Estonian Films 2022 / 2

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DOCS

Frontline Cameraman Ivar Heinmaa is an Estonian war correspondent and documentary filmmaker currently working in Ukraine. During his career, he has followed conflicts and wars in more than 50 countries, including Yugoslavia, Chechnya, etc. By Filipp Kruusvall Photos by Ivar Heinmaa

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einmaa’s latest film Women on the Frontline (2021) is a story about four women who, in spring 2014, after the attack of Russian proxies, decided to fight for their homeland Ukraine. The film depicts the war through the eyes of women. It’s not just a story about heroism, it is also about the consequences of violence on mental and physical health.

Ivar, are you shooting a sequel to your film Women on the Frontline?

No, currently I’m shooting in Ukraine for Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. I would like to follow the fate of the characters of my documentary, but now I can’t go to the Eastern side of the country, where war is looming. The Ukrainian army is quite strict, and is not permitting free movement in the battle zones. That’s quite natural, because at the moment there are thousands of different journalists in Ukraine. They don’t want to take the risk and allow them to wander around freely, as some journalists and photographers near Kyiv got killed. When we visited Butcha, there was around 150 journalists. We arrived there

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