Enn Säde

Toad, the primeval inhabitant of the earth. One of the first living creatures who dared to venture from sea to land and some of whose species are now finding their way to the books of endangered species. Who are they really, these witch's creatures?

Set in the post-war years when sovietization was still being resisted by partisans, often at the expense of a farming population intent on rebuilding.

A mosaic photomontage film from the photo album "Across the City" published in the same year, which was made from the images of the legendary Soviet Union's first group of photographers, STODOM. The group, which registered under the wing of Tallinnfilm in 1964, included Tallinnfilm's cameramen Peeter Tooming, Rein Maran and Andrei Dobrovolski at the time, and photographers Tatjana Dobrovolskaja, Kalju Suur and Boris Mäemets. The group played an important role in the development of a new modernist camera language and the discovery of new spaces, especially urban space, for cinematography.

Sequel to the "The Waterfowl People". The author interprets the kinship, linguistic and cultural relationships of the Finno-Ugric peoples. Finns, Vepsians, Votes, Setos, Erzya-Mordvinians, Mansi, Hungarians, Sami, Nganasans, and Estonians appear in the film. The film was shot in 1977 on location in northern Finland, Sapmi, Vepsia, Votia, Mordovia, Khantia-Mansia, Hungary, the Taymyr Peninsula, the Setomaa region in Estonia, and on the Estonian islands of Saaremaa and Muhu. Footage was also shot in 1970 in the Nenets Okrug. The second documentary in Lennart Meri's "Encyclopaedia Cinematographica Gentium Fenno - Ugricarum" series.

Viktor Kingissepp has been the underground head of the Communist Party of Estonia for three years. He corresponds with Moscow, writes speeches for the members of the Communist Workers' Party and makes leaflets for the events of trade union. His purpose is to overthrow the Republic of Estonia since he does not believe in Estonian independence nor in any national ideals. Yet the clock keeps ticking, tuberculosis spreads rapidly, the world revolution is being postponed. What to do in order to make one's efforts work?

Heino Pedusaar (born in 1931) was a sound director in Eesti Raadio. He has collected old audio records all around Estonia. For already twenty years he has been actively involved in restoring Estonian cultural heritage. Filmmakers follow his trip to Mooste in Põlva county and observe his skillful work in restoring old audio records.

The documentary depicts Antarctica as an aesthetic phenomenon - it is a land of eternal silence and stillness; during its short summer the continent reveals its most beautiful treasures. Filmed during the 13th Soviet Antarctic expedition from November 1968 until May 1969.

Karoliine is a spoiled and selfish princess who will meet swamp ogres and sleep fairies, a mermaid and a werewolf on her journey. A bunch of robbers will take her to their cave. Despite having a smart and helpful guide Kaspar with her, Karoliine has to get rid of her selfishness and inconsideration towards others. She is gradually becoming braver and good-hearted that will eventually lead her to the presence of real love.

Pictures of Estonian village life in the second half of the 20th century. Against the backdrop of the seasons, people in the countryside are working their farms. Mostly these are old people. Villages are becoming empty and old farmhouses are falling apart.

Pikk Street is one of the most important thoroughfares of Tallinn’s Old Town. The picture playfully combines hidden camera footage with more observational images, employing shots from unusual angles; these are accompanied by specific sounds and interesting musical themes. The result is a true cinematic adventure.

The documentary tries to clarify the fate of the film "Leelo" - whose script title was "Singing Estonian". Enn Säde searched the archives for footage from the central committee sessions and detailed documents about both the 1947 and 1969 parties and the preparations of the films made about them.

A three-act film-essay about memory and the historical-cultural ties of the Finno- Ugric peoples. The first chapter is dedicated to ancient Bearese of memory, such as Karelian cliff drawings, Kalevala runo song and Khanty bear feast rituals. the second act portrays the visit of Elias Lonnrot, compiler of the Finnish national epic Kalevala, to Estonia and his meetings with local intellectuals. Part three re-enacts an ancient smelting and blacksmith ritual set to Veljo Tormis' cantata 'curse upon iron'. Filmed in 1985 in Uhtuo, Karelia; in Khantia-Mansia at the Agan river, a tributary of the Ob; and in Estonia (Tallinn, Kuusalu, Tartu, Voru, Litsmetsa in Voru county, Lullemae, Karula, Rongu, Narva, and at a bend of the Pirita river). The third documentary in Lennart Meri's "Encyclopaedia Cinematographica Gentium Fenno - Ugricarum" series.

Brother and sister Kusti and Iti get lost in a forest while picking strawberries and are captured by an evil forest hag. They are made to work for her. The hag has a son called Bumpy whom Iti befriends. When they get a chance to escape, they decide to take Bumpy with them.

Reet loves her long-distance coxswain husband Rein, but the long separations have tortured her. It seems to her that the man cares more about his work than about her. Rein really loves his work, but his wife just as passionately. He does not understand how loneliness can overwhelm Reet, when women have always been waiting for men from far away. Their family friend Mart loves Reet and cannot see her suffer. It is in Marti's power to offer Reet a safe life, and the woman plagued by internal struggles makes a choice, but happiness seems to slip even further away.

Livonians are among the smallest Finno-Ugric nations still existing today. They are the closest kindred people to Estonians and Livonian language is the closest one to Estonian language. Currently, there are only a few dozens of speakers of Livonian language left and even for them Livonian is not their native tongue. However, there are about 200 people who consider themselves as Livonians; most of them live in Riga, Ventspils and Kūolka, Latvia. Livonian coast in Courland (Kurzeme in Latvian) once had twelve villages inhabited by Livonian people - now there is no one left there who would fluently speak the language. Only a few people can speak the story of their small nation in their own native language. The documentary has been filmed in 1988 and 1990 in Livonian villages on Courland peninsula and in Riga, Latvia. Archival materials dating back to the years of 1940 and 1966 have been also used in the film.

A poetic mood film about the island of Ruhnu. The camera observes the daily life of the island with a slow calm.

Sailing to South America, the sailing ship "Fortuna" gets stuck in a calm in the middle of the Atlantic. Heat and thirst drive the team crazy, knives are already flashing and the wind is being conjured in the darkness of the night. Captain Kihnu Jõnn has to tame desperate men and trade with heavenly forces in order to bring the ship's crew to the destination port, who want to leave him there.

A man and a woman are trying to solve a problem that is crucial to their relationship, but their ideas and beliefs have a different vision.

Little Kati spends her summer at her grandma's. Her playmates are the village boys and the whole countryside - animals, flowers, the wind and stones. Kati conjures up the sun and floats above the fields of flowers and the whole universe. There is no borderline between reality and the magic world. Is it possible to play the same game also at her home in the city?

A former goldminer who has run afoul of the law is made an unusual offer by the mafia. The power of money and popularity among women won't let him step down from the rollercoaster in order to make the right decisions.

16-year-old Mari, raised without a mother by a drunkard father, is put in an orphanage which she immediately, though unsuccessfully, tries to flee from. The sensitive Mari finds it hard to adapt to the coarse manners and brutal games amongst the children. Only gradually does she develop a sense for the similarly difficult fates of her fellow sufferers, who have long forgotten how to cry. She even falls in love for the first time, not with her self-appointed “protector” Tauri, but with the rough-mannered Robi.

The Christmas of 1905 in Vigala is not a peaceful holiday. The manor house has just been pillaged during the peasant's revolt; the air is full of smoke of fire and there is the premonition of inevitable punishment. Bernhard Laipmann is a tenant farmer whose wife is asking him to leave home since her husband keeps drawing the attention of the authorities. Having doubts about leaving, Laipmann is inspired by endeavouring towards freedom and equality and alarmed by the violence of the revolution.

Enn Säde's documentary about the Estonian filmmaker Jüri Müür (1929-1984) who was his colleague and friend.

Three lyrical short stories: about locksmith Toomas, captain Hermann and gardener Ferdinand. Three different areas of life and fate, but a common longing for beauty.

Based on Jaan Anvelt's novel "Outlaws" which deals with the struggle of the Estonian Communist Workers' Movement and the life of revolutionaries in the Republic of Estonia in the 1920s. The film represents the maturation and decay of human soul in tense situations. The dark intersections and the dense, abandoned areas create a tumultuous tension field in which the characters find themselves. Their choices and decisions overwhelm them in one way or another. Where is the way out?