The Temptation of St. Tony
Original title: Püha Tõnu kiusamine
World premiere: Sundance Film Festival
“I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost.”
– Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto I
Eastern Europe, the new century. Wolflike laws and a wolflike appetite. There are still a few who look for the withered tree of knowledge of good and evil, planning to build quality office furniture out of it. The Temptation of St. Tony is a film about a man who has reached middle age and finds himself in exactly the kind of darkening forest that Dante describes. An unusual problem intrudes upon his moderately prosperous and quiet life: morality. Is it possible to be a “good person”? What does that mean anyway? And what’s in it for you? On his journey towards a clearer conscience but an increasingly complicated reality, Tony meets several typical specimens familiar from contemporary Estonian society and lives through exciting adventures, not without some diverting humour. And it starts to seem that the man is slowly, and quite inevitably, losing his job, his family and finally reality itself. Compassion incurs capital loss.
Crew
Written and directed by: Veiko Õunpuu
Producer: Katrin Kissa
Co-producers: Kristina Åberg, Lisa Taube, Tomas Eskilsson, Tero Kaukomaa, Jesse Fryckman
Cinematographer: Mart Taniel
Production designers: Jaagup Roomet, Markku Pätilä
Costume designers: Helen Ehandi, Aldo Järvsoo, Jaanus Orgusaar
Make-up designer: Kaire Hendrikson
Editor: Thomas Lagerman
Sound designer: Janne Laine
Poster design: Aadam Kaarma
Cast
Taavi Eelmaa, Tiina Tauraite, Ravshana Kurkova, Hendrik Toompere, Katariina Unt, Harry Kõrvits
Production companies
Homeless Bob Production (EE)
Bronson Club (FIN)
ATMO (SWE)
Festivals
Sundance Film Festival. Park City, USA
IFFR – International Film Festival Rotterdam. Rotterdam, Netherlands
Göteborg Film Festival. Göteborg, Sweden
Hong Kong International Film Festival. Hong Kong, China
Sydney Film Festival. Sydney, Australia
Era New Horizons. Wroclaw, Poland
Sarajevo Film Festival. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Love and Anarchy – Helsinki International Film Festival. Helsinki, Finland
BFI London Film Festival. London, UK
Tokyo International Film Festival. Tokyo, Japan
Seville European Film Festival. Seville, Spain
AFI EU Film Showcase. Silver Spring, Washington D.C., USA
Leeds International Film Festival. Leeds, UK
Tromsø International Film Festival. Tromsø, Norway
TIFF – Transilvania International Film Festival. Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Haifa International Film Festival. Haifa, Israel
Selected awards and nominations
Estonian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Sundance Film Festival. Nominated for Grand Jury Prize
European Film Awards. Nominated for Best Production Design (Markku Pätilä, Jaagup Roomet)
Estonian Cultural Endowment Awards. Most Beautiful Film (Veiko Õunpuu, Mart Taniel)
Cannes Film Festival. MEDIA: European Talent Award (Veiko Õunpuu)
Estonian Cultural Endowment Audiovisual Arts Award. Best Feature Film
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Jury Special Mention
Riga International Film Festival. Best Baltic Feature Film; FIPRESCI Award; Interfilm Jury AwardFilmFestival Cottbus. Best Actor (Taavi Eelmaa)
Tous Ecrans International Fiction Film Festival. FIPRESCI Award
PÖFF – Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Scottish Leader Estonian Film Award; FIPRESCI Award for Best Baltic Feature Film
2morrow/Zavtra – International Festival of Independent Films. Glass Eye Award for Best Cinematography (Mart Taniel)
European Film Festival. Jury Special Prize
Athens International Film Festival. Best Feature Film
BIFFF – Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. Seventh Orbit Award
