– The Fencer –
Only in cinemas from 24 November 2016
An audience favourite at the recent Scandinavian Film Festival, Klaus Härö’s elegantly crafted, multi award-winning drama is set in post-war, Soviet-occupied Estonia, and movingly depicts the true story of fencing master Endel Neils, who risked his life to give a group of children something to believe in.
It’s 1953, and Endel (Märt Avandi) is on the run. With his war-time affiliations catching up with him, he eludes the secret police in Leningrad and flees to a remote Estonian village. There he tries to keep a low profile by taking a menial job in the sports department at the local school, but his efforts to give the students a proper physical education are quickly frustrated by a lack of resources. But once Endel – a skilled fencer – locates a few foils in the gym, he starts an after-school club for the kids, who for their part are eager to learn. Yet the strong rapport he builds with his young students only raises the ire of the party-loyalist school principal, who’s already suspicious of his past. Soon it’s impossible for Endel to avoid attention.
For your chance to win, enter your details below and answer the following question:
Although set in Estonia, The Fencer is a production from which other Nordic country?
Entries close 6 p.m. AEDT on 14 November 2016
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television