The premier of Imbi Paju's new documentary “Sisters across the Gulf of Finland” at the European Parliament

17.11.2009

 

On 17 November Imbi Paju´s new documentary “Sisters across the Gulf of Finland” had its premiere at the European Parliament. The film evening was organised by Estonian Member of European Parliament Tunne Kelam in co-operation with Finnish Member of European Parliament Heidi Hautala and the Estonian Embassy in Belgium and Luxembourg. The author and director of the film Imbi Paju, who has gained international attention for her award-winning documentary “Memories Denied” ("Tõrjutud mälestused", 2005) and the book by the same name, also participated in the premier. “Sisters across the Gulf of Finland” tells the story of Estonian and Finnish Women’s Defence League Auxiliary Corps (Estonian: Naiskodukaitse, Finnish: pikkulotat) co-operation in the 1920s, which was cut off by the Second World War and the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Besides the fascinating rare archival materials that are shown, parallels with other recent crimes against humanity (Katõn, Sebrenitsa) are drawn. In spring 2009 the joint book by Imbi Paju and the Finnish writer Sofi Oksanen "Fear Behind Us All" (Finnish: “Kaiken Takana Oli Pelko”) was published in Finland.