Forestback Summer

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.

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 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.

Aranei - spiders on web threads, leaves of grass and tree bark that may remain unnoticed and misunderstood from the height of the human eye.

Interesting and fancy spring tournaments are commencing on the beach meadows. The male ruffs gather here for their spectacular and complex lekking. It is the content of their life. The male bird's plumage beats the cleverest fashion designer's fantasies. We can distinguish the main players, showing off their bright collars, from their satellites and the rejected. In contrast to many other lekking games, the ruffs' lekking has lost its combative character and become completely ritualistic.

Mermaids and humans have crossed paths throughout millennias.Their generally peaceful coexistence is described in naiadological literature, as well as in the folklore of many nations. Our mermaid people are poetic and mysterious - we meet these gentle and femininely charming creatures in nature and in the everyday life around us. The film follows the principles of scientific lyricism, and takes the viewer through the history of naiadology and introduces the main types of mermaids. The mermaids were captured in beautiful places in Estonian waters.

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?

The common European adder, the only venomous snake native to Estonia, has often been feared and hated among the people. "Tavaline rästik" attempts to see behind the fears and introduce this unique reptile.

Eduard Wiiralt (1898-1954) is considered to be the most prominent master of Estonian graphic art in the first half of 20th century. Wiiralt's restless and intricate life is expressed through his work that is also the object and the main expressive means of the documentary.

There are more than 800 known grove sites in Estonia, the ancient holy places of nature. Groves were protected by the religious customs of rural people and its natural environment stayed intact. This way, every grove formed into an original ecosystem due to local conditions of climate, water and soil. Many groves are well-preserved today, some of them, however, are completely gone except a few landscape marks left behind of its existence. The main value of Estonian nature gradually opens up - the variety of the nature surrounding us. Unfortunately, we are not always able to understand the value as the source of balance and inner force. In today's fast-paced lifestyle, it is worth perceiving the Finno-Ugric boreal life and its richness.

Estonian primitive and untouched bogs and folk songs. Composer Lepo Sumera, singer Anne Maasik.

Rein Maran's film about one of the most beautiful and mysterious animals in our forests. Maran was assisted by cameraman Tõnu Talpsep, artist Ants Säde, sound cameraman Enn Säde, composer Urmas Sisask and others.

Every year, the local people gather with their guests in Samma village in Virumaa near Tammealuse hiie to celebrate the beginning of summer. Memories bring us the knowledge of summer holidays as an important and joyful spring holiday for the rural people, which has been celebrated in Estonia through the ages to greet the coming summer. The summer holidays or summers included many traditional activities - tidying up the home and its surroundings, decorating with birches, going to the sauna. The party itself took place at the nearest ski resort, where a swing and a campfire were erected. The whole family came here. Various rituals were sung, danced, swung, played, eaten and performed. Something has come of this today. The film brings a part of it to the viewers.

The author Rain Maran introduces us to the national symbol of the country, the village swallow, as well as to the urban swallow and the coastal swallow, or shorebird. The music for the film was written by Urmas Sizask.

This family film is a story of a child’s explorations of nature and first notices of the surrounding biodiversity. Young Peeter is like a guide taking the viewer to the environment teeming with life – from the broadest and most general view to the finest details, from the largest creatures to the smallest ones. The viewer will find themselves discovering, through his eyes, all possible kinds of miraculous creatures in the grass, on plants, in shrubs and in sky-reaching trees, sharing his astonishment and joy of first discovery. The film is not a fruit of the filmmakers’ fantasy. It is based on watching the behaviour of little humans in natural environments. Every little boy or girl can discover their own „Laanetaguse“ right where they are, in every country home or summer home, every village, town or park – wherever there is a patch of greenery still left.

One summer, the life cycle of one great crested grebe couple. Screenwriter, director and cinematographer Rein Maran.