'Alberta's Estonians' shown at the Estonian Documentary Film Festival in Toronto
Eda McClung and Dave Kiil
Following a successful international launch of our DVD at the West Coast Estonian Daystin Los Angeles in August, our film was submitted to the Toronto Estonian Documentary Film Festival. It was accepted as part of the week-long festival program now in its third year. This year's edition of the Festival was attended by about 1,500 people.
With Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves as its Honorary Patron, the Festival presented some 19 films during its run from October 19-26. Three of the films, including Alberta 's Estonians, were in English; all of the others were in Estonian with English sub-titles.
Somewhat surprisingly, our film was the sole Canadian entry in the Festival. The screening was in front of an overflow crowd in the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto.
Ellen Valter, the festival's organizer and the evening's moderator, introduced the AEHS's entry in the festival's lineup. The successful screening was punctuated by lengthy applause and followed by a discussion about the production and Alberta's Estonian community. The questions and comments ranged from production aspects of the DVD, to socio-political attitudes and organizations of the pioneers, and the present-day viability of the Estonian community in Alberta.
The audience rated 'Alberta 's Estonians' 4.1 on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), resulting in a tie for fouth place out of a total of 19 films shown during the week-long Estdocs Festival!
The documentary film was made possible by many members of the AEHS who contributed thousands of images, video clips, literature and moral support during the 18-month production phase. A post-screening interview in Estonian for the Estonian Life (Eesti Elu) website completed a busy evening.
The feedback from the audience at the Saturday and Sunday evening screenings and reception, respectively, was heartening. Terms like 'a well-designed story', 'inspiring', 'a very professional production', 'impressive', 'commendable', 'fabulous', 'wonderful musical selections', 'survival of the Estonian spirit' and 'this production needs to be shown on Estonian TV', captured the audience's response.
The highlight of the Festival was a reception and Canadian premiere of The Singing Revolutian on Sunday evening, a full-length movie depicting the dramatic and inspiring account of Estonia's path to independence in 1991. The event was attended by over 450 people in the impressive theater at the Ontario Science Centre.
An extended standing ovation was testimony to its impact on the audience. The film will be shown at public venues in Los Angeles and New York City in December, and will likely be available in DVD format in spring, 2008. This film is a must-see!
Former Prime Minister of Estonia, Mart Laar was present at the screening and respanded to questions from the audience. The Singing Revolution won the 2007 Estdocs Jury Award.
