National Competition 3

While mainstream cinema may promise car chases, explosions and endless larger than life superheroes, the real drama lives in everyday life.

It’s the moments that we live throughout our normal lives that are the most memorable, the most earth shattering. This selection of films showcases just what shorts can do so well. They put a focus on those situations in our existence, which range from the banal to the epoch shaking, that shapes just who we are and what we do. From terrible tragedy to coming of age to moving house to having a family, these films will remind us of those times when everything we thought we knew changed forever.

Waiting for A Miracle

Estonia

Year: 2019

Film duration: 00:14

Estonian, Russian

A woman’s biggest joy is giving the gift of life to a new human being. The biggest pain – the loss of a child – helps to see the beauty in life. This film is about life and how miraculous it is that we are alive.

New Beginnings

Estonia

Year: 2019

Film duration: 00:15

Estonian

A man helps a female client move in with her boyfriend. For the woman, who is looking for her place in life, this, nor the next nor the one after that will be the last time she moves.

Cante

Estonia

Year: 2019

Film duration: 00:05

An anonymous man, alone in the sterile environment of an office, comes to grips with his own existence through the medium of tradition. He hears Cante Alentejano, a traditional singing that guides him through the monotonous, meaningless gestures of his daily work and modern society.

The Knot

Estonia

Year: 2019

Film duration: 00:19

Estonian

Anton is a fragile 12-year-old who is afraid of the shed in his backyard, yet he decides to follow his brother Markus and some bully friends to explore an abandoned prison. When the bullies turn on the brothers and Markus is humiliated, Anton is forced to face his fear, which reveals a family trauma that he can’t escape.

Life24

Estonia

Year: 2019

Film duration: 00:09

Confirmed bachelor Einar Jernskjegg wins the lottery.

I Thought I Was A Superman

Estonia

Year: 2019

Film duration: 00:21

Russian

Jevgeni is a Ukrainian-born family man and a taxi driver in Tallinn. He drives around the city and confesses about his relationships with his wife and children – three brothers whom he and his wife, Tanya, adopted from a children's home. Driving is an escape from his demanding family life, but also the place where he can step back and reflect on his life.