Taarka
Taarka
The first film in the Seto language (a dialect of Finnic South Estonian found on the border with Russia) in the world speaks about the brightest hero of a small people, the folk singer Hilana Taarka, a woman who lived her whole life as an outcast in a small chimneyless hut; as an unmarried mother of children in poverty, begging her bread, doing odd jobs and singing. She always sang the truth, sometimes bitter, sometimes funny, sometimes cruel. She was feared, despised and coveted. Taarka sang throughout her remarkable life, throughout her fate, from a small Seto village to international fame. And she sang well. Really well. Taarka became the Mother of the Song, a legend. But as a woman, as a member of the community, the Seto people never really accepted her. Taarka – a despised woman and a worshipped singer.
In her directorial debut Estonian theatre director Ain Maeots (37) offers an uninhibited portrait of an unorthodox woman who became a musical legend. This film was released in Estonia mid-August of 2008 and has sold some 8,000 admissions in four weeks from three screens.
|
| 2008 |
| Estonia |
| Drama, Biography, Musical |
| 94 min. |
| Dialogs: |
| Seto, Estonian, Finnish |
| Subtitles: |
| Lithuanian, English |
| Direction: |
| Ain Maeots |
| Cast: |
| Inga Salurand, Siiri Sisask, Marje Metsur, Riina Maidre, Mikko Nousiainen, Tonu Oja, Kaarel Oja, Helena Merzin, Liina Tennossaar, Peeter Oja |
| Screenplay: |
| Mart Kivastik, Kauksi Ulle, Ain Maeots, Hardi Volmer, Elo Selirand |
| Cinematography: |
| Elen Lotman |
| Company: |
| Exit Film, Estonian Film Foundation |
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