NEWS Sentinel in Post-production

Future World

The shooting of the feature Sentinel, directed by Tanel Toom (Truth and Justice), was completed in Tallinn in late autumn 2021. The former title of the film was Gateway 6. Kate Bosworth, Thomas Kretschmann, Lucien Laviscount, and Martin McCann perform in this English-language film. The sci-fi thriller is a co-production between Estonia, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

By Maria Ulfsak Photos by Kristi Tüvi, Allfilm

Set in the future on a war-ravaged Earth, four soldiers are manning Sentinel – a remote military base in a vast ocean that separates two warring continents. They wait for relief, or the enemy, whichever comes first. But as the empty weeks turn into months, paranoia descends that tests relationships to breaking point. Whilst their tour of duty ended 3 months ago, the relief crew still hasn’t shown up. Alone and uncertain as to their fate, the simmering tension amongst the crew only escalates when a mysterious boat drifts into range – is it the help they have been waiting so long for, or something far more sinister?

The screenwriter of the project is

Malachi Smyth (UK), the cinematographer is Mart Ratassepp (Estonia), and the production designer is Kaia Tungal (Estonia). The costume designer is Theresia Wogh (Germany), the editor is Tambet Tasuja (Estonia), the sound designer is Matis Rei (Estonia) and the composer is Gert Wilden (Germany). The film’s producers are Ben Pullen (UK), Ivo Felt (Estonia), Jörg Bundschuh (Germany), Pippa Cross (UK) and Matt Wilkinson (UK). Sentinel is produced by Allfilm (Estonia), Sentinel Entertainment (UK), and Kick Films (Germany), in collaboration with CrossDay Productions and Stigma Films (UK). Sentinel is presented by Altitude Film Entertainment in association with Head Gear Film and Metrol Technology in association with BR/ARTE, Tallifornia, Ichiban Films, Sentinel Entertainment and Vertical Entertainment.

The film has been in the development for 12 years, and will reach cinemas in 2023. If everything happens as planned, producer Ivo Felt assures that the final version of Sentinel should be ready by the end of summer 2022 in order to start chasing the best time and place for the possible premiere. EF

Future World

The film crew on Sentinel – a remote military base in a vast ocean.

PRODUCER IVO FELT: FINALLY EVERYTHING SUCCEEDED

Ivo, it’s your first time producing a scifi thriller – a genre rarely seen in Estonia, mostly due to financial reasons. What about this particular film project – was it complicated to manage the financing of the project, and what schemes were finally involved? The financing process of Sentinel was really complicated – there were numerous sources of financing, including private investments from Estonia, Germany, and Great Britain; and almost half of the film budget was covered by public support from Estonia and Germany. There were also pre-sales by international sales agents and domestic distributors, and finally gap financing. All of it took time, various supporters came and went, but finally everything succeeded. I must say I am much more experienced after this. Since Estonia has the biggest input into financing the film, we are also the leading producers of the film.

What do you think are the greatest advantages of director Tanel Toom? How well did he deal with the internationally acknowledged film stars, as well as the psychologically complicated and tense story? Tanel is a phenomenal director in the sense that he really knows all the ropes in filmmaking. One thing that inspires him the most is working with actors – he has studied in several schools all over the world, as well as taking additional courses in the field. Also, directing actors is one of Toom’s strongest skills. The actors sense it well and they quickly start to respect Tanel and his work, this happened also while filming Sentinel. It was a truly great collaboration between him and the cast. As for the story, Tanel has has been working on polishing the script for years, so no big surprises were ahead of him when we started.

What has been the crucial aspect about this film project? What has kept you working with this film for such a long time? What’s the catch? Who will be the target audience of the film? And – will this be an international blockbuster, a globally distributed feature directed by an Estonian? The film has been in development for 12 years. Besides Tanel Toom there has also been a long standing collaboration from the beginning with British producer Ben Pullen and screenwriter Malachi Smyth. I joined the project in the middle, and have been involved with the film for about six years, so this is not such a long time. I was convinced by two things – Tanel and the story. Also, all the abovementioned issues related to financing, and making the whole thing work was really challenging for me. I have a vague feeling that financing of a film can´t be more complicated, but we’ll see. Our aim is to reach as large an audience as possible. I believe our chances are good – especially thanks to Tanel, the story, and the excellent choice of actors. Also, the contribution of experienced producers and professional sales agents cannot be understated. So, we will see. EF