Piirissaare (Tartu county, Estonia)
Piirissaar is a tiny Estonian island in Lake Peipus, on the very border of Russia. As the waves have washed the island smaller and smaller, the community here has also fused over time, inevitably reaching the brink of extinction. The short documentary was completed as part of Arts of Survival Documentaries programme within the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 project.
In 2016 several fires destroyed several buildings on the island of Piirissaare, among the also the Old Believers prayer house. Praskovja, the 84-year- old choir singer and important member of the community, lost her childhood´s house in one the fires and she is trying to get on her feet down again and continue living.
Documentary about folk singer Virve Järsumägi, also known as Virve of Kihnu, and about the passing of folklore heritage from one generation to another.
Documentary directed by Semyon Shkolnikov about the life and vanishing population of Piirissaare island.