Ain Lutsepp

A lot has happened in a quarter of a century, but the Salmons have remained who they were - Estonia's first family, who have been viewed with both admiration and quiet envy. Viewers of the former series remember how well the Salmon family was able to make money. Now they have secured an even more powerful position in the society, because Ella Salmon has become the President of Estonia.

In this third film of the series of Lotte films that children know and love, the spirited girl dog Lotte gets a little sister named Roosi. Karl the raccoon and Viktor the fish are scientists who come to Gadgetville. They are taking part in a big folk song collecting competition. Whoever succeeds in recording the folk song of the world’s oldest animal species, the mythical fire-breathing dragon, wins the competition’s grand prize. Lotte and Roosi decide to help the scientists. Exciting and unexpected adventures await the sisters.

Three sisters (doctor Piret, interior designer Mari and psychologist Kertu) discover that they have one more sister. Shocking news challenges family relationships and forces them to ask why their mother has hidden her first child's existence. When the fourth sister decides to come and visit her mother and sisters in Haapsalu, events that nobody could expect started happening. Is blood thicker than water and the stranger becomes theirs?

The film consists of three chapters. The Manslayer takes place more than a hundred years ago. The leading character Maara is a young bride who is about to start her life in her new family. The Virgin, set in the spring of 1949, tells the story of a young woman called Elina, who has been deported from Ingria into Estonia during the previous war. The Shadow moves in the present, on the border of real life and fantasy. The main character, Luna Lee, has decided to flee from home. Is there anything besides emptiness somewhere? The film is led by the singularity of the leading character - Maara, Elina and Luna Lee are all played by the same actress.

Four children - Mari, Sadu, Olav and Anton form a secret society to play hide-and seek games invented by Mari's grandfather, a professor at the university. When the city is attacked by a mysterious poison which turns adults into children our gang embarks on a quest for the antidote.

When Joko, Ants and Reeda, all in their own good reasons, first enter a casino, they can't possibly be aware of the very existence of the demons inside them. Soon enough, they will know. But then it is already too late and their lives are suddenly caught in a fatal vortex.

A story of a naive man, whose direct behavior stirs in people moral unrest, rage and embarrassment over their own pettiness, making them yearn for goodness. Based on the book by F. Dostojevski.

The young country of Estonia is dancing to the jazzy tune of the 1920's when on December 1, 1924, the capital Tallinn is overrun by members of the Comintern in an attempt to stage a Communist coup. The film follows the fates of a young soldier called Tanel and his wife, a telephone operator named Anna, amidst the ensuing chaos which determines whether the country remains independent or becomes a minor province in the Communist Empire.

Somewhere in Europe by a great sea stands a small village, where inventing all manner of domestic gadgets is held in great esteem. The villagers organize an annual competition of new inventions. One of the best inventors in the village is Oskar, the father of the energetic girl dog Lotte. His primary rival is Adalbert the Hare. Victory in this competition is very important as it would bring honour to the entire family.

As a young woman, Claire left her hometown in disgrace. Now she is old and unimaginably rich, as for the first time she returns. The town is nearly bankrupt and in urgent need of money. Everybody hopes Clara will come to the rescue. And she will. However, there is a condition: somebody must kill the man who was her lover all those years ago.

Six young filmmakers from Central and East Europe developed shorts about the theme of "generation".

At the end of the 1920-s the Finnish government proclaimed dry law which lasted 12 years. Estonian bootleggers living on the neighboring coast of the Gulf of Finland profited from prohibition......

In August, 1991, Estonia reclaims its independence from the USSR and brings to its national bank nearly $1 billion in gold bullion hidden in Paris for 50 years. Russian mobsters have a bold plan to hijack the gold after shutting down the capital's power at midnight. For this they need Toivo, an electrical technician. His wife is pregnant and she urges him to take the job ("$5000 buys lots of baby food"). After Toivo leaves for the plant, his wife goes into labor. Birth and blackout happen simultaneously; the baby needs an incubator, but there's no power. Jealousies within the Mob undercut the plan's smooth operation, and soon the Mob has Toivo to deal with as well.

Kari Syysmäki, a Finnish Businessman is on a vacation with his wife in Tallinn. When his wife is away a young man enters their hotel room with a gun. He tells to the businessman that he has just tried to rob a bank, but accidentally shot one of the clerks. Now he's hiding from the cops. But when the bank robber forgets his gun on the table, Syysmäki grabs it and shoots him in the back. After that Syysmäki refuses to travel back to Finland with his wife. He stays in Tallinn and soon he's about to face both the cops and the mob of Estonia.

A warm movie about two boys, who discover a secret of a painting that was considered to be lost. The adventures begin, when a boss of a bunch of criminals finds out about the painting.

A movie about the life in a small Estonian city in the 1950s. Young people face an instinct for survival that shatters ideals but can also destroy lives.

In the follow-up of Estonian classics "Kevade" (1969) and "Suvi" (1976) the same characters have reached their middle-age. Everybody are living quiet family-life but Kiir the tailor who one more time decides to become a farmer and get married.

The boisterous good humor of Jurmala (Mikk Mikiver), the nickel-mine owner, is, if anything, only barely dented by the raging battles in Finland before, during and after World War Two. In fact, everywhere he goes, he meets prospective customers on all sides of the conflict with his all-inclusive greeting "Friends, Comrades." Indeed, the resource he is wrenching from the earth's bowels is necessary to all forms of industrial activity, and is especially necessary for military applications. Thus, he has no reason to fear that he will ever run out of customers. This doesn't prevent him from using every possible means to entice them. At home, his relationship with his wife is not so prosperous, and they resort to some extraordinary means to try and keep on an even keel.

Paul Madvig is a businessman in an American town in the 1920s, doing everything to maintain his power. He plans to marry Janet, the daughter of senator Ralph Henry who must be re-elected in order to ensure Paul's position. Paul is sure of himself and treats his competitor Shad O'Rory, who is involved in the gambling business, with arrogance. Then the senator's son is murdered. It is rumoured that Paul is behind the murder. Private detective Ned Beaumont, an old friend of Paul's, starts to investigate the case. Based on the novel "The Glass Key" by Dashiell Hammett.

Karoliine is a spoiled and selfish princess who will meet swamp ogres and sleep fairies, a mermaid and a werewolf on her journey. A bunch of robbers will take her to their cave. Despite having a smart and helpful guide Kaspar with her, Karoliine has to get rid of her selfishness and inconsideration towards others. She is gradually becoming braver and good-hearted that will eventually lead her to the presence of real love.

This inventive, tongue-in-cheek comedy-drama not only reveals the charms of the Estonian countryside, but something of director (Kaljo Kiisk)'s sense of amusement as well. The hero of the title, Toomas Nipernaadi (Tõnu Kark) is first seen roaming the rural landscape, going from village to village looking for the woman of his dreams. He wears a bedraggled white suit but generously pays for any lodging he needs or in one case, even buys a farm. Nipernaadi has a way with words and enchants those he meets with his wild stories about himself. Women find him appealing and the men are entertained as he moves from one locale to the next.

While suffering creative and emotional crisis, singer Katrin gives a poor performance at the pop music contest. She decides to turn over a new leaf and write a song that would convey an important message both for herself and for the audience. Katrin's personal drama - the story about her doubts and self-realization - is accompanied by the performances of well-known pop musicians of 1970s and 1980s.

Set in the post-war years when sovietization was still being resisted by partisans, often at the expense of a farming population intent on rebuilding.

Characters familiar from Kevade are now in their 20s. In the beginning of the 20th century, Joosep Toots has returned from Russia, where he learned agriculture. He wants to start reforming his father's farm, Ülesoo. At the same time, he's competing with Kiir to win the love of Teele. Teele has stated that she agrees to marry with a farmer only. So Kiir decides to go to Russia to learn agriculture too.

Semi-autobiographical story by Oskar Luts about friendship, love and life in a small Estonian country boarding school in the late 1800s.