TIFS: In the Crosswind
On March 22nd, Martti Helde’s feature film In the Crosswind will be screened at the Film Museum's film club, Tallinn International Film Society (TIFS). This poignant and visually stunning film reflects on the tragic history of deportations from Estonia.
Tristan Priimägi, the curator of TIFS film program, award-winning film critic, and author of the book "101 Estonian Films," has written about the film in the following way:
“For Martti Helde's first feature film "In the Crosswind", both the concept and execution are exceptional and significant. Originally planned as a documentary, the project grew during its creation—quite literally—beyond life itself, weaving together the memories and letters of many deportees and their families into an elegiac story of an attempt to erase a small nation. It is all the more shocking because that nation is us—Estonians. Whether people are able to forgive over time is a personal matter, but Stalinist repressions must certainly never be forgotten. As today's geopolitical situation shows, Russia continues to actively seek ways to destroy us.
The film’s technical execution is also extraordinary. The entire film is composed in the tableau vivant style—essentially a series of staged, frozen moments featuring live actors, where the camera moves between the characters and editing takes place within the frame itself. This means that instead of traditional cuts, the composition and information within the frame are altered through camera movement and zooming in or out.
"In the Crosswind" is one of the most successful cinematic depictions of the crucial theme of deportations in Estonian film and culture. It is a film that, once seen, is difficult to forget or mistake for any other.”
The film will be screened with English subtitles.
IMDB info
TIFS film club info