This year marks 82 years since the late summer and autumn of 1944, when approximately 80,000 people fled Estonia to escape the invading Soviet army. Sadly, many never reached freedom. Many left in the hope that, once the war was over, their homeland would once again be free. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and as a result, many never returned. 

To mark this occasion, Vabamu will screen Mare Kallas’s film What Colour is Paradise?, which tells the story of the Great Escape from Estonia in 1944. It follows Elmar Suurpere, a boy from Saaremaa who, at the age of 16, was forcibly conscripted into the German Luftwaffe Auxiliary Service in the autumn of 1944. 

Using documentary footage from 80 years ago, the film takes viewers along Elmar’s journey and that of his peers from Estonia, through the Courland Pocket, to Sweden and, after being handed over to the Soviet Union in 1946, back to a homeland that no longer existed as they had known it. The film explores why and how the lives of Elmar and six other young men unfolded in the Estonian SSR. 

Rather than passing judgement, the film seeks to help us understand the complicated position of citizens of a small country caught in a conflict between great powers, where they were often left with a choice between two wrong sides. 

The film is based on the diary Elmar Suurpere kept during his imprisonment in 1945–1946, archival materials, and the memories of his family and those who shared his journey. 

The event is free of charge, but advance registration is required. 

Running time: 47 min 

Director: Sören Tali 

Producer: Mare Kallas 

Screenplay: Mare Kallas 

Cinematography: Sören Tali, Marika Vana 

Editing: Sören Tali 

Produced by: Laimjala Lood MTÜ, 2026