NEWS
Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting The director Rainer Sarnet, who won acclaim with his 2017 hit film November, has finished shooting his next movie. The Invisible Fight is a kung fu comedy set in an Orthodox monastery in 1970’s Soviet Union. By Maria Ulfsak Photos by Iris Kivisalu and Gabirela Urm
10
ESTONIAN FILM
T
he film with a budget of 2.7 million euro, is produced by Katrin Kissa from Estonia (Homeless Bob Production). Other producers are Alise Gelze from Latvia (White Picture), Amanda Livanou from Greece (Neda Film), and Helen Vinogradov from Finland (Helsinki-filmi). The executive producing companies of The Invisible Fight are Flag from Japan, and Tallifornia from Estonia. According to the producer Katrin Kissa, the process of making the film happen has been quite demanding. “Sarnet’s idea for the film is so original and unconventional that along with the ex-
citement it created constantly new challenges. The financing scheme is quite noteworthy - it involves Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Finalnd and Japan. The project received a remarkable amount 360,000 euro from Eurimages as well. Also Estonian private money has been included in the making of the film. Estonian state support was up to the maximum amount, although it accounts for only 35% of the budget; meaning the rest of the financing had to come from elsewhere, and some quite elaborate schemes executed to get the financing together.” The film was shot in Estonia, Latvia, and Greece, and the technical aspect of the shots really drove up the cost. “This