The Fencer

Märt Avandi stars as Endel Nelis in this drama about the Estonian fencer's life. Beginning after the Second World War in 1953, the film follows Endel as he flees the secret police in Leningrad and moves to the small town of Haapsulu where he takes up a post as a PE teacher and starts an after-school fencing club for his pupils. In his quest to teach them his great passion of fencing, Endel faces opposition from the school's principal (Hendrik Toompere) who wants to see the sport banned.

Eager to stop Endel, the principal begins digging into his past to discover the true reason for his arrival in Haapsulu. Undeterred by the hostility, Endel presses on with his plans to let the children compete in a national fencing tournament back in Leningrad.