'In the Crosswind' named Film of the Year
The Association of Estonian Film Journalists (EFÜ) gave out its annual awards in Tallinn's Sõprus Cinema this afternoon. The coveted Neitsi Maali award for the best Estonian film 2014 went to "In the Crosswind" by 27-year-old Martti Helde.
"In the Crosswind" was praised for depicting dramatic historical events in a novel visual language, as the story is told in an unbroken series of still images. The film's narrative, based on a true story, takes place in 1941, when an Estonian woman and her young daughter struggle to find their way home after being deported to Siberia by the Soviet occupiers.
Other nominees included Andres and Katrin Maimik's "Cherry Tobacco", Priit and Olga Pärn's short animation "Pilots on the way Home", Jaan Toomik's "Landscape with Many Moons" and Ilmar Raag's "I Won't Come back".
The title of best foreign film shown in Estonia went to Abdellatif Kechiche's "Blue is the the Warmest Color" ("La vie D'Adèle - Chapitres 1 et 2"), in front of Pawel Pawlikowski's "Ida" and Richard Linklater's "Boyhood".
Tristan Priimägi was named best film critic.
EFÜ has been operating since 1993. This year the Neitsi Maali, the oldest film award in Estonia, was given out for the 22th time.
Last year's award went to Estonia's Oscar-hopeful "Tangerines", and the year before the honors were split between "Seenelkäik" (Mushrooming) by Toomas Hussar and "Varesesaare Russians" by Sulev Keedus.
Editor: M. Oll