Completed - RUSSIAN, ESTONIAN - Drama, Historical - 95 minutes
The Fencer is a touching drama about love and a man who finds meaning in his life through the children who need him.
Year of production : 2015 Director(s) : Klaus HӒRӦ Writer(s) : Anna HEINÄMAA Cast : Mart AVANDI, Ursula RATASEPP, Hendrik TOOMPERE, Lembit ULFSAK, Liisa KOPPEL Producer(s) : Kai NORDBERG (MAKING MOVIES OY), Kaarle AHO (MAKING MOVIES OY)
A young man, Endel Nelis, arrives in Haapsalu, Estonia, in the early 1950s. Having left Leningrad to escape the secret police, he finds work as a teacher and founds a sports club for his students. Endel becomes a father figure to his students and starts teaching them his great passion – fencing, which causes a conflict with the school’s principal. Envious, the principal starts investigating Endel’s background… Endel learns to love the children and looks after them; most are orphans as a result of the Russian occupation. Fencing becomes a form of self-expression for the children and Endel becomes a role model. The children want to participate in a national fencing tournament in Leningrad, and Endel must make a choice: risk everything to take the children to Leningrad or put his safety first and disappoint them.
Country(ies) : FINLAND, ESTONIA, GERMANY
Tallinn Black Nights IFF 2015 Tridens Estonian Film AwardMunich International Film Festival 2015 (Bernard Wicki award)Cambridge Film Festival 2015Beirut International Film Festival 2015Kyoto Historica International Film Festival 2015Cairo International Film Festival 2015International Film Festival by the Sea 2015Una Finestra Sul Nord 2015Festival du Film Historique ASBL 2015Northern Film Festival 2015Sao Paulo IFF 2015 (Nordic Focus)Nordic Film Days Lubeck 2015Cinefest Sudbury's 27th edition 2015Arras Film Festival 2015 (Atlas d’argent, Prix du public (Audience Award))