ETV2 marks Mati Põldre’s 90th birthday with a film night

Estonian television channel ETV2 will mark the 90th anniversary of film director and cinematographer Mati Põldre’s birth with a portrait programme and two of his films on October 25, ERR reports.

The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. with the 2008 programme “Tähelaev. Mati Põldre.” Interviewed by Reet Linna, Põldre discusses his work as a cinematographer and screenwriter. He made films about composer Raimond Valgre and singer Georg Ots, and has more than 40 films to his credit. Kalev Lepik directed the programme.

At 8:45 p.m., ETV2 will show Põldre’s 1993 short documentary “Antsla. Autumn 1993.” Set in the small town of Antsla, the film looks at Estonia’s local elections on October 17, 1993. More than a third of Antsla’s residents were pensioners, and candidates for the town council included representatives of three political groups. Põldre wrote the film, Illis Vets was the cinematographer and Aare Tiisväli the producer.

The evening concludes at 9:25 p.m. with the 1992 feature “Those Old Love Letters,” a romantic and tragic story about Valgre’s life from 1939 to 1949 and his relationships with Alice and Niina. The film follows people caught up in political upheaval, including the end of the Estonian Republic, the Second World War and the rise of Soviet rule and Stalinism. Its events culminate at the Gloria restaurant on New Year’s Eve 1949-50, with music by Valgre.