I Was Here (Mina olin siin) 16 years old

Nobody was born to be a drug dealer.

I Was Here

An adaptation of a book by Sass Henno, I Was Here. First Arrest (Mina olin siin. 1. esimene arrest, 2005), one of the most important Estonian works of literature of recent years. Seventeen-year-old Rass is growing up in an Estonian suburb. In the absence of a solid home life his family becomes a group of youngsters who are verging on being thieves. Drugs are an inseparable part of their lives, and when Rass agrees to distribute them, he gets tangled up in the narcotics trade. Small amounts suddenly become two-kilo packages that the mafia, to the misfortune of all involved, has not been paid for, and is ready to collect on by force… This story of one boy’s adolescence unwinds retrospectively over a sheet of paper on which Rass records his memories while in prison. The camera intermediates these recollections in a nervous journalistic stylisation, often even duplicating the images, which increases the pace of the story, a true-to-life basis for which can be easily imagined.

Credits

I Was Here Cast

Name Character
Märt Avandi He was 27, now 43 years old as Aivo
Rasmus Kaljujärv He was 27, now 43 years old as Rass
Tambet Tuisk He was 32, now 48 years old as Olar
Doris Tislar She was 15, now 31 years old as Hanna
Johannes Naan as Janar
Sten Zupping He was 40, now 56 years old as Turske tüüp
Anne Reemann She was 45, now 61 years old as Estonian Teacher
Margus Prangel He was 34, now 50 years old as Mõssa
Nikolai Bentsler He was 24, now 40 years old as Talis
Marta Laan She was 23, now 39 years old as Rassi pinginaaber
Jaan Rekkor He was 50, now 66 years old as Karm tüüp
Hele Kõre as Renita
Marilyn Jurman She was 22, now 38 years old as Säde
Lidia Golovataja as Russian Teacher
Rafael Jenokjan as Ruslan

I Was Here Crew

Name Department
Kaire Hendrikson as Makeup Artist. Costume & Make-Up
René Vilbre as Director. He was 38 (now 54) years old Directing
Ilmar Raag as Screenplay. He was 40 (now 56) years old Writing
Riina Sildos as Producer. Production
I Was Here poster
I Was Here (16 years)

Nobody was born to be a drug dealer.

  • Release day: Friday, September 12, 2008
  • Runtime: 95 minutes