Film phase:Production
SYNOPSIS
Imagine the closest person to you joining forces with your greatest enemy. Maris finds out that her mother supports the far-right party in Estonia. This is very puzzling to her because she knows what abuse her mother has experienced, so how can she go against basic women’s rights? Soon Maris discovers that the same far-right party is connected to an international network of ultra-conservative organizations that helped engineer recent abortion bans in Poland and the United States. She embarks on a conservative “treasure hunt” across Europe, where experts, journalists, and members of the network itself help Maris understand what awaits her—and all women in Estonia—if the Party comes to power, painting a frightening picture of the current state of democracy itself.
War on Women is a participant of the 2024 (Egg)celerator Lab.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Maris Salumets (she/her) studied Audiovisual Media at Baltic Film and Media School and finished her studies at FAMU in Prague. Now based in London, she has produced award-winning documentary films and branded content, working together with major broadcasters and production houses including Vice, Discovery Channel, Channel 4, ARTE, and BBC. Her specialty is gaining access to difficult subjects and working on themes such as predictive policing, crime, sexual violence, and drug distribution.
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Volia Chajkouskaya (she/her) is a Belarusian filmmaker, founder of Volia Films, and founder and program director of the Northern Lights Film Festival in Belarus. She first established herself in the industry as a producer with The Road Movie, which premiered at IDFA and was distributed in the US and around the world. She moved to Estonia in 2018 and started producing at Allfilm in Tallinn. In 2020, she took the leap into directing with her short debut Common Language, an intimate family drama that premiered at Jihlava IDFF.
After working as a Line Producer for international producers, Elina Litvinova founded her company THREE BROTHERS in 2015. With a passion for powerful authorship, the company’s first feature credit was critically acclaimed Martti Helde’s Scandinavian Silence, co-produced with ARP Selection (Karlovy Vary 2019, Europa Cinemas Label Award). Elina is one of the EFP Producers on the Move, a member of EAVE, Berlinale Talent Campus and Ex Oriente Networks and is also a member of the Estonian Film Industry Cluster and the European Film Academy.
ABOUT THE CO-PRODUCER
Tereza Nvotova’ (she/her) graduated in direction from film academy FAMU in Prague. Her sophomore feature, Night Siren (Svetlonoc, 2022), premiered in 75th Locarno Film Festival–Cineasti del presente, where it won the Pardo D’Oro (Golden Leopard) for the Best Film. It went on to win the Silver Melies for the Best European Production at Sitges Film Festival, along with special mentions for Best Director and Best Actress. The film is now traveling to more than 30 international film festivals and has been sold to US and German distribution. Her feature debut Filthy (Špina, 2017) screened in major festivals around the world and took home more than 20 awards, including the Czech Film Critics Award for the Best Film of the year. Tereza’s latest HBO documentary, The Lust For Power (Mečiar, 2017) was shortlisted for the European Film Academy Awards 2018 and sparked heated debate about populism and corruption in politics. She is represented by United Talent Agency and Black Bear Pictures.