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:

“Journalist Rex Ronney infiltrates an Estonian contraband gang that smuggles vodka between Estonia and Finland. Among others, he encounters the boss’ daughter Betty and through her, comes to an understanding that there are different levels of wrongdoing happening here: Whilst some of the smugglers like the spirits king Kõlgas are true villains, Betty’s father Martens is not beyond redemption.  

„Waves of Passion“ is one of the very few and rare pre-World War II Estonian feature films that have survived intact. It places Estonia firmly into the bigger global picture. Rex Ronney is a Brazilian who is seeking a scoop about the Estonian-Finnish smuggling operation. The director Vladimir Gaidarov, whom we see on the screen as Rex Ronney, was a Russian residing in Germany at that time, Betty is played by the Slovenian beauty queen Ita Rina and her father the captain by an Italian Raymondo van Riel.  

A German-Estonian co-production, “Waves of Passion” is a classic crime melodrama with captivating lead actors. It is certainly a fascinating look into the criminal activity characteristic of the region at that time, and into early Estonian cinema, of which there are so few examples as most films of the era have been lost in time.”

We will screen the 4K digital restoration of “Waves of Passion”, newly completed at the Film Archive of the National Archives of Estonia. The version is accompanied by the partially preserved original soundtrack and music composed by Cornelius Renz in 2023. The restoration was realised with the support “A Season of Classic Films”, an initiative of ACE – Association des Cinémathèques Européennes, part of European Commission’s Creative Europe MEDIA programme.

With TIFS cinema tickets, attendees can gain FREE access to the exhibition "My Free Country" at the Estonian History Museum's Maarjamäe Castle, providing a deeper exploration of the themes depicted in the films.

The film will be screened with English subtitles.

Tickets:

8/6€, can be purchased HERE.