Max Golomidov

A witty and sensitive observation of people visiting Central Park of Tokyo – YoyoGi. We all live in a world of online communication and rush, but there are places where one can still come to him/herself in offline. Following Japanese tradition of contemplation and harmony, an Estonian director explores Eastern way of finding the balance through nature and solitude. Hauki poetry, written especially by a well-known Japan-researcher from Tallinn Rein Raud add a new angle to the whole picture, turning the film into an endless meditation flow.

A witty and sensitive observation of people visiting Central Park of Tokyo – YoyoGi. We all live in a world of online communication and rush, but there are places where one can still come to him/herself in offline. Following Japanese tradition of contemplation and harmony, an Estonian director explores Eastern way of finding the balance through nature and solitude. Hauki poetry, written especially by a well-known Japan-researcher from Tallinn Rein Raud add a new angle to the whole picture, turning the film into an endless meditation flow.

Located in the heart of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, the Hippodrome used to be the centre of entertainment for all its neighbouring countries. For nearly 100 years, it has lured visitors with bets and races. All that remains today of this majestic racecourse is a lonely horse stable. Now it is more of a social club than a prestigious racetrack. Animal lovers and sports fans still meet here despite the poor conditions. Bizarre parties and engagement photo sessions are held at the Hippodrome, and this is where the best Swedish racehorses are still trained. This hypnotic black and white film is an ode to a disappearing era and a unique subculture in a place soon to be demolished to make way for the triumphal march of business-oriented real estate development.

Guided by her grandfather's WWII-era diary, Sora searches for a mysterious trove in the wilderness of her hometown. Meanwhile, a mysterious mute and backward-walking homeless man wanders into town who may be the catalyst to put her shattered relationship with her father back together.

The town of Maardu in Estonia organises an annual Ukrainian-themed festival, called 'Sorochinsky Fair' after the short story by Nikolai Gogol. More than 15,000 people come every year. This is the largest Ukrainian fair outside of Ukraine, and it has even been entered into the Ukrainian Book of Records. This festival presents life in all its vividness, variety, and unpredictability, with the beauty contest as its central motif. The protagonists of Gogol's works are transported to the modern day in all their enchanting absurdity, and they fit in pretty well. It is a kaleidoscope of incidents and viewpoints, observed with engagement and curiosity.

This is the story of Kaori Kawabuchi, a samurai sword performer, singer and motion capture actor. An inspiring woman keeping alive ancient traditions and spirituality in modern Japan.

A 30 Year old woman, a hostess past her time working at a shady club and an aspiring actress living in Tokyo. Betrayed by her lover and her dreams crushed, the broken woman leaves Tokyo for her hometown in the countryside after five years of no contact with her family. There she reconnects with an old flame but is also forced to confront some unpleasant truths about her past.

While there are fewer and fewer World War II veterans among the living, the battles of this war keep reoccurring on different battlegrounds on the Eastern territories of contemporary Europe. Two young Estonian men, Andrey and Reimo, have been killed several times in these fights. Each time they resurrect, because those are the rules of the game they play along with their comrades in the Frontlinemilitary club. Enthusiasts of different nationalities join such clubs because of their appreciation for the memory of World War II as well as their love of reconstructing the 'soldiers' lifestyle of the era-in detail. SS-Untersturmführer Reimo leads the 20th division of the Waffen SS, Sergeant Andrey marches in advance of the Red Army's 11th Rifle Division. The fight for history goes on, with arms in young men's hands.

A portrait of a giant garage complex, located in the largest blockhouse area of Tallinn. Here 700 garage box owners form an extraordinary men's club, and vary from those who just keep their cars and those who adapt their boxes for living. The complex becomes even more unique with the existence of private saunas, a restaurant, an animal clinic and other artifacts of life stuck in time 20 years back.

The eastern Ukrainian town of Snezhnoje, which prospered during the Soviet era when miners there were spoiled with all kinds of privileges, now lives in poverty.

The story of Viktorija and her family who live in a former Soviet military base in Latvia – Karosta. The surrounding environment, its isolation, and the socio-economic situation has put these people in a test for survival. After losing their apartment, Viktorija and her eight children look for ways to escape the common destiny surrounding the Karosta community.