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      Eastern Neighbours Film Festival (ENFF) began in The Netherlands in 2008 with the idea to offer Dutch and international audiences a unique glimpse into the cinema of their neighbors from Eastern and Southern Europe. This annual event presents the most recent, exciting, and thought‐provoking films, from countries with small, but often powerful film industries, that… Read more: New Talents Open Call
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A Year Full of Drama

DirectorMarta Pulk
ProducerPaul Piik, Kinoteater Collective
IdeaHenrik Kalmet, Paavo Piik, Paul Piik
CameraAivo Rannik
EditorHendrik Magar
CastAlissija-Elisabet Jevtjukova
Original TitleAASTA TAIS DRAAMAT
Year2019
Length106 min
CountryEstonia
SubtitlesEnglish
SectionDOCUMENTARIES OPEN DEBATES

An extraordinary real-life story from Estonia – a job announcement was posted for a person who has never in her/his life been in a drama theatre. The job was to watch and review some 200 theatre plays in one year. 450 applicants applied. Female director Marta Pulk takes us masterly on this exciting human journey through theatre stages and personal dramas.
The film will be introduced by Dutch film diva Willeke van Ammelrooy.

Synopsis

Could art be indeed a life-changing tool? Countryside girl Alissija, born to a Russian-speaking family, has never stepped into a theatre. However, the peculiar experimental audition chooses her for a paid role: to watch and review every theatre production in Estonia for a whole year. This overwhelming experience not only puts her through 224 performances in 365 days and challenges her to suddenly plunge into an immense amount of culture, but also makes her redefine her past, present and future, her inner self. An authentic coming-of-age story questioning the limits of cultural consumption and the power of art.