Baltic Event Works in Progress
Rolling Papers
Dull cashier Sebastian becomes friends with a wild vagabond Silo. Together they start to sell weed and dream about buying a one-way plane ticket to Brazil.
In a suburban store, Sebastian's day goes downhill until he meets Silo who sparks a daring cash register heist to fund their weed business. As they navigate the drug trade and dream of a new life in Brazil, Sebastian falls for Nora. After a narrow escape from the law, he finds solace in Nora's embrace. But when their romance strains, he seeks comfort in Silo. They consider reviving their plan, leaving Sebastian torn between choosing Brazil with Silo or reconciling with Nora.
In a quiet suburban store Sebastian's day takes a turn for the worse when his boss leaves, the power goes out, and customers are mean. Just when he thinks it can't get worse, Silo bursts in and suggests a smoke break behind the shop. They hatch a daring plan: steal the cash register money to start their weed business, with dreams of a fresh start in Brazil.
As they navigate the city's drug trade, Sebastian unexpectedly falls for Nora, a passionate cinema-loving law student. Silo and Sebastian's business does well until they almost get caught by the police and lose all their money. Needing comfort, Sebastian moves in with Nora, but their fiery relationship soon causes her to suggest a break.
Heartbroken Sebastian turns to Silo for comfort. They contemplate on going back to their original plan. This leaves Sebastian torn between two paths: following his dream of Brazil with Silo or attempting to mend his relationship with Nora?
Director's note:
This is a film about young people who don't know what to do with their lives. The dialogue and characters in the screenplay are based on many real-life situations and people. If our previous film took place in a parallel universe, then now we wanted to tell a story that captures the lives and thoughts of young people today as realistically as possible.
Meel Paliale comes from Tallinn, Estonia. He has been making short films with his long-time collaborator Urmet Piiling for a decade. His first feature Tree of Eternal Love (2022) was invited to Just Film FF, Cottbus, Helsinki IFF and many others. Rolling Papers is Meel’s second feature film.
Urmet Piiling comes from Tallinn, Estonia. He stumbled into filmmaking by creating Lego stop motion animations when he was 11 years old and after that has been making short films with his long-time collaborator Meel Paliale for over a decade. Urmet's first feature Tree of Eternal Love (2022) was liked by audiences and critics and was invited to Just Film FF, Cottbus FF, Helsinki IFF among others. Rolling Papers is Urmet’s second feature film.
Tree of Eternal Love, 2021, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16047468/
Tõnu Hiielaid is a co-founder and producer of Tallifornia - an indie production company focusing exclusively on author-driven narrative features. Currently, he has produced five features and there are another five at different stages of production.
Chasing Unicorns, 2019, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10384108 Kratt, 2020, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11690220/ Tree of Eternal Love, 2001, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16047468 Child Machine, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11828692 Free Money, 2023, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21295124
Rain Rannu is an Estonian film director, entrepreneur, and investor. Rain has written and directed four feature films including the critically acclaimed start-up comedy Chasing Unicorns (Black Nights FF, 2019). Together with producer Tõnu Hiielaid, Rain is the founder of indie movie production company Tallifornia, helping Estonian filmmakers reach further.
Chasing Unicorns, 2019, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10384108 Kratt, 2020, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11690220/ Tree of Eternal Love, 2001, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16047468 Child Machine, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11828692 Free Money, 2023, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21295124