Codename: Lighthouse

When life hands you a portable tactical nuclear device in a briefcase and you survive the KGB, CIA and the Russian mob, you most probably are the John McClane of the mind-boggling post-Soviet Estonia.

When life hands you a portable tactical nuclear device in a briefcase, and you survive the KGB, the CIA, and the Russian mob, you're probably the John McClane of mind-boggling post-Soviet Estonia.

Main country of production

Estonia

Screenwiter's note

First, about the relevance and actuality of the idea. The inspiration for the story - to place the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet
Union and the geopolitical aspirations of the West common of that time to a newly reborn Estonia - comes from the nowadays global
situation. Today we can assess how the big political statements from Clinton and Jeltsin about friendly cooperation to insure peace
and progress in the Eastern Bloc, also security assurances given in Budapest 1994 and emphasizing that „international law is the
nuclear weapon of small states“ have guaranteed peace in Europe. Although Eastern Europe was standing on a knife’s edge at the
time, looking back, it all seems as a strangely humorous utopia. As a reference for the attitude, think of “American Made”, “Lord of
War” or the “Oceans” movies. The events in the script are narrated through a entertaining rollercoaster ride that takes the audience
into absurd universe where an Estonian simple family finds themselves in the middle of geopolitical clashes together with power
struggles of local politicians who have a tug of war between eastern and western values, Russia and the West, and who are
supported by criminal businessmen or paramilitary groups. Even the story is taking place in the Baltics in 1994, the global audience
will be hooked instantly to it because of well-known historical political figures and their agendas in the recent past, interesting clips
of old news footage, and also because of the character's „read between the lines“ innocent hints to the nowadays geopolitical
situation that whey cannot know (back then) but the audience can (now). This style of writing by intertwining past events with hints
to today makes the audience to think to what extent are we now in the same situation where contemporary political statements,
agreements and agendas cannot be taken seriously when predicting our nearest future. The multilayered narrative with multifaceted
characters together in an entertaining entirety that gives to the audience the pleasure of suspense but also joy in intellectual level,
creates a meaningful and relevant project that is loaded with possibilities to find its way to different global audiences and festival
programmes.