We invite everyone interested to the premiere of the film Over Two Seas on October 14 at 5:30 PM.

Participation is free of charge, but advance registration is required HERE.

Finnish-Swedish journalist Mikael Martikainen’s documentary Over Two Seas tells the story of Estonians who fled across the Gulf of Finland, their lives in exile, and the extraordinary journey of two people whose paths began amid war and forced displacement. The film takes viewers back to the 1940s and offers insight into what it meant to flee Estonia and start a new life in a foreign country.

The film’s protagonists, Lille Orunurm and Ilmar Päts, fled across the Gulf of Finland more than 80 years ago to escape the war. Lille left Estonia with her family, hoping to return home soon, while Ilmar joined the Estonian volunteer unit JR200 in Finland to continue fighting against the Soviet forces. Both eventually made their way to Sweden – but their paths did not cross until ten years later, at a dancenight.

Mikael Martikainen (b. 1968) is a Finland-Swedish journalist, passionate about the history and people of Estonia, particularly the movement of people across the Gulf of Finland throughout the ages. His curiosity was originally sparked by the Soviet army searchlights he could see from his island home in Porvoo, sweeping across the Estonian coast. Who are the people living behind those lights? Over the course of his long career, Mikael has produced dozens of documentaries and reports on the Baltic Sea region, which have been broadcast on television in both Finland and Sweden.

After the film screening, there will be a discussion with the filmmaker, joined by other individuals involved in the film.

The event is organized in cooperation with the Finnish Institute in Estonia.