Latvian director Viesturs Kairišs' short film

The international premiere of the short film “Cohabitants", made as part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, will take place in the middle of November at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival IDFA.

The film by the Latvian director Viesturs Kairišs conveys the culture and life of Piirissaar. Piirissaar is a tiny Estonian island located in the middle of Lake Peipus, right on the Russian border. Almost 300 years ago, Russian Old Believers settled there, fleeing the reforms of the Orthodox Church and the relentless persecution of the Tsarist state. According to one of the film's producers, Olga Hartšuk, reaching the competition category of such a prestigious film festival shows that, "the story of the special community of Piirisaar has touched people."

“The film is inspired by a time and space in which ancient customs and communities reflect the reality of our modern world. Cultural conflicts embodied in a symbolic environment create connections and make us think about the perception of modern conflict and its unchanging nature, as well as possible harmony and coexistence," explains the director.

"The mission of Tartu 2024 has been to bring new works of art inspired by Tartu and Southern Estonia to life, so that they tell the story of our Arts of Survival long after the title year. Viesturs Kairišs's film brings the story of one of our most unique regions to European viewers. We are proud that the documentaries produced as part of one of the largest projects of Tartu 2024 are reaching various festivals around the world," commented Kati Torp, creative director of European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, on the news.

IDFA is taking place in Amsterdam for the 37th time from 14-24 November. It is one of the world's most important documentary film festivals, offering a diverse program from filmmakers from all over the world. "Cohabitants" has been selected for the IDFA short film international competition program.

The director of the film "Cohabitants" is Viesturs Kairišs. Cinematographers Wojciech Staroń, Tomek Pawlik, editor Andres Hallik, composer Juris Vaivods, sound director Leonid Bragin. The producers of the film are Esko Rips and Olga Hartšuk. Production company Nafta Films (Estonia).

The film "Cohabitants" is part of the short film collection “Arts of Survival". The film collection consists of films by four Estonian and four foreign directors, which try to capture the tricks and secrets of the arts of survival of the people and communities of Southern Estonia.

"Cohabitants" was produced with the support of the Estonian Film Institute, Tartu 2024, Culture Capital and the Tartu Film Fund.