20/03/2009

Buratino, the Son of Pinocchio, the directorial debut of 26 year-old Estonian filmmaker Rasmus Merivoo, has been playing on domestic screens since March 13.

The family film is loosely based on Alexsei Tolstoy’s renowned children’s book, The Golden Key, itself based on the children’s classic Pinocchio. Merivoo’s version, based on a script he co-wrote with Kristin Kalamees, is aimed at older children, however. It tells the story of 15-year-old Buratino, who has the usual teen problems, not to mention the fact that he is made of wood. Challenged by the evil Carabas Barabas, he will have to grow up and become a man to save the world.

“Buratino is a trash-comedy, full of explosions and songs, targeted first and foremost at those suffering in their teens,” said Merivoo, who studied filmmaking at Tallinn University and directed ten short films before making his feature debut.

The €1.1m film was produced by Estonia’s production/distribution company Estinfilm, with Marvofilm, in co-production with Russia’s Planet Kino. The film was supported by the Estonian Film Foundation, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Estonian public broadcaster ETV, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the MEDIA Programme.