Mother
Kadri Köusaar
Estonia.  2016.  90 min.
Cast:   Tiina Malberg, Andres Tabun, Andres Noormets

Mother, which initially looks like the simple story of a crime, becomes a human tragedy that transcends the “small town” and “little people” mentality to ask timeless questions about morality, sacrifice, personal happiness, and freedom of choice. Elsa is the mother and full-time caretaker of Lauri, a teacher who has been in coma ever since he was killed under somber circumstances. Elsa welcomes visitors to Lauri, friends, students, his girlfriend, his boss and others, who come to bring him up to date with their lives and vent their problems. But as the police investigation into crime progresses, some of its closer ties are called into question. Director Kadri Kõusaar satily sails by script that slowly gathers the truth behind Lauri’s gunfight through the confessions of his visitors to the comatose protagonist. Bathed in the pastel tones of post-soviet life, Mother is a cleverly designed suspense story in a small town where almost everyone is dreaming of something bigger and some are willing to do whatever it takes to get out of there.

KADRI  KÖUSAAR

Born in Estonia in 1980 she is a director and writer, known by Magnus (2007), The Arbiter (2013) and Ema (2016), her work is recognized in international festival circuits as well as in the press professional.
His debut in the media began at age 13 with writing and drawing cartoons and comics for newspapers. Since then he has published numerous articles related to cinema, literature and music, as well as long-running novels “Ego” (2001), “Free rise” (2004) and “Alfa” (2011) in Estonia. He has also worked as a radio-DJ and TV host, and holds a university degree in Spanish language and literature.
His first feature film “Magnus” (2007), about a father trying to help his suicidal son, was the first Estonian film included in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard, 2007). “Magnus” toured extensively at dozens of film festivals around the world (including Rotterdam, Warsaw, Busan, Thessaloniki, Moscow “Tomorrow”, Seattle, Vancouver) and won top prizes at the Febiofest in Prague and GoEast in Wiesbaden.
Kadri’s second film “The Arbiter” premiered in the official selection “East of The West” at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in 2013. In 2013, Kadri was also selected for the experimental CPH: DOX LAB and filmed a 30-minute feature film “Auster” in Spanish in collaboration with Argentine director Maximiliano Schonfeld. Currently Kadri is preparing his next feature film “Nordic Instinct”.