Special screening at Kai Cinema: "The Kidnapping of a President"

Genre: comedy, drama
Running time: 1 h 27 min
Country: Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, 2026
Director: Samuli Valkama
Screenplay: Samuli Valkama, John Lundsten
Cast: Jussi Vatanen, Aku Sipola, Elias Salonen, Pääru Oja, Pertti Sveholm, Alex Paul Pukk
Language: Finnish
Subtitles: Estonian, English

A darkly humorous comedy based on a true and thoroughly absurd story.

October 1930. After a night of heavy drinking, a group of senior Finnish army officers decides to kidnap the country’s first president, K. J. Ståhlberg, who has already left office. The plan goes wrong from the start: the hired, incompetent far-right kidnappers also take along the president’s wife, Ester Ståhlberg. That small mistake sets off a chain of events whose full truth remains unknown to this day.

The film screens at Kai Cinema on Finnish Independence Day. After the screening, costume designer Eugen Tamberg will talk about the making of the film. The conversation is led by Katariina Rebane, programmer of Kai Cinema and the film’s script supervisor. Tamberg and Rebane have worked together on several films, including Helene and Maria’s Paradise.

Eugen Tamberg is an Estonian production designer and costume designer who works in both film and theatre, often on Nordic films. He has won two Jussi Awards, Finland’s national film award, for Best Costume Design: in 2021 for Toveand in 2026 for Never Alone. In 2025 he received Sweden’s national film award, the Guldbagge, for the costumes of The Swedish Torpedo. His costumes can also be seen in Helene, The Eternal Road and Maria’s Paradise. Tamberg is a visiting lecturer at the Baltic Film, Media and Arts School of Tallinn University, where he leads the production design programme.

The Kidnapping of a President is a co-production between Finland, Estonia, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, and several Estonians are among its makers. The film was edited by Tambet Tasuja, the costumes were designed by Eugen Tamberg, the make-up artist was Kaire Hendrikson. The cast includes Pääru Oja and Alex Paul Pukk.

Not recommended for children under 12.

Distributor: Estonian Theatrical Distribution OÜ

We also invite everyone to visit the solo exhibition Island Beyond the Sea by acclaimed artist Jane Jin Kaisen at Kai Art Center. Made up of seven films, it is a mesmerising journey into the depths of Korean traditions and history. This is the first time Kaisen’s work has been shown in the Baltics.

If you visit the exhibition and a screening on the same day, a combo ticket costs €15 (reduced €10). The gallery is open until 6 pm, so combo ticket holders should visit the exhibition before the screening starts.