NEWS Totally Boss in Prodction

Two young actors relaxing on the set - Ruben Tolk (on the left) and Robert Aleksander Peets.

Boss Totally The producer of the film is Esko Rips, the film is produced by Nafta Films. The budget is 1.3 million euro and the premiere is planned to take place in 2022. The protagonists of Totally Boss are 13-year-old Oliver and Sass who make a nose-shaped eyeglass holder in the crafts class at school. The gadget unexpectedly excites the interest of a mysterious large investor. At the same time, Oliver’s father, This summer, filming of the family who has been laid off from work, struggles feature film Totally Boss was completed hard to find a new job. The boys are too young to start their own business, so Oliin Estonia. It is the first feature of Ingomar Vihmar, who has been mainly known as a stage director.

By Maria Ulfsak Photos by Jan Henrik Pärnik, Janet Kljuzin and Joonas Sisask

ver gets an idea how to kill two birds with one stone: they invite Oliver’s father to become the manager of their company. The problem is that Oliver’s father is unaware of the fact that he is working for his own son and the son’s friend Sass...

The target audience of the film is the age group 6–14, but it is also suitable for teenagers as well as their parents. The screenplay of the film is written by Martin Algus, cameraman is Heiko Sikka, production designer Anneli Arusaar and costume artist Jaanus Vahtra. The leading roles are played by Ruben Tolk, Saara Pius and Mattias Naan.

Totally Boss is a universal story about important issues for young people (such as the world of start-ups, complicated family relationships, etc) through the prism of humour. According to Esko Rips, the producer of the film, the aim is to use a well-planned marketing and distribution strategy in order to attract at least 150,000 cinema viewers. Rips adds: “The fact that young people tend to watch films more than once certainly helps to achieve the purpose. This was also proven by the experience of the previous successful children’s film The Secret Society of Souptown (2015), also produced by Nafta Films.” The supporters of the film are the Estonian Film Institute, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Tartu Film Fund and Elisa.

THREE QUESTIONS TO PRODUCER ESKO RIPS: How far along are you in the current production phase, and how did the filming go? The development stage of the screenplay of Totally Boss lasted for about three years. The story itself comes from the United States of America – the original idea and initial structure of the story were created by Tom Abrams, James Nathan, and David Weber. Since the original story was written during the turn of the century, our screenwriter Martin Algus set an important objective to adjust the story to the local context and the present day. However, the certain touch of America inherent to the story has a refreshing and self-explanatory effect on the audience of this film.

The filming stated this July in Tartu. We had to postpone some planned shooting days, but we were flexible and managed to complete the production in September. Today we are in the postproduction stage which is one of the most exciting phases since now all different parts of the film will be interwoven into a whole piece.

Ingomar Vihmar is mostly known as a stage director. What are his bes skills as a film director? Special emphasis was on the selection of the actors, so the chosen young actors have become important. One of Ingomar’s strongest sides is working with an actor – in the world of theatre, Ingomar is considered to be one of the most innovative directors. We are really happy that we could bring Ingomar’s fresh perspectives into the world of film. In the process of elaborating the screenplay, we wanted to pay a special attention namely to the true reflection of characters and their relationships with each other, and Ingomar was the right person to bring this out on the set.

From the left: the director of Totally Boss Ingomar Vihmar, the cinematographer Heiko Sikka and the producer Esko Rips.

What about Totally Boss has been the thing that ignited you? Why does this story seem to be important for you in the present day? Totally Boss is not a fairytale – it is a real story that has grown out of real problems. The film tackles several acute issues of the present day: in Estonia, numerous people relate to the subject of losing one’s job, and current times require adult retraining and acquiring new skills. Totally Boss reflects these issues in a very natural way, yet adds a touch of humour that gives hope and motivation. The film also contemplates the themes of innovativeness of the young generation and the so-called “start-up company’s way of thinking” for which Estonia is internationally well-known. The family film gives us a great framework for performing the dynamics as well as parent-child relationships in a family. This combination allows us to bring to the audience a story that is both original and contemporary, human and touching.

Besides everything else, our dedicated film crew and the creative team have always been motivated and inspiring. The team includes screenwriter Martin Algus, and director Ingomar Vihmar, cameraman-director Heiko Sikka (Phantom Owl Forest, The Polar Boy) and production designer Anneli Arusaar (Scandinavian Silence, The Days that Confused). Heiko adds novelty to the visual side of the film while borrowing familiar elements from pop culture and applying them playfully in a local context. Heiko’s approach is nicely connected to Anneli’s vision about the emphasized world view of an early teen where everything seems to be much cooler than in reality. EF