The independent committee led by Edith Sepp, the head of the Estonian Film Institute (EFI), picked the winner out of seven contestants. „The choice of the committee shows that ’our own Estonian stories’ are truly important today”, Edith Sepp said in a statement.

Adapted from a bestseller by Olavi Ruitlane, On the Water is a coming-of-age drama set at the beginning of the 1980’s in Võrumaa county, by the beautiful lake Tamula. The main character Andres (Rasmus Ermel) is left to be raised by his occasionally strict grandparents after his father has gone missing in Soviet Russia and his mother has fled to Sweden.

The film was produced by Filmivabrik with support from the Estonian Film Institute.

On the Water premiered in the main competition at the Black Night FF in 2020.

Click HERE for the press release.