Estonian Cultural Days: The Manslayer/The Virgin/The Shadow (Mehetapja/Suutu/Vari)

In Estonia Cultural Days, Scandinavia House presents two recent Estonian films on April 4: The Wind Sculpted Land and The Manslayer/The Virgin/The Shadow.
This triptych of female character studies across different time periods in Estonia by art house director Sulev Keedus, The Manslayer/The Virgin/The Shadow follows three young woman, each played by actress Rea Lest, facing challenging journeys during three different eras: the late 19th century, mid-20th century, and present day. Employing a theme known in Scandinavian and Estonian folklore — the day of a wedding until the following early morning — The Manslayer tells the story of Maara, whose tyrannical father has promised her in marriage to an older suitor. But when Maara rebels, she is subdued by witchcraft.
The Virgin, based on true events  is set in the spring of 1949, where the young Ingrian woman Elina has been recently been deported to Estonia. To prevent being deported yet again to Siberia under the suspicious Stalin regime, she enters into a fictitious marriage with Heino, the nephew of her kindly employer. But when malicious gossip reaches the authorities, the couple is called in for a brutal interrogation.
Set in the present day, The Shadow follows the driftless and emotionally disconnected Luna Lee, who flees from home only to have a series of unusual encounters with eccentrics and a mysterious priest who promises her a contract with God.
The Manslayer/The Virgin/The Shadow has won awards including the top cinematography prize at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn.
“Director Sulev Keedus paints three powerful portraits of powerless women at different points in Estonia’s stormy history...this visually ravishing epic is a stellar showcase for rising Baltic screen star Rea Lest”—The Hollywood Reporter

About the Director
Game director, documentary director, screenwriter, operator and photographer Sulev Keedus was born on July 21, 1957 in Tallinn. His father Ülo Keedus's hobbies were hobby films and gliders. He studied at 37th Tallinn Secondary School, and graduated in 1979 from Keedus Ed. Vilde Tallinn Pedagogical Institute as an exemplary leader and in 1989 from Moscow Higher Courses for Directors and Scriptors as director of feature films. His graduation thesis The Only Sunday (1990) was completed on the basis of Veiko Jürisson's original scenario. He worked as an assistant director and operator in 1977-1982 in Estonian Telefil, and for several years as a head of a photo laboratory at the clinic of Doctor Arnold Seppo. He is a shareholder of the film studio F-Seitse OÜ.The Estonian Association of Film Journalists nominated Keedus' films In Paradisum, Georgica, Somnambuul, Jonathan from Australia and Varesesaare Russians for the best of the year. His film productions, especially Georgica (1998), have been successful at international festivals.In 1999, Sulev Keedus received the National Cultural Prize of the Republic of Estonia and the 5th Class Order of the White Star of 2005. For Georgica, Somnambuul, and Varesesaare Russians he was awarded the annual prize of the Estonian Cultural Endowment. On two occasions, Keedus has been awarded the Estonian Cultural Endowment's creative scholarship Life and Shine (2000, 2008). In 2018, he was awarded the Director of the Cultural Endowment of the Estonian Cultural Endowment for the year for the feature film The Manslayer/The Virgin/The Shadow and the documentary War.

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