07/02/2024 - The new feature follows a struggling poet and unlikely detective in Estonia, the “Wild West” of the Tsar's crumbling empire in the 1890s

Jaak Kilmi’s new feature, The Shadow, is now in post-production. An alumnus of Tallinn University, the Estonian filmmaker has previously directed, co-directed and produced a string of successful shorts as well as a number of documentaries and fiction features, such as The Sleeping Beast [+see also:
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The story of The Shadow, penned by Indrek Hargla, zooms in on Juhan Liiv, a struggling poet and unlikely detective in Estonia, the “Wild West” of the Tsar's crumbling empire in the 1890s. Juhan is fighting crime and his own inner demons. He is considered mad and pronounced crazy. But by standing for justice and truth, at the end of the day, he comes out the sanest of them all. In the movie, he has to solve several gruesome murder cases behind which is – the witnesses say – the devil itself.

The main cast members are Pääru Oja, Kersti Heinloo, Rain Simmul, Karol Kuntsel, Alice Siil and Peeter Tammearu. Key crew members include DoP Mihel Soe, editor Jaak Ollino, production designer Karoliina Kull and costume designer Anu Lensment.

The Shadow is being produced by Kristian Taska for Taska Film (Estonia), Tanel Tatter and Veiko Esken for Apollo Film Productions (Estonia), and Armin Karu for HansaFilm (Estonia). Tuuli Roosma, of Reede (Estonia), is co-producing. It has received backing from the Tartu Film Fund and was awarded development support from the Estonian Film Institute.

Speaking about the current state of the project and its core themes, Taska tells Cineuropa: “The suspenseful and dark crime story raises questions about the sanity of the detective but also of the times themselves. Is the devil that kills the villagers supernatural or just a clever disguise? The movie is currently in post-production and will be completed in autumn 2024. The script for a sequel has also been completed.”

Budgeted at €2 million, The Shadow was filmed in Tartu County and is slated for release in the autumn. Hea Film is in charge of its Baltic distribution. Estonian pubcaster ERR is also attached to the project.