Market where it received the Special Mention Prize from the Eurimages Jury.
The Little Comrade is being made in the framework of the Estonian Republic 100 Feature Film program.
Moonika Siimets is the author of several lauded short and documentary films. Her most well known works are The Pink Sweater (2014), The Last Romeo (2013), The Salme Secret (2012) and Fashion Dog (2010). The film’s director of photography is Rein Kotov, the set designer is Jaagup Roomet and the producer is Riina Sildos. The film is being made by the film studio Amrion.
More information:
Riina Sildos
Producer
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www.amrion.ee
Eda Koppel
Estonian Film Institute
Head of Marketing
+372 627 6063
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