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NEWS Invisible Fight in Production
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
The 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 excitement 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
(From the left) Actors Ursel Tilk and Ester Kuntu on the set working with the director Rainer Sarnet. has been the most difficult aspect of all – it is almost unbearable to admit to yourself that unfortunately big risks have to be taken and inevitable cuts made, even with a pretty sizable budget. Our current budget of 2.7 million euro is the largest amount I could raise for this slightly riskier film, considering Estonian state support, our population, and the way co-productions work. I have to say, a lot can be done with this amount, but it is still insufficient for true creative freedom, in case of such an endeavour with a little bit more ambition. Every step needs to be invented and figured out,” Kissa says.
In her words, The Invisible Fight is like an explosion – a volatile blend of various components mixed together, and nobody knows how these components will interact with each other. “The film has influences from pop culture, iconography, the Seventies, kung fu, and exploitation cinema. Hopefully the result will be the best entertainment possible,” adds Kissa.
The Invisible Fight, written and directed by Rainer Sarnet, takes viewers to the USSR-China border in 1973. Private Rafael is on guard duty when the border post falls under the attack of Chinese kung-fu warriors. Rafael is the only one to miraculously survive, images of hippie-looking fighters running along branches, Black Sabbath playing on the radio, forever embedded in his memory.
Later, when seeing similar-looking monks in a monastery yard, he has an epiphany, and decides to become a monk himself. The road to achieving the almighty power of humility is long and
Cinematographer Mart Taniel (on the left) with director Rainer Sarnet.
winding, offering turns both comical and enlightening. The proud Rafael seems to have been given a gift of powerful prayer, but he has to prove to Father Melhisedek, the elder monk Nafanail, flirtatious Rita, and his rival and adversary Irinei, that he is indeed capable of becoming the enlightened man who can unite power and tenderness.
The cinematographer of the film is Mart Taniel, who won the American Society of Cinematographers’ Spotlight award for his work on November. The production designer of the project is Jaagup Roomet, art directors are Mārtiņš Straupe and Evelyna Darzenta, costume designers are Jaanus Vahtra and Berta Vilispone. The editor of the film is Jussi Rautaniemi, and the sound designer is Janne Laine. The man behind the VFX is Antonis Kotzias.
The lead roles are played by Ursel Tilk, Ester Kuntu, Kaarel Pogga, Indrek Sammul, Maria Avdjuško, Rain Simmul, Tiina Tauraite, Mari Abel, etc.
The shooting period was stretched out over quite a long period of time. It took almost 55 days, began in August 2021, and ended in May 2022. “I don’t even know if the shooting period warrants the tales of a grand menagerie of problems, or amazing successes, but it would be fair to say that there was more than enough of both. The pre-production period clashed with the start of the pandemic, and we were excited, because we thought that by the time of the shoot enough time would have been passed for the World to have been unlocked. The reality turned out to be different, and we stumbled at almost every step, getting tangled in COVID-related complications. I began financing the film in 2019, and the planned budget was turned upside down by 2021. The salaries rose by almost 30%, new taxes were added to the fees, and the cost of building materials went up because of transportation restrictions. Then the energy crisis hit, elevating the general level of costs. As if that were not enough, the price of fuel almost doubled. Right before the last shooting period, the war broke out in Ukraine. Peculiar problems with transportation followed, the price of airline tickets went up, and the costume department couldn’t get the necessary materials from Russia any longer. All this in one year,” says Kissa, and adds that with The Invisible Fight, she has earned a black belt in film production.
“With all the mathematical and technical complexity, it has to be said that the shooting period was extraordinarily pleasant. I got the feeling that Rainer managed to ignite everyone involved with his ideas, so that the filming period generated a lot of good spirits despite the technical challenges. I see the crew as a first test audience – if they don’t get hyped, then we may push this film up the hill like a heavy rock, but it won’t stay there, and it doesn’t get any lighter with the next attempts. So based on those testing results, I can’t wait the film to be finished,” the producer adds.. EF
TALLINN 11-27 NOV 2022
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