Remarkable story. I watched your film for the first time last night. A minister in Melbourne, Australia recommended it to my husband when we were there last December.

I will recite the Universal Peace Covenant in honor of Albert when I am in the Peace Dome on the campus where I live. One of the lines "Peace is our birthright." strikes me as appropriate to his story.

Sincerely,
Christine Madar

Russia's law to forbid "falsify" of its history (also in foreign countries) and creation of the Historical Truth Committee would be quite a funny act, if it wouldn't be so sad. I add here a link to a satirical video about deportation. I can't imagine how deportation will be described in Russia's official view on history, but the clip definitely gives them some ideas on that. Although a joke might not be appropriate to address a topic so serious I believe in a way it describes the deportations quite adequately.

The video: http://tinyurl.com/ybdo36b

Mattias

The scene with the excecution is really disturbing even for me who likes the gangster and mafia-related movies. I know that it is one second in the documental but one image could tell you more that thousands of words. Hopelly you will edit this scene.
Thanks

Hello!

I am really happy, that you made a fantastic film about Estonia's history.

I am estonian and I was born at the same time when Singing Revolution began in Estonia and when was Baltic Way in 23rd of August 1989.
I was too young to remember it. It's honour to be a part of a small country.

Merry Christmas!

I would caution - do not underestimate the power of graphic violence.

I remember as a young child coming across the very first Life article with photos of the holocaust. I was traumatized and haunted by them for years - still am to some extent.

Granted that these few scenes are short and in comparison to the violence in entertainment films, quite mild. But they are REAL. This is not fiction. There is something terribly disturbing about them.

I would personally avoid these scenes with anyone under High School age.

On a related note - I see you have compiled a package in your store for educators. I do not have a whole classroom, only my own children to teach...For those of us trying to share this story with our children at home, are there any materials available separately to accompany the film, or suggested activities? There's such a powerful story in this film, and it's such a big part of my children's cultural inheritance, so I definitely want to make this the best experience possible for them.

Gwendolyn,
wonderful site - thanks for the post!
maureen

I have just created a post about The Singing Revolution" on my blog , www.firefliesofhope.com. I am a musician and hope that more people can come to understand the power of music to bring unity. Thanks for all you do.

Thank you for sharing your father's experience, Christine. I'd love to know what shot your Aunt is in, it would be nice to have a name, an identity, to go along with those scenes of unknown faces. Kind regards!
maureen

Hey Jarey - totally agree. And another key would be to keep the world press watching, then they really couldn't crack down the same way on it. It's always shocking to learn what totalitarian regimes can get away with when the rest of the world isn't paying attention...
maureen