{"id":15445,"date":"2026-01-30T13:35:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vabamu.ee\/?post_type=events&p=15445"},"modified":"2026-02-17T11:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:46:20","slug":"reet-and-toomas-maes-shortfilms","status":"publish","type":"events","link":"https:\/\/vabamu.ee\/en\/events\/reet-and-toomas-maes-shortfilms\/","title":{"rendered":"Reet and Toomas Mae’s shortfilms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Back<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n Published 30 Jan 2026 <\/div>\n
\n Reet and Toomas Mae’s shortfilms <\/div>\n
\n Screening of new films about the 1944 Great Escape and mass deportations <\/div>\n
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\n Vabamu, Toompea 8b <\/div>\n
\n \n Look on a map <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n 6 p.m. \u2013 8 p.m. <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n Free, but prior registration is required <\/div>\n
\n \n Register here <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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On February 18 at 6:00 PM<\/strong>, Vabamu is screening four short films by recognized Estonian expatriate filmmakers Reet and Toomas Mae, based on stories and memories from the Estonian diaspora. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers.<\/p>\n

The event is free, but prior registration<\/a> is required.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reet Mae and Toomas Mae are a sister and brother whose parents fled to Sweden during the Mass Flight of 1944. They had half an hour to decide whether to leave or not. Reet and their sister Mari were born in Sweden, Toomas in Canada. Over the past decade, Reet and Toomas have collaborated to collect stories of the Estonian diaspora so that they will not be lost.<\/p>\n

Toomas Mae is a producer, editor, digital artist, and filmmaker whose career spans award-winning work in commercials, interactive media, special effects, and documentary film. He has produced and directed the documentaries \u201cRaising the Flag \/ Lipu heiskamine\u201d and \u201cPatterns of Freedom \/ Vabaduse mustrid\u201d, both recognized at international film festivals. Tom also served as editor on \u201cMaestro Roman Toi \u2013 Beautiful Songs I Dedicate to You\u201d, which received Best Editing awards in Tokyo and Ukraine. Across his career, he has explored emerging creative technologies, including AI-assisted visual design, to craft evocative cinematic imagery that brings historical memory to the screen.<\/p>\n

Reet Mae is a filmmaker, artist, researcher, and ordained interfaith minister whose work explores memory, identity, displacement, and generational trauma. Alongside her brother Tom, she has co-produced and co-directed several films, including \u201cRaising the Flag \/ Lipu heiskamine\u201d, and \u201cPatterns of Freedom \/ Vabaduse mustrid\u201d. Her earlier professional work included research and program development in adult and child mental health, where she often worked with Toomas on award-winning video and interactive training tools. As an artist, her work has appeared in juried exhibitions in Canada, the United States, and Estonia. In her current film work, Reet is interested in using emerging technologies to honour and preserve the stories of the Baltic diaspora.<\/p>\n

Movies<\/h3>\n

\u201cDeportations and Disappearances: Memories of Soviet Occupation in the Baltic States\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This film serves as a powerful prequel to our \u201cSuurp\u00f5genemine \/ Great Baltic Escape 1944\u201d film triptych. Through first-person testimony, it explores the traumatic experiences of Baltic civilians during the first Soviet occupation\u2014stories of arrest, deportation, and disappearance that explain why, in 1944, tens of thousands risked everything to flee ahead of the second Soviet advance. These are deeply personal accounts of lives uprooted and families torn apart, offering insight into the fear and urgency that fueled the mass flight.<\/p>\n

Told with profound respect for those who shared their memories\u2014many of whom are no longer with us\u2014the film blends historically grounded storytelling with evocative, artistically rendered visuals. Using digital artists and AI-enhanced imagery, we aim not to sensationalize, but to sensitively convey the emotional and psychological impact of Soviet terror. The film invites reflection on the repeating patterns of history, drawing a resonant line between past and present, from the Baltic experience to the war in Ukraine today.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuurp\u00f5genmine \/Great Baltic Escape 1944\u201d Film Triptych<\/strong><\/p>\n

These three short films initially offered as \u201cSuurp\u00f5genemine\u201d (pre-release) for commemorative events in the fall of 2024, focus on the mass flight and the implications for the current day.<\/p>\n

\u201cExodus\u201d<\/strong>, The first film, has first person stories of the flight, and the impact on those who fled.<\/p>\n

In \u201cExtending Compassion\u201d, Toomas Marley, an Estonian, who housed Ukrainian families fleeing the Russian war on Ukraine and one of his Ukrainian guests reflect on the parallels in their family\u2019s history although decades apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cExamining the Context\u201d<\/strong>, historians, Andres Kasekamp, Lubomyr Lucyiuk and Rein Taagepera, draw parallels between the Soviet occupation of the Baltics in the 1940s and the current Russian war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Together, these 4 films highlight the terror of the past as it parallels the current Russian occupation and war on Ukraine through the first-person memories of those who experienced it. This is living history, illustrated with today\u2019s creative technology, to bring it to life.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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