On October 1st, the film ‘Keepers of the loom’, that began in Toronto, and grew from there to include Estonian stories of diaspora and hope, will complete the cycle and bring these stories home to Estonia. The title in Estonian is ‘Vabaduse mustrid’, or ‘Patterns of freedom’, which is an especially fitting tribute to those who kept the thought of freedom for all the Baltic countries alive. The film will screen in theatres across Estonia during the month of September, and Tom Mae, together with his sister Reet will be present at several of the screenings.
The film tells the stories that we all have heard from our parents who fled in 1944, with a focus on the determination and skills of the women who kept their language and culture alive through their traditional arts and crafts. It is also a universal story of hope and the fact that it is returning to a free Estonia makes it especially poignant for those of us whose parents were never able to return.
Estonian culture today is alive and thriving, wherever Estonians are found, across the globe.
As with the film itself, this journey also requires an entire community, and we are grateful for the myriad ways people have supported and continue to support the film.
For more information, updates on the scheduled screenings, or to support the funding raising campaign, please visit the film website www.keepersoftheloom.com and ‘The keepers of the loom’ and ‘Vabaduse mustrid’ Face Book pages.
The Estonian FB site includes an events page where updates on screenings are posted. Please share this with family and friends in Estonia, and invite them to attend one of the screenings in Estonia.