Films & Schedules - THE FENCER

Fleeing from Russian secret police in early 1950’s, a young Baltic dissident leaves Leningrad to settle in the small coastal village of Haapsalua, Estonia. There, he finds work as a school gym teacher and becomes a father figure to his students by teaching them his great passion—fencing. As a fencing tournament in Leningrad approaches, he’s forced to make a difficult choice. Will he take the children to compete or will he abandon them in order to save himself? Based on a true story, Härö’s rousing historical drama opens a window into Soviet and sports history alike. In Estonian and Russian with English subtitles. (93 mins.)

Sponsored by the Finlandia Foundation and the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation.

Filmography: Letters to Father Jacob (2009), The New Man (2007), Mother of Mine (2005)

Interests: Oscar Submissions.