Filming of new movie set in 1980s Estonia nears completion
Filming of the new feature film set in mid-1980s Estonia is well underway in Ida-Viru County.
"Musta pori näkku" is based on the novel of the same name by Mihkel Raud, and tells the story of a young heavy metal band aiming to get into the legendary Võru rock festival in late 1980s Estonia.
Principal photography is going ahead in Iisaku, around 30 km south of Jõhvi and on the way to the north shore of Peipsi järv.
Director Jaak Kilmi has form with movies set in the 1980s, when Estonia was still under the Soviet yoke, having made two prior to "Musta pori näkku". At the same time, making authentic period movies from this era is getting harder, with authentic settings in Estonia getting scarcer. For this reason, the Iisaku song stage was seen as a good double for the actual stage, which took place far to the South, in Võru.
"This is mega important in terms of the film, because our film is a road movie from Tallinn to Võru, and this is the climax of the film. So without this scene, there would be no film. That same legendary Golem gets on stage in our film, performs, and that leads to trouble," Kilmi said.
The movie comes with quite a high budget, of €1.6 million, meaning it has to attract a wide spectrum of repeat viewers.
Producer Kristian Taska said: "That also makes this film expensive to make, because you want every detail to be thought through. Density of content and thoroughness are probably what, if successful, make a good film and one that lasts through time."
That the book "Musta pori näkku" has already become an Estonian classic, whose characters are also well known to everyone, helps, he noted.
Actor Erik Hermaküla will be playing Hendrik Sal-Saller. "A beloved figure by the Estonian people, and when I saw pictures of him in his youth, I understood why I was cast in this role – the [external] resemblance is definitely there. I believe there has to be something internal [similar] too. Those words, the energy, that fire – in my opinion it's so cool and so awesome, it's something I had longed for in my life," the actor said.
Filming is now in the final stretch and "Musta pori näkku" is due to reach cinema screens next year, Kilmi said.
The movie is one of several feature films currently being shot in Estonia.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Marko Tooming
