Heike Laineste

Sauna Day

Sauna Day invites you into the world of Southern Estonian men who go to the dark-intimate space of a smoke sauna after a hard day's work. Beneath their tough exteriors lies a desire for connection, veiled in secrecy.

Life & Love

In 1933, a young woman leaves her rural home to chase her dream of becoming a writer in the city. She takes a job as a maid for a middle-aged printing house owner, who quickly starts pursuing her romantically. They marry, but his passionate declarations of love soon turn cold. As political tensions rise in the country, their love story unfolds in a divided society, revealing toxic behaviours and power games that start innocently but lead to dire consequences.

Melchior the Apothecary: The Executioner's Daughter

Melchior’s bride Keterlyn happens to witness an attack on a young man. The victim, who has lost his memory, does not know who he is and how he ended up in a Tallinn. A ring found at the scene leads Melchior to the trail of the nocturnal brotherhood, questions are also raised by the troupe of freaks who performed on fair day. Ominous signs suggest that not only is the stranger recovering from a murder attempt at risk, but Melchior and Keterlyn as well. At the same time, an inquisitor known as a ruthless witch hunter arrives in town. Melchior's ability to "speak to the dead" and to notice invisible traces of murder have raised the suspicion that he may be a dangerous heretic. And the place of the enemy of the church is at the stake…

Melchior the Apothecary: The Ghost

In the middle of the night, a drunk town guard happens to meet the daughter of a rich merchant… who drowned herself into a well 10 years ago. Soon after the town guard falls dead from the tower. This is followed by two other suspicious deaths. Doubting the existence of the ghost, Melchior has a hunch that these ‘accidents’ are part of a heinous crime. Tracking down the killer, his path will cross with heretics, old feuds and dark family secrets.

Melchior the Apothecary

In medieval Tallinn, a famous knight who is freed from the pirates of the Baltic Sea is murdered. The hero's head is cut off and his mouth is stuffed with coins. The gold chain he bought the same day is missing. The bailiff orders Melchior, an apothecary, to investigate the crime. The clever young man discovers that the slain was looking for a mysterious "Tallinn prisoner" and the traces lead to the Dominican monastery. A fabulous sequence of bloodwork is unleashed - anyone who comes into contact with this secret is in danger of dying.

The Bog

Young artist Toomas Haava returns from Paris, back to his brother's bog farm and wraps himself unintentionally in a conflict with the violent and terrifying Madjak, who is harassing a local girl, Hilda, also known as Wildcat. Enchanted by the mysterious beauty, Toomas finds himself in the middle of a fight for love.

Estonian Funeral

A wide range of relatives and acquaintances have traveled to a funeral, and as is typical of Estonians, the sad event turns into a comical one as the evening develops. The primordial disputes that arise among the Estonians take on hyperbolic dimensions as events unfold, creating misunderstandings.

Blue

When a man rushing to work hits a woman in a hospital gown with his car, she hijacks the situation and gets into his car, demanding that he take her away from there.

Fred Jüssi: The Beauty of Being

Fred Jüssi has built his life at the crossroads between nature and culture. He is a true philosopher of the outdoors who has given deep consideration to the fundamental questions of being human. This film is about fruitful idling. A hymn for living slowly. As Fred Jüssi puts it: sometimes you just have to be sinfully slothful, and all by yourself.

Class Reunion 2: A Wedding and a Funeral

Class Reunion 2: A Wedding and a Funeral sees the return of the three high-school friends Mart, Andres and Toomas. This time they are planning a memorable stag party for Toomas, but due to unexpected turn of events end up at a funeral instead. It has been a year since the unforgettable class reunion and our three friends have all reached new stages in their lives. The rock star Toomas (Genka) has finally decided to get married. Mart (Mait Malmsten) is having troubles with his wife. And Andres (Ago Anderson) has declared war on the female sex and decided to become a resolute bachelor.

1944

The events of the war in 1944, from the Blue Hills to Sõrve Peninsula. Shown through the eyes of Estonian soldiers who had to pick sides and fight against fellow brothers. Choices have to be made, not only by the soldiers, but also by their loved ones.

Purge

Aliide experienced The Great Terror under Stalin’s regime, and decades after her hometown people were deported to Siberia, she lives alone in an isolated house. One night, she finds a young woman in her yard – Zara has just escaped from the claws of the Russian mafia that held her as a sex slave. Survivors both, Aliide and Zara engage in unearthing each other’s motives and gradually, and their stories merge into one, revealing the tragedy of a family during the cruelest years in Estonian history.