On the Water

Based on a book by Estonian novelist Olavi Ruitlane, On the Water is a coming-of-age tale set in rural Soviet Estonia during the early 1980s. Andres is a sensitive teenager raised by his strict grandparents in a small town. Lacking friends his own age and bullied at school, Andres finds friendship among the drunks, sex-workers and thieves who are his neighbours. Among them are the rough but sensible recidivist Valter, a former prisoner, and the hapless fisherman Kolla. 

This sweet, and sometimes bawdy, dramedy about the awkwardness of adolescence is about friendship, first love, loss and self-discovery. The larger-than-life characters and occasional risqué humour evoke both the Hollywood teen films and European mainstream hits of the 1980s and 1990s, but at its heart this is a warm and humorous story of caring, humanity and love. 

Estonia’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Academy Award.