Seasoned Film Activists Involve Thousands in Community Film Project

The community film project “Filmitalgud” just approved the script for a new sci-fi romantic comedy that will involve the entire country as scriptwriters, producers, actors and directors.

According to the project’s website, the purpose of the community film project is not simply to create a film with the world’s longest credits sequence, but to encourage creative expression in local communities and compel civil society to discuss local issues in a creative format.

The film is conceived, scripted, produced and shot collectively in 15 different counties across Estonia. So far, most of the collective action has taken place online, via an online forum where people could post script ideas which were later developed into synopses and finally a full-length script. Now, a nation-wide casting process will begin followed by set construction and finally shooting, with the finished product scheduled to hit cinemas by the end of year, just in time for the 100th anniversary of Estonian film.

The plot of the film takes place the night before the end of the world. The protagonist, Mihkel seeks to fulfill his last wish – to spend a night of passion with his favorite superstar, who happens to be on tour on the other side of the country. On his journey to find the famous singer, Mihkel falls in love with Brenda, a girl looking to make amends with everyone she’s ever fought with.

The project is co-funded by the Capital of Culture 2011 program and run by the activists of Kinobuss, a non-profit organization bringing Estonian films to cinemaless communities in a traveling cinema-van for almost a decade.  

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