The film is an unconventional account of a curious historical minor narrative about a princess, whose tragic story ended at the Lohde castle (now Koluvere) in the West of Estonia in 1788. Before her mysterious death at the age of 23, Augusta Caroline von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel had been unhappily married to Duke Friedrich of Württemberg, given birth to four children, and befriended Catherine the Great at her court in St Petersburg. The Tsarina sent her alone to Lohde after Augusta’s father refused to allow her divorce.
It can only be speculated upon whether this exile out of sight became an asylum or an escape for an inconvenient lone aristocratic woman amidst the upheavals of enlightenment Europe. What remain as documents of Augusta’s two years in the castle are legends, a grave stone, and archived letters from Augusta to her father and Catherine, the former busy with the war in America and the latter with Crimea amongst other battles. The letters are poignant records of the troubled position of a privileged woman, whose fate nevertheless rested in the hands of others. Her short life, along with the postal network of the time, also maps how inherited power was entwined between the royal courts across the European continent.
The film retraces these routes between historical characters and contexts, while reflecting on them through the prism of today’s society. It engages not only with the existing material evidence and the castle itself, now hired out for weddings, but also with the presence of the local community and the haunting of Augusta. What haunts is that which remains silenced or unseen in the past as well as in our present society.
Actors:
Henessi Schmidt as Augusta Caroline von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
Tanel Saar as Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann
Jan Christoffer Rutström, Freda Purik, Ilme Jammer, Marge Neggo, Lotta Kõvatomas, Saara Kõvatomas,
Maria Izabella Lehtsaar, Loit Lepalaan, Liis-Marleen Verilaskja, Mark Kristian Hiir, Jane-Liis Koppel, Jane Susi, Heily Koppel, Emmalin Jammer, Erika Pillak, Liidia Pillak, Raivo Fedorenko, Merike Hark, Liina Markus, Lea Valdna, Toivo Metsa, Greete Sirgo, Maaris Neggo, Hanna Mariis Gustavson, Carolina Gustavson, Laura Naudi, Sigrit Jürise
Script: Liina Siib
Direction: Liina Siib, Henri Nõmm
Camera: Henri Nõmm, Ott Bergström
Sound: Tanel Tänna
Editing: Henri Nõmm, Liina Siib
Costume designer: Maiu Rõõmus
Costume designer’s assistant: Freda Purik
Make-up artist: Kersti Laursoo
Assistant: Maria Izabella Lehtsaar
Voice over: Vilma Lang, Hans-Gunter Lock
Translation: Elo-Hanna Seljamaa, Juta Ristsoo
Produced by: EV100 art programme