MA EI SURE TEIE KIUSTE

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

❝ I wrote Kaspar's character after meeting Vallo. It was very important to me that he wasn't some principled protector of the helpless, because unfortunately we see them too rarely in real life. That's the reason why he is also among Joosep's teases in the first scene.

Next comes chance, which triggers uncontrollable events. The events take a tragic turn due to the people's lack of experience in dealing with difficult situations. Are you sure you know your behavior in front of a knife or a gun? Or when your girlfriend says she's breaking up with you. I have always behaved in a way that I did not believe. Unpredictable behavior also leads to unpredictable counter-reactions. In the case of Kaspar, the most important thing is that he experiences the first love of his life. You know how easily careless words are misinterpreted when nothing is quite certain.

And now Kaspar finds himself in the middle of a joyful riot organized by the boys, facing Thea, his girlfriend, who rather instinctively snaps:

Are you a freak or what ?

But this girl has never said something like that to Kaspar before... And then, damn it, you have to remember, a single serious scolding look from a school sweetheart could be enough for the light to disappear at the end of the tunnel.

The biggest thing that Kaspar could lose in this story is his first love. And only because of this we can know how much the sense of honor is worth, the awareness of value of which comes in relationships between people.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

❝ I always suspected that Vallo would be a perfect cast for Kaspar, the protagonist of Klass, but I didn't know that I would meet a young actor who could take my breath away.

❝ So, I saw Vallo Kirs for the first time on the theater stage of Saaremaa, where he played in a fun Rakvere piece. The show itself was better than most of those played in professional theaters although I can't remember its name. Already during the performance, Gerda [Kordemets] pointed her eyes at him and I nodded to say that I noticed him too.

Then things got weird. On the one hand, I heard from the girls that Vallo has a bunch of discreet fans at least in Rakvere; on the other hand, he had to go to the history olympiad at the time of our meeting, which meant that I wouldn't even be able to meet him in person. I may have solved the mystery of what type of aura all these girls have built around him. He is a thoughtful and romantic hero, who can remain a philosopher in the company even in silence, while everyone knows that in case of real trouble he would also get out of bed at night to provide help.

— Get it, man, I don't give up like that.

— So, how will it be?

— You're about to find out.

Q: Why did you decide to take part in the filming of "Klass" ?

❝ Exactly one year ago, Gerda Kordemets sent an email to those who took part in the school's theater festival, offering the opportunity to participate in Ilmar Raag's new film project. It seemed appealing and interesting!

Q: You played Kaspar's role in the movie. What's his personality?

❝ Kaspar's character as he is presented in the film was created at the Koonga film camp in Pärnumaa.

He is an honest country boy, who came here to study at school from a small town of Antsla. Kaspar is a young man with a strong sense of honor, who is quite articulate, but often clashes with the others in the class. He is used to work in the countryside and get paid for it, but studying in the city he has to stand up for himself and his beliefs.

Q: How similar are you and Kaspar?

❝ I chose this role precisely because we share much in common. I also often argue with other people, however I would like to have Kaspar's good personality traits that made him the morally upright person we see in the movie.

Q: What was special about making this film?

❝ The process of making this film was very interesting and quick. The film had a small budget and was shot every day for two weeks. There were almost no days off, and it happened that some scenes had to be played in a mentally and physically exhausted state, so that it looked as real as possible.

Sometimes, during acting and filming, I had to go through things that before I've only seen from the outside, and that, I must admit, is an experience in itself.

Q: Based on comments from Ilmar Raag, the movie may frighten many viewers. Do you have any comments?

❝ Yeah, in the film camps we discussed topics related to school violence. Lauri Pedaja, who played Anders, even made a video about incidents related to it. If a student got hit in the face just because he is different from the others, it shows that something is wrong. In the film, Joosep was a problem for the class, which is actually like a mini-model of society. If someone is different or special, there is always a possibility of conflict. And a class will listen to its leader because his opinions are respected.

Q: Who is the target audience for the movie?

I have a lot. Gonna post them soon, just trying to organize everything a bit. Stay tuned! :)

KLASS: Behind The Scenes

Gerda Kordemets is an Estonian theatre and film director, playwright, theatre critic, and culture journalist. She was involved in creation of the movie as an executive director and prodused its sequel series.

Years later Gerda Kordemets began working on novels based on the above-mentioned projects. According to the source, a total of three books were planned, two of which were successfully published in 2013.

KLASS ILMAR RAAGI FILMI "KLASS" AINETEL

illustrations by Kärt Koosapoeg

ANNOTATION:

❝ The reason for publishing a book based on Ilmar Raag's movie is the sad fact that its theme still hasn't lost its relevance. The text of the book written by Gerda Kordemets reaches the reader with the same power as the language of the film.

The subject of the story is injustice. To what extent does human dignity allow one to tolerate injustice? And at what point does resistance to this turn into violence? ❞

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KLASS: ELU PÄRAST ERR-i SARJA PÕHJAL

illustrations by Kärt Koosapoeg

ANNOTATION :

❝ The novel based on the popular and award-winning TV series picks up where Klass left off. Now it's trying to solve the unsolvable: how to keep on living with such a burden? The internal monologues of the characters give a psychologically accurate representation of different types of people, their suffering, self-accusations and justifications, but also tells us about honor, responsibility and justice. Well-written vivid characters make the reader wonder: what could I . . . ? ❞

— Can't you dance after your own rapping?

— But I can!

— What should I do, then? Just watch the others beat him up? Thea, for the first time in my life I feel... that this is a matter of honor.