11/01/2013 - Award shared between two films: Mushrooming and The Russians of Crow Island

For the 20^th year the Estonian Film Journalists Association awarded their Neitsi Maali (literally ‘Virgin Maali’) Award for the Best Estonian Film of the year at a ceremony held in Tallinn yesterday. This year the award was shared between two films: Toomas Hussar’s Mushrooming (Seenelkäik) and Sulev Keedus’s documentary The Russians of Crow Island (Varesesaare venelased). The former  - the story of a politician accused of corruption and gets lost in the woods while mushrooming picking - was premiered in the East of the West Competition at the 2012 Karlovy Vary Film Festival and proved a popular and critical hit throughout the year thanks to its strong conceit and vein of dark satire. Managing a sizable domestic success, Mushrooming has also continued to be a hit on the festival circuit with screenings at such festivals as Toronto. The latter is a powerful documentary from one the country’s most respected filmmakers that focuses on the Estonian city of Narva and – in particular - the aftermath of the 2010 closing of the city's Kreenholm textile mill.

Both Hussar and Keedus were on hand to pick up their awards alongside other cast and crew. Keedus said that he had no idea what has become of his central character, believing him to have gone to Russia after being imprisoned at the time of the film’s premiere while Raivo E. Tamm – the lead actor in Mushrooming – wryly noted that his wife had pointed out that his role in the film was basically his real-life personality.

It was fitting that Keedus picked up the award 20 years after its inception, as he took the inaugural trophy in 1993 for his documentary In Paradisum. Previous winners of the ‘Virgin Maali’ include many lauded contemporary filmmakers including Veiko Õunpuu, Jaak Kilmi and legendary Estonian animator Priit Pärn.

Other awards held at the ceremony in Tallinn’s Kino Soprus went to Estonian distribution company Black Hand for its distribution of Holy Motors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leos Carax
film profile] which was named Best Foreign Film released in Estonia and Joonas Kiik -  a prolific and popular blogger (filmijutt.blogspot.com) and film journalist  - who was named Best Estonian Film Critic of the Year.