Andres Puustusmaa

Andres Puustusmaa

Born: July 19, 1971
Andres Puustusmaa (born July 19, 1971) is an Estonian film director, actor, screenwriter, professor, and photographer who began his career in the early 1990s. He has worked extensively in his native Estonia, as well as in Russia.

Andres Puususmaa was born in Tallinn to Tõnu and Eva Puustusmaa (née Mildeberg). After secondary school he enrolled in the Drama Department of Tallinn Conservatory (now, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre) under the instruction of theatre pedagogue Ingo Normet, graduating in 1994. Following his graduation from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre he joined the Estonian Drama Theatre in Tallinn, where he performed as a stage actor until 2002 when he relocated to Russia to study High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow until 2004.

As well as performing onstage at the Estonian Drama Theatre, Puustusmaa has appeared as an actor on television and in film. One of his first television appearances was a small role was in the 1993 Maximilian Schell-directed American made for television drama Candles in the Dark, which was filmed on location in Tallinn. In 2001, he appeared on the popular, long-running Eesti Televisioon drama series Õnne 13.

Puustusmaa's first film role was a small part in the 1997 Hardi Volmer-directed historical comedy Minu Leninid. This was followed by roles in the 1999 Valentin Kuik-directed drama Lurjus, the 2009 Veiko Õunpuu-directed drama Püha Tõnu kiusamine, and the 2016 Anton Bilzho-directed Russian comedy Dreamfish, among others. He has also appeared in small roles in films that he has directed, such as 2011's crime drama Rotilõks and the 2017 drama Rohelised kassid.

After graduation from the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, Puustusmaa worked as a film director in Russia for Mosfilm and Lenfilm. Some Russian-language features directed by Puustusmaa include: 1814 (2007), Krasnyy zhemchug lyubvi (2008), Volshebnik (2008), My iz budushchego 2 (2010), and Belyy pesok (2010).

Following his return to Estonia, he has continued to direct shorts and features, including: Rotilõks (2011), Rohelised kassid (2017), and Kohtunik (2018).

Since 2004, Andres Puustusmaa has been a lecturer in film and telecommunication at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and from 2015, a professor at the institution.

Movies for Andres Puustusmaa...

Buttered Cards, Shattered Hearts
Title: Buttered Cards, Shattered Hearts
Character: Manfred
Released: November 7, 2023
Type: Movie
After the death of the world's last cow, a young couple finds themselves on a hunt for butter through the labyrinth of their apartment building. When they finally reach the basement, a dangerous game for life and butter awaits them.
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Crossing The Line
Title: Crossing The Line
Character: Father
Released: November 19, 2022
Type: Movie
Jakop, a lone fisherman on the coast of lake Peipus has to decide whether refugees brought to his door are his way of redeeming past sins or merely a means to quickly earn much needed cash.
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Green Cats
Title: Green Cats
Character: Politician
Released: November 20, 2017
Type: Movie
This is a story of two old folks, who have spent most of their lives behind prison walls. Now, as seventy year old men, they have been granted amnesty. Both men have a passionate desire to change their lives according to certain plans.
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Dreamfish
Title: Dreamfish
Character: Kairo
Released: December 22, 2016
Type: Movie
Roman is a born proofreader from a family of proofreaders, a real intellectual from St. Petersburg who comes to Narva-Jõesuu, a small Estonian spa town, to find inspiration, tranquility, and silence. He does proofreading of the encyclopedia of the Baltic Sea Fishes, compiled in the same location by Professor Polyanski, winner of the Nobel Prize. This work is very important for Roman. He would have accomplished his task, but once he swam too far in the sea. It was then that Helena came into his life, to change his ideas about the world forever.
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Shift
Title: Shift
Character: Heiki
Released: April 13, 2011
Type: Movie
When Miina, a seemingly well-off woman is caught shoplifting, the female officer truly uses her chance to show off her contempt. She sees a rival in the shoplifter and decides to teach Miina a lesson. Surprisingly, both women meet just a few hours later in a situation where the previous rivals become partners in crime and must trust their fates in the hands of each other.
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Rat Trap
Title: Rat Trap
Character: Broker in the Office
Released: February 10, 2011
Type: Movie
During an election campaign, a large sum of money goes missing at an Estonian politician's home party. The story involves some party guests who have serious money problems and are trying to come to terms with past mistakes. However, the self-confident politician strangely does not turn to the police, but begins to demand his justice by force.
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The Temptation of St. Tony
Title: The Temptation of St. Tony
Character: Fence Builder
Released: October 10, 2009
Type: Movie
A mid-level manager who develops an aversion to being a good person questions his morality as he faces the challenges of middle age and loses control of his life.
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18-14
Title: 18-14
Character: профессор Гауэншильд
Released: December 27, 2007
Type: Movie
Detective story set up in the time and place of young Pushkin, at Tsarskosel'sky Liceum.
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All My Lenins
Title: All My Lenins
Character: Sailor
Released: October 2, 1997
Type: Movie
Young and active nationalist Aleksander Kesküla makes up his mind to use Lenin, the Bolsheviks' leader, in order to start a revolution in Russia with German money and create a new national state of Estonia in the north-east of Russia. For security reasons, five doubles will be found and trained for Lenin. All of them are finally sent to Russia to instigate the revolution. How will the real Lenin put up with all this?
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Candles in the Dark
Title: Candles in the Dark
Released: December 3, 1993
Type: Movie
Candles in the Dark is the story of a girl who comes to visit her father's homeland, the Soviet Republic of Estonia. After she arrives, she finds that her father is part of the dissident anti-soviet underground. She soon find her self engulfed in the struggle with her father and a lot of new friends, and finds herself being hunted by the KGB.