Kumu Film season launches with inspiring nature documentary

Text Mark Taylor
Photo PÖFF

Wilding by David Allen

Kumu Documentary is a joint project of the Kumu Art Museum and the Tallinn Dark Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), and is the only weekly documentary film programme in Estonia.

The new season will begin on September 4 with an inspiring nature documentary that launches a fresh cultural programme. The opening film, Wilding by David Allen, delves into a pioneering ecological experiment in England. Known as the Knepp Estate experiment, this ambitious project seeks to restore ecosystems that have been degraded by intensive agriculture.

Wilding showcases the remarkable transformation of a 1,400-hectare estate. Through the efforts of its owners, the land has not only regained its biodiversity but has also become economically viable, turning what was once a struggling estate into a success story. The film highlights the courage of the estate’s owners and their dedication to environmental restoration.

The screening, which starts at 6 pm in the Kumu Auditorium, will be introduced by ecologist Aveliina Helm. The documentary is the first in a series of ten films featured in Kumu’s cultural documentary series this autumn.

Following the opening film, the programme includes a diverse range of documentaries. Danish filmmaker Mira Jargil and Christian Sønderby Jepsen explore the quest for happiness in solitude in The Monk, a film about a Danish scientist who becomes a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka.

Another featured film is Twice Colonized by Lin Alluna, which documents Inuit Aaju Peter‘s fight to preserve his people’s language and identity amidst the trauma of colonialism.

Maija Hirvonen‘s Neurotypes challenges societal norms by focusing on a girl with autism spectrum disorder who aims to change misconceptions about autism.

Ukrainian architect Florian Jurjev’s efforts to preserve a notable piece of Soviet modernism are highlighted in Infinity: According to Florian, directed by Oleksi Radynskyi. The film portrays Jurjev’s struggle to maintain a significant architectural landmark known as the “Flying Saucer” in Kyiv.

The series also features Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story, a film by Nate Pommer and Eric Weinrib, which delves into the vibrant world of the punk band Gogol Bordello and its charismatic leader, Eugene Hütz.

Toby Amies’ In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50 captures the 50th-anniversary tour of the iconic rock band King Crimson.

Additionally, Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill’s Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg offers a passionate portrait of the late Rolling Stones’ muse Anita Pallenberg, based on previously unreleased memoirs.

Teresa Griffiths‘ Leonora Carrington: The Lost Surrealist provides a glimpse into the life and work of the intriguing surrealist painter and writer Leonora Carrington.

The autumn season concludes on November 6 with Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind of Wilderness, which tells the story of a Norwegian family living autonomously in nature until a tragic event forces them to adapt to modern society. This film won the international documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

The Kumu documentary series is organised by the Kumu Art Museum and the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF). For more information and film schedules, visit the Kumu Art Museum website. 

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David Allen Documentary Kumu Kumu Art Museum KUMU Film Season 2024 PÖFF Toby Amies