Sandra Jõgeva says her mother’s art made her career possible

Artist and filmmaker Sandra Jõgeva says she can make films and art, and cover other artists on YouTube, partly because art was funded differently during the Soviet era and her mother, Malle Leis, was an exceptionally productive artist whose work is highly valued at art auctions. She made the comments in an interview with ERR.

Jõgeva has described herself as a documentary film director for about a decade, but said she has recently returned to art projects while working on several films. Her earlier films include “Armastus…” in 2017, “The Secret of Mare Tralla” in 2022 and “Art and the Cold War” in 2024.

She is co-directing “The Spirit of Ando Keskküla,” a documentary with staged elements, with Rasmus Merivo. Actor Ivo Uukkivi appears in the film, which is due out next year.

Jõgeva has also received production funding from the Estonian Film Institute to complete a film about artist Raul Meel and his wife, writer Mari Saat. The project began as a film about Meel, but Saat has become an important figure in it, she said.

The film explores ageing, the myth of the male genius and money. Jõgeva said Meel was in poor health when filming began two years ago, while Saat was under severe physical and mental strain. Meel turned 85 this year and Saat is 79.

Meel recently made a deal with an Estonian art collector that brought him almost a quarter of a million euros. The money allowed him to move to Villa Benita, a nursing home, where he continues to create, Jõgeva said.

She said the film also examines the support women have given celebrated male artists. Its original inspiration came from Moscow underground gallery owner and art collector Tanja Kolodzei, who told Jõgeva she would build a monument to artists’ wives: women who took paid work to provide stable incomes and supported their husbands’ careers.

Jõgeva and Merivo previously worked with Merivo’s wife, Kristin Kalamees, on “The Secret of Mare Tralla.”