Ene Rämmeld says memories of loved ones keep her moving

Actress Ene Rämmeld says the people who loved her and are no longer alive give her strength to keep living and working. She spoke about her life and new book on ERR’s programme Hommik Anuga.

Rämmeld, who turns 80 in January, lives in Paris and has published her fifth book, Hingelt ära. Written as a correspondence with Kaire Kaur Daniel, it reflects on her life, choices, regrets and acting career.

The book began unexpectedly after a woman Rämmeld did not know started asking her questions on Facebook. Rämmeld answered and found she enjoyed the exchange, which led her to decide to publish it.

She said the book includes candid admissions but that she has chosen not to disclose everything. “I speak honestly about certain things, up to a point, but not everything,” she said.

Rämmeld said her first book was prompted by her displeasure with a documentary Jüri Sillart made about filmmaker Leida Laius. She felt the film focused on Laius’s private life in a way that would not have been done for a famous man.

Rämmeld, who has lived in France for more than 40 years, said Laius’s work is gaining popularity there. The film Libahunt has been shown in Paris and at film festivals, and is being restored, she said.

Rämmeld said turning 80 is no reason to stop working. She still has strong ambitions as an actress and would like to play a serious woman with a strong character in a film.

She also wrote in her book about wanting to be admired and noticed. Rämmeld said she is recognised more in central Paris than in central Tallinn.

Visits to Estonia bring her face to face with the ageing and deaths of people from her generation. She said losing loved ones makes her feel she must carry on, partly because she feels a debt to those who had high hopes for her. “I want the people who loved me and are no longer here to be proud of me,” she said.