The Singing Revolution

I am very excited about this new film about my peeps and their peaceful break from the Soviet Union.

As I head off to Europe, I thought I’d post the movie poster with a link to the trailer, film background and reviews.

The “Singing Revolution” and its role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union is a relatively unknown story in the West. From 1987 – 1991, Estonians defiantly sang national songs forbidden by the Soviet authorities, signed petitions disavowing the legality of the Soviet occupation, and created a line of 2 million Baltic people holding hands from Estonia to Lithuania in protest of the Soviet occupation. During the coup, tens of thousands of Estonians stood as human body shields between the advancing Soviet tanks and the radio and TV stations. In 1988, Estonia was the first country to declare sovereignty from the U.S.S.R., a catalyst for its disintegration. Iceland was the first country to recognize Estonia’s independence, and, interestingly, Russia was the second. The U.S. was #32.

You can request a screening near you, or join one of the film festivals.

Aitah!

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Comments

PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE says:

I was looking for the understanding of the title, of this documentary, and read :

"During the turbulent decades that followed, music became a powerful unifying force, a means of preserving the country’s national identity, as well as a tool for political resistance in the face of cultural genocide."

From the trailer : "This is the story of how culture can save a nation" ...

I feel, this is a good warning and remembering for our "Global Society" ...

Do you have anything to do with the documentary ?

update..i saw your "add/post" after my comment...
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

Yes... we are enthusiastic supporters (exec producer). I first met the Tusty's in Tallinn when they were getting started.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE says:

Thanks for such a quick answer, as always =P
Talking about musics...i came across Paulo Coelho Myspace (through Gi pages ) and this SWONDERFUL music
One that would makes me start a revolution too... To todo DODO !

Le pouvoir au ~~peuple~~...Musique !
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

drona says:

Awesome trailer and music and powerful story. And it happened just recently in our lifetime.

How many Americans keep track of their "peeps"? I wonder. It just takes 1 generation to get blended into the melting pot.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

zenera says:

Thank you J* hope it's a great success, wonderful graphic!!! where are you coming over here...?
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

biotron says:

wow - looks fascinating. was this one of the last films that Milton Friedman saw, then?
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

nels1 says:

*tingles down my spine*

brilliant trailer and incredible story...can't wait to see it!
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

Simply Silvia says:

Is there anywhere in Estonia that I could get the chance to see this film? Perhaps somewhere around Tartu??
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

Simply Silvia says:

Oi....just watching the trailer gave me goosebumps and made me cry :)
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE says:

Talking about music...song...sound waves..talking...Revolutions

....The Singularity Summit 2007 audio is now online

Audio for all talks and panel discussions at the recent Singularity Summit 2007 is now available free online and via iTunes podcast.
(KurzweilAI.net)

And among them is :
Steve Jurvetson : Dichotomy of Designed and Evolutionary Paths to AI Futures

Enjoyed all the talks and "Mindy Food" !
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

nels1 says:

thanks for the links webcrawler-Photon:)

really interesting talk Steve...i wish the slides were available as well!

strange how the guy who commented at the end seemed aggressive for no apparent reason...perhaps it was because of your earlier poll where you asked if any in the audience thought that they were designed... :)

in any case, the example of toyota's management style in actively asking the janitors for ideas in the development of their cars is not comparing apples with apples.

your example of human imposed selection pressures on the fuel generating microbes illustrates evolution at work, but if the same pressures were effected at toyota as he suggests, wouldn't that mean non-productive ideas from janitors would result in their sacking from the company? :)

(p.s "the human genome is smaller than Microsoft Office"...that was gold!)
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

amaragraps says:

Those Song Festivals (jpeg of a 1991 brochure) were remarkable experiences! Lest we forget...
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

amaragraps says:

Hmm.. When I saw Steve's image: _The Singing Revolutions_, my instant response was: "Oh about the Baltics!". Then I watched the trailer. I saw the clips of the 1991 held hands of one million people through the three republics, but then the trailer goes on to only focus on Estonia.

For me, that's strange. The singing tradition is just as important in the other two republics and possibly much older. For example, Latvia's singing tradition (from their Dainas) is likely one of the first documentations in the world of human daily life, as old as ancient Mespotamia. Maybe this film producer can be convinced to point out the importance of the Singing Revolution in Lithuania and Latvia somewhere in the credits?
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

amaragraps says:

(scusi' bad memory; the held hands were not one, but two million, and not in 1991, but in August 1989)
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

andrew d miller says:

we would love to see this movie come to Yale, as there is a thriving choral conducting program here that I know would benefit from seeing this film!
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

Eppie says:

Thanks so much for posting this. :-)

May the people of Burma find an equally powerful culture-based way to attain a peaceful solution/transformation.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

amaragraps says:

Hello... Greetings again.. This is Amara Graps. I'm in Tallinn with my cousins at the moment, a musical household, whom one is Paul Magi, an Estonian conductor. Paul just explained something to me, so I'll explain it to you because I think it is good background information for this documentary, and now I understand something more.

During 1991, when all was breaking loose, and the 'revolution' was gaining strength, people died. But those tragedies occurred in Lithuania (13 people died) and Latvia (5 people died); killed by the OMON (Soviet special forces). More of that story on my web page: here.

In Estonia, however, there were no deaths, even though the Estonians were preparing for that (see on the above page, my photos of the blockades in Tallinn). For this reason, even though the Latvians and Lithuanians are singing and have been singing for hundreds (or thousands) of years as a way to preserve and continue their culture, the 'Singing Revolution' refers specifically to Estonia because the revolution in that country was bloodless.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

j_silla says:

I would really like to see this film. It makes me almost ill to think back to those times, when all this was starting to spark in 1986-87, as the soviet was still in charge and young kids like me were still to go serve the Russian occupation army. I would of missed this whole 2 year singing revolution period, as did all of my graduating highschool mates who, did not rebel, or hide/run from the army recruiters. This few years was the greatest high of my life so far. If one does not have this experience, they have got to be missing something. I think, it should be written also in musical, and played on Broadway because it deserves it. There is really no way to fabricate it, there is no way to get that real tingle in your spine, but to live it. Well actually you can, relive it to anextent if you atend the Estonian Song festival, which happens every few years www.laulupidu.ee

PS. I also intended to make "this film" when in University. But I let it go for a bigger ambition that never materialized. My footage which I planned to use has been stolen I thought I had copies in the US vault but probably not. , and it hurts, but I am glad Steve and Crew put up the finances to make a film that is probably much petter then I would have ever been able to make.
"Singing Revolution - How Estonia Triggered the Downfall of Communism" - article from school days newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/15303 According to Silla's notes for his documentary, the Estonians were the first to declare sovereignty from the Soviets, a very risky move, on Nov. 18, 1988. "The event commenced the breakup and destruction of the Soviet Union," said the script for a promotional video for his documentary. "Estonia's bold declaration of sovereignty sparked similar reactions in those remaining Soviet Republics, also in those neighboring communist countries." The article states:"The Baltic countries, which include Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, were the last countries to be put under Soviet rule, and they were the first to get out."
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

Update: the film was well received in Toronto... Winning estdocs:

Eesti Elu

Blog coverage ; Mart Laar, former Prime Minister of Estonia, was among the speakers at the screening.
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

j_silla says:

thanks, I informed the Estonian rebels
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

j_silla says:

Recent news:

Tawnhall.com - Estonia defeated the Soviet Union -- with a song? This is not meant as hyperbole. It is literal truth.
www.townhall.com/columnists/BrentBozellIII/20 07/11/02/the...

Estonian "Singing Revolution" news today in Delfi.ee
www.delfi.ee/news/paevauudised/eesti/article. php?id=17326323
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

Ran_d says:

Very interesting !! Thanks for adding the info along with the photo :)

My Country / My Culture : Theme
Thanks for sharing in The World Through My Eyes
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

HyperBob says:

Väinämöinen in the Finnish epic poem the Kalevala is able to sing things into existance.
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

cranberries says:

I have seen the film, at an event in the US Capitol building, with an appearance by the Estonian president. Very moving.

Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

The movie opens tomorrow in LA, and NYC on Dec 14th! Please alert your Estonian friends in those cities...

An email from the producers:
"If you can, there are two BIG, immediate ways to help:

1. If you have already seen the film, go to The New York Times film review webpage and write a reader review.

2. Our success will be measured by how many bodies we have in the theaters the first three nights -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday. IF we do modestly well in LA and NYC, our ability to get into many other cities after that is greatly increased. The Singing Revolution will be opening December 7th in Los Angeles and December 14th in New York City. If you can attend on December 7th, 8th, and 9th in LA or December 14th, 15th, and 16th in NYC, please go! Bring friends! There are five shows on Saturday and Sunday, so go to the matinee as well as the evening shows." (Theater Times)
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

nels1 says:

excellent timing! i just arrived in new york tonight so i will definitely go to the screenings here and bring some friends along too:)
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

j_silla says:

Reviews:
Hollywood Reporter: ...feel-good tale that is almost hard to believe... Becoming a Soviet satellite country after the war, it eventually declared its independence in 1991, beginning a wave that ultimately would herald the dissolution of the Soviet Union. .. Bottom Line: Few true-life tales of nationalist pride are as moving as the one depicted in "The Singing Revolution."
www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/art icle_display...
Weekly Variety: If feature filmmakers had dared to invent the inspiring story of "The Singing Revolution," they likely would be dissed by cynical critics as simplistic at best, schmaltzy at worst.
www.variety.com/review/VE1117935688.html?cate goryid=31&am...
NY Times: Imagine the scene in “Casablanca” in which the French patrons sing “La Marseillaise” in defiance of the Germans, then multiply its power by a factor of thousands, and you’ve only begun to imagine the force of “The Singing Revolution.”
movies.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/movies/14revo.h tml?ref=movies
Bloggers:
the film somehow manages to encapsulate both the information of a History Channel special and the entertainment value of a feature documentary.
www.bloggernews.net/112342
NY POST:
story is an uplifting one befitting the holiday spirit.
www.nypost.com/seven/12142007/entertainment/m ovies/the_si...
NY Sun: In Communist-ruled Estonia, that freedom of speech was best expressed in song. "It may sound today a bit silly, it may sound even naïve," recalls a veteran of the final Laulupidus before Estonia achieved sovereignty. "In those days it was so natural to express our feelings by singing and declaring that we have a right to our own country." For Westerners accustomed to flouting or abusing democratic freedoms, the story of "The Singing Revolution" is a thought-provoking reminder that culture and citizenship are closer bedfellows than we might realize, and that having a song in one's heart is more than just a romantic notion. www.nysun.com/article/68081
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

Wow. Those are some great reviews. Thanks!

I just got this email from the producer of an Esto radio program that will be running today in the U.S. (Jan 17, 2008):

Dear Friends,

I’ve been informed that my radio piece on Estonia’s arrival in Silicon
Valley, will be airing today.

Will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams):

New York - 3 pm Eastern - WNYC - 820 AM - www.wnyc.org
Washington, DC - 8 pm Eastern - WAMU - 88.5 FM - www.wamu.org
Los Angeles - 12 pm Pacific - KPCC - 89.3 FM - www.kpcc.opg
Boston - 4 pm Eastern - WGBH - 89.7 FM - www.wgbh.org
San Francisco - 2 pm Pacific - KQED - 88.5 FM - www.kqed.org

Will be available on The World’s site later in the day and on my site if
you miss the broadcast.

----------------------------------------

update: Here is the radio interview online
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

nels1 says:

loved it! congrats on a great film.

Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

j_silla says:

"The Singing Revolution is an important film for history alone and should be seen by everyone and used by educators up to the graduate level." - By Lloyd Billingsley
FrontPageMagazine.com

Recent news on the subject:
news.google.co.uk/news?client=firefox-a&r ls=org.mozil...

All news on The Singing Revolition
news.google.co.uk/archivesearch?client=firefo x-a&rls=...

Close to 80k results on the web search here:
www.google.co.uk/search?client=firefox-a& rls=org.mozi...

Could China be soon up for this?
reason.com/blog/show/128199.html

Community for the fans of the film on facebook: 900 memb. www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5172328175

and in orkut: 70 memb
www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=41885193

youtube: 40 000 views of trailer
uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DA9PmZo-2jo

myspace: 800 friends
profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user .viewprofile...
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

And now the DVD has showed up on Barnes & Noble and Netflix
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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The Singing Revolution

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PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE says:

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drona says:

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