Film Tower

Thousands of years ago in ancient China, a man fights against his destiny. He wants another chance to be reunited with his loved one and he gets that chance, in a far away place and a far away time, in modern Finland.

To understand the international phenomenon of Uku Kuut means to understand the ability of different musical niches, sub-genres and hidden creative explosions to not only exist, but flourish, completely independently of the mainstream. Kuut’s life, mothered by Maryn E.Coote (who you may know as the Estonian jazz diva Marju Kuut), took him from the Soviet Union to a refuge in Sweden, music studios in Los Angeles, back to a re-independent Estonia and later, fighting ALS, to loudspeakers all around the world.

In a remote area of Siberia, the world’s largest sect lives under the teachings of Vissarion, a man who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus. Sveta has moved from away from St Petersburg and her ex-husband Magomed, and now lives in the community with her children, Danial, Mariam and Zaur, and her new husband, the Vissarionite bell ringer Dmitiri. Christ Lives in Siberia (Jeesus elab Siberis), by Estonian duo Jaak Kilmi and Arbo Tammiksaar, follows the daily lives of the children as they go to school and help out with community chores. As we go along, we discover more about them and what brought their mother to the community. Their lives are juxtaposed with that of Magomed, who writes letters to the Russian government in an attempt to get his children back.

Astronomers look through telescopes and see that the universe has a structure — it’s shaped like a web. Slime mold researchers look through microscopes and see that the tiny organisms form similar patterns. In their quest of discovering the nature of things, they both show the beauty of curiosity.

An experimental shale-oil essay starring people, industry, and nature.