Directed by Arvo Kruusement • 1969 • USSR/Estonia

Widely considered their nation’s greatest ever film by Estonian audiences, Spring is a touching and invigorating period drama. Based on the popular novel of the same name by Oskar Luts, it tells the story of a group of rural schoolchildren at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: melancholic Arno, choleric Toots, practical-minded and industrious Teele, flegmatic Tõnisson, spoiled and resentful Kiir. The feature tells us the story where first romantic feelings start to arise and first serious challenges and disappointments will be faced. Kruusement captures the pangs of childhood innocence and the first shoots of adult disappointment with a wonderful eye for emotional detail.

SPRING • KEVADE
Directed by Arvo Kruusement
Written by Kaljo Kiisk and Voldemar Panso
Cinematography by Harry Rehe
Music by Veljo Tormis
Starring: Arno Liiver, Riina Hein, Aare Laanemets

In Estonian with English and Russian subtitles