Disco and Atomic War Original title: Disko ja tuumasõda Director: Jaak Kilmi Scriptwriters: Kiur Aarma, Jaak Kilmi Camera: Manfred Vainokivi, ESC Music: Ardo Ran Varres Sound: Horret Kuus Editor: Lauri Laasik Animation: Janek Murd Producer: Kiur Aarma Co-producer: Aleksi Bardy / Helsinki-filmi (Finland) Produced by: Eetriüksus National premiere: April 9, 2009, Tallinn, Estonia 80 min, Digital Betacam, 16:9, Colour, Stereo
Disco and Atomic War tells the story of a strange kind of information war, where a totalitarian regime stands face to face with the heroes of popular culture. And looses. Western popular culture had an incomparable role shaping Soviet children's world-views in those days - in ways that now seem slightly odd. Finnish television was a window to a world of dreams that the authorities could not block in any way. Though Finnish channels were banned, many households found some way to access the forbidden fruit. Disco and Atomic War offers its own version of recent history, mixing spy games into a human tragicomedy.
The free will of a people—and the identity of J. R. Ewing’s assassin—hangs in the balance in director Jaak Kilmi’s hilarious and fascinating documentary about a little-known chapter of Cold War history.
When the people of Soviet Estonia discover they can pick up television signals from neighboring Finland, a pop culture propaganda war erupts between the two governments, along with a black market in TV aerials and a career for an underground film dubber known only as “The Nasal Man.” Can disco music and broadcasts of the French porn movie Emmanuelle tear down the Iron Curtain? Stay tuned.
Director Jaak Kilmi (1973) graduated from Tallinn Pedagogical University as a film director in 1998. His filmography includes features, short films and documentaries. His documentary films and commercials have won several international awards. Filmography, documentaries (all with co-director Andres Maimik): Big Sister (2000), Beauty of the Fatherland (2001), Eternal Smile (2003), A Living Force (2003), The Art of Selling (2006); Other: Choose Order (co-director ESTO-TV, 2004, doc), Revolution of Pigs (co-director Rene Reinumägi, 2004), Touched by the Unknown (2005), The Elusive Miracle (2006, short).
Festivals:
2009
Love & Anarchy Film Festival, Helsinki, Finland - Estonian focus “Tere Eesti!” Telluride IFF, Colorado, USA - Backlot section FilmFest Hamburg, Germany – International competition Warsaw IFF, Poland – Documentary competition DOK Leipzig, Germany – Official program Nordische Filmtage Lübeck, Germany – Documentary competition Memorimage, Reus, Spain - Competition Sheffield Doc, UK - Competition Leeds IFF, UK - Competition IDFA, Amsterdam, Holland
Awards:
2009
Best Documentary, Warsaw International Film Festival, Poland Silver Eye Award, Best Feature Documentary, East Silver Market, Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, Czech Republic Special Mention, Black Nights Film Festival, Tallinn, Estonia FIPRESCI Award, Black Nights Film Festival, Tallinn, Estonia
