THE FENCER (MIEKKAILIJA), 2015
Finland, Estonia, Germany | HDD, Color, 93’ | Estonian, Russian
Director:Klaus Härö
Cast:Lembit Ulfsak, Kirill Käro, Märt Avandi
Adapted from the life story of Endel Nelis, an accomplished Estonian fencer, the film follows him as he flees from Leningrad to Estonia to escape the Russian secret police during the Second World War and starts teaching children fencing, his greatest passion. Nelis founds a fencing club in the school where he starts working as a teacher and becomes a role model and father figure to the children, many of whom have been orphaned during the Russian occupation. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at both the Golden Globe and the Academy Awards.