The Shadow
“A poet. A madman. A detective.”
Juhan Liiv, a struggling poet and an unlikely detective, solves gruesome murder cases in Estonia, the Wild West of the crumbling Russian Empire in the 1890s. Investigations take him to miserable dwellings of the local Estonian peasants, luxurious castles of German nobility that have sworn allegiance to the Czar, and to the depths of ancient forests where witchcraft is still practiced. Juhan is fighting crime and his own inner demons. He is considered mad and pronounced crazy. But by standing for justice and truth, at the end of the day, he is the sanest of them all.
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Cast
21 people
Jaak Kilmi Director · Indrek Hargla Screenplay Ardo Ran Varres Composer
First release October 14, 2024 · Produced in Estonia · Languages Estonian, Russian
Production
Taska Film
Production
Apollo Film Productions
Production
HansaFilm
Production
Reede
Production
Estonia
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Vari
Original language
Estonian
Spoken on screen
Estonian · Russian
Release dates
Estonia · October 14, 2024
Premiere
Estonia · October 18, 2024
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
Brazil
January 21, 2026 · Digital
Estonia
November 18, 2024 · Premiere · Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
May 2, 2025 · Premiere · Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival
South Korea
November 6, 2026 · Digital · 2026-VF04075
Spain
April 28, 2025 · Premiere · Saraqusta Film Festival
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