The initial idea for the film came from a dream our screenwriter and cinematographer Sofiya had, where she attempted to go back home, yet couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. Shaken by this vivid experience, she shared the dream with Emily and together they started writing a script. In December 2021 the story was selected for thesis film production. None of us knew then that Sofiya's dream would come true, as her home is in Ukraine.
"may in eden" is a visually ambitious, slightly surreal, fictional short film. The protagonist Sophie dies and in the afterlife re-experiences turning points of her life. Desperately, she attempts to mend her relationship with her mother, yet the journey ends up teaching her something unexpected about herself. The film is a thesis project for the audiovisual media curriculum of Baltic Film and Media School at Tallinn University.
Emily Bruus and Sofiya Babiy are a creative duo who have so far produced a short film "disconnected" (2021) and a music video for the song "Plastikust Käpikud" for the legendary Estonian rapper Genka and Dew8. As well as numerous individual projects beforehand.
Creating an incredible visual experience is a fairly expensive thing to do. This is why we're asking for your help. We have an incredible team of film students - some of the most amazing people you could imagine - with whom we have made many films and exercises over the past three years, together we have grown into filmmakers. But this project needs more than an ordinary student film. Our production design ideas are very ambitious - many of the sets need to be built from scratch. We need numerous props and costumes. Makeup that takes hours and hours to complete. All of which will be specially developed for this project.
We are also planning to shoot one scene of the film on film stock. That is significantly more expensive from the digital format, as we'll need to buy film, have it developed and scanned. Most of this work cannot be done in Estonia, so the film will need to travel to Romania and back.
As an end result, we promise you a visual treat and an emotional story, that is a moving experience for the viewer and a beautiful contribution to the art of filmmaking.
Core team
Written by: Sofiya Babiy & Emily Bruus
Director: Emily Bruus
Cinematography: Sofiya Babiy
Production Design: Kadri Joala, Andra Junalainen & Liisa-Lota Jõeleht
Producers: Kristen Aigro & Katariina Rahumägi
Editor: Eik Erik Sikk
Sound design: Ralf Schneider
Gaffer: Anna Kaisa Jämsä
Cast: Maria Valk & Maarja Jakobson
Supervisors: Miguel Llansó & Mart Raun
