A Girl From Tallinn
If you think the past is dead…Think again.
Ivan is a middle-aged businessman with a criminal past who lives in Kyiv just before the beginning of a full-scale war. Being tangled in a complicated case with political issues, he suddenly meets a mysterious young woman who looks frighteningly similar to the girl he was in love with many years ago. He starts his own investigation that brings back the memories of his youth in Estonia’s underworld in the Roaring Nineties.
Meanwhile, in the forest near Tallinn, police find the remains of a woman who was killed around thirty years ago. Two storylines intertwine into a weird pattern, where the past haunts the present and death is definitely not the end.
Producers' note
A Girl From Tallinn was born out of a shared desire between 360 Media and FILM.UA to stop just talking about regional collaboration and actually build high-end CEE drama that transcends borders. Set between Tallinn and Kyiv across two timelines, this hybrid of crime noir, murder mystery, and love story uses its dual narratives to tackle deep themes of historical trauma, redemption, and the struggle to move past our shared Soviet-era heritage. When the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine froze local commissioning budgets and created severe operational challenges, we adapted by bringing Bulgaria’s AGITPROP into the fold. Pooling creative and financial resources across Estonia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria allowed us to overcome low-capacity economic constraints and navigate production safely by relocating key shoots to Lviv. From our perspective, the noir genre provides the perfect visual and psychological vehicle to ask a universal question: do we run from our past, or do we confront it to earn a second chance? By combining top-tier CEE talent with a robust, multi-territory financing model backed by regional broadcasters, we have proven that our region can deliver bold, cinematic storytelling with true global audience appeal.
Director's note
At its core, A Girl from Tallinn is a story about redemption and the possibility of a second chance. What interests me is the moral question behind the mystery: can a person truly escape the consequences of their past, and what does it take to face the mistakes that have shaped an entire life?
The psychological dimension is central to the series. Ivan is confronted with a past he believed was buried, while Anna's investigation forces both the characters and the audience to question what is memory, what is guilt, and what is truth. The possibility that Maria's return may have a rational explanation - or may be something else entirely - is what gives the story its unsettling quality.
Visually, I want the series to move away from ordinary contemporary realism. The camera will remain fluid and intimate, combining extreme close-ups with unexpectedly wide compositions. Dramatic lighting, deep shadows and carefully chosen locations will create a contemporary Nordic Noir atmosphere, while the two timelines will have their own distinct visual identities.
Ultimately, I see the series as a story about hope: nobody is perfect, but redemption becomes possible when we are willing to understand and confront our own mistakes.
Biography
Ilmar Raag is the writer and director of the most successful film ever made in Estonia - "Class" (2007), which was sold to 91 countries, received a national Oscar nomination, won 25 awards from 70 festivals, and developed into a successful multi-awarded TV-series. Ilmar’s filmography also includes „Une Estonienne à Paris“ (Locarno FF, Estonia-France-Belgium, 2012), „Kertu. Love Is Blind“ (Warsaw FF, 2013) and „I Won’t Come Back“ (Tribeca FF, Nora Ephron Jury Special Mention, Estonia-Russia-Finland-Kazakhstan, 2014). Ilmar has an MA in screenwriting from Ohio University and has worked as an expert for EURIMAGES and MEDIA Plus and Member of the Board of Directors of Estonian Film Foundation, and professor of Liberal Arts in Tartu University. Ilmar is also an acclaimed columnist in the biggest dailies, lecturer and requested media consultant, in 2016-2017 he participated in the UN mission MINUSMA in Republic of Mali as interpreter.
Filmography
Filmography
September (2010, doc), Täitsa lõpp (PÖFF 2011), Eestlanna Pariisis (2012), Kertu (2013), Ma ei tule tagasi (2014), Erik Kivisüda (Erik Stoneheart, 2022)
Biography
Jevgeni Supin is Estonian producer, owner of Zolba Productions (360 Media OÜ). Establishing himself as an independent producer in 2013, Jevgeni’s work has spanned a wide spectrum, from broadcast content to feature films and stage plays. Beyond his production endeavours, Jevgeni for five years helmed the TV Beats Forum, a conference and co-financing market hosted by the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. In recent years, Jevgeni has ventured onto the international arena and is currently spearheading the development of a slate of projects in co-production with Germany, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Finland. His most ambitious undertaking to date is Detective Von Fock, the most expensive and first international co-production drama series ever made in Estonia. My Dear Mother, a drama series with a strong social message, was the first Estonian project selected alongside with Berlinale Selects 2025 to several festivals.
Filmography
Series in development:
Operation Siver Wolf
Let It Snow
Breaking The Ice
Series in production:
2024 Detective Von Fock
2025 Girl From Tallinn
Filmography as Film/Scripted Producer:
2023 Estonia From Above
2022 Who Shot Otto Müller, Viaplay original
2021 12 Summers Ago, Warner original adaptation
2021 Still Waters, drama series
2019 Men, feature film
2018 Funny Family, feature film
2016-2017 Siberian Cop, crime series
2014-2016 The Last Cop, crime series
2014-2017 Free Men, drama series
2016 In the Darkness, TV Movie
2016 Fathers, mini series
2015-2018 Joker, mini series
2015 The Man With a Face of a Killer, feature film
2011-2017 The Sketch Show, comedy show
2015 Vortex, crime series
2009 The Man With a Face of a Killer, series
Biography
Kateryna is a UK-based Ukrainian independent producer with a passion for co-productions. She served as Head of Development and Co-pros at FILM.UA (Ukraine) and executive produced content across all genres (TV series, features, factual). Kateryna’s credits include Canal+ Original MOLOCH (Czech Republic - Slovakia - Ukraine co-pro, currently in post), THOSE WHO STAYED, co-produced with NRK (Norway), SVT (Sweden) and YLE (Finland), factual series CITIZENS AT WAR (Australia – UK – Ukraine co-pro).