Estonia’s Oscar Entry ‘Kalev,’ a Political Sports Drama Set Against Backdrop of Soviet Union’s Collapse, Boarded by LevelK (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy
·2 min read

LevelK has boarded “Kalev,” Ove Musting’s political sports drama which represents Estonia in the Oscar race. The banner is international sales on the film.

“Kalev,” which will kick off the Baltic section at Tallinn Black Nights, had its local release in Estonia on Sept. 22 and has so far sold 105,000 tickets.

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Inspired by a true story, the film is set during the summer of 1990. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapsing and Baltic nations are struggling to regain independence. Against this political upheaval, the Soviet Union`s basketball championship is about to begin. The Estonian team, named Kalev, has to make a difficult decision as it faces calls to withdraw from the high profile sports event.

“Kalev” boasts a strong ensemble cast including Mait Malmsten (“Your Honor!”), Priit Võigemast (“Dawn of War”), Reimo Sagor(“Take It or Leave It”) and Mihkel Kuusk(“Maria’s Paradise”).

The film marks the feature debut of Musting and is inspired by events he witnessed while growing up in Estonia. “I was 14 years old in 1991 when Estonia – my tiny home country in the Baltics – found itself on the verge of breaking out of the Soviet Union,” said the helmer.

“Thousands of families were forced to share their homes with an older generation that had already lost everything. Our existence was riddled with increasing fear, as news came in of tanks rolling over independence movements further away in the Baltics,” continued the director, who previously directed episodes of “Reetur,” a period drama which won an award at the Estonian Film and TV Awards.

He said he and his family would watch every game of Estonia’s national team, Kalev. “What started as the usual, yearly series of basket- ball battles evolved into a fight between our nation and the Soviet Union,” he said.

“Kalev” was written by Martin Algus (“The Bog”), Ove Musting and Mehis Pihla (“Koleilus”). It’s produced by Pille Rünk (“In the Crosswind”) for Allfilm and Maria Avdjushko (“Purge”) for Ugri Film. The film was financially backed by private investors Kristjan Rahu, Priit Koit, Estonian Film Institute, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Estonian Ministry of Culture, National Film Centre of Latvia, Riga Film Fund, Utilitas, Alexela, Cramo.

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