Vivian Säde
a multidisciplinary filmmaker who moonlights as a vocalist
I am a screenwriter, director, and producer* from Tallinn, Estonia.
I usually find myself telling stories about (Baltic) girlhood, blending offbeat comedy-drama with a touch of magical realism.
I’ve sung since I was little, trained as a vocalist, and delight in weaving my (actual) voice into the worlds I create.
Find my digital scrapbook here:
@vivianfilms
about me
*In kindergarten, I was weirdly fascinated by the Estonian TV character Hunt Kriimsilm, a puppet wolf with nine jobs... Four-ish down, five to go!
Mari, Sweetie (coming in 2026)
writer-director, co-producer with moondustfilms
I’m currently in pre-production for my magical realism short film Mari, Sweetie, produced with Volia Chajkouskaya from the Oscar-nominated Estonian production company Allfilm.
The film is about Mari, a seemingly ordinary twenty-something woman who must dive deep into her subconscious to save both her present and pre-teen selves.
The short is set to shoot in August of 2025, on location in Estonia.
Festivals & Industry:
— F-Weird Award, Finnish Film Affair (2024), featured in Variety
— Radiator Sales IP Award, Baltic Pitching Forum (2023)
— Pitched at Brussels Co-Production Market’s Short Film Sessions (2024)
selected works
You feel like healing your inner child?
@marisweetiefilm
Kalamaja Blues (2023-2025)
writer-director, head producer with moondustfilms
The comedy-drama web series Kalamaja Blues follows the messy, hilarious, and occasionally melancholic lives of young adults navigating love, friendship, and self-discovery in Tallinn’s hipster district of Kalamaja.
It is the first time a queer couple’s relationship has been explored on the national broadcaster by an Estonian series.
The series was created under Yle: Finnish National Broadcasting Company’s Instagram initiative @areena.stories, with the second season produced as a co-production with ERR: Estonian National Broadcasting Company’s streaming platform Jupiter.
Festivals & Industry
— Premiered in the Digital Short Form Competition Program at Seriencamp (Germany, 2024)
— Official selection at Serial Killer Festival (Czech Republic, 2024)
— Reached the top 2 of all content on ERR’s Jupiter
— Positive reviews from Helsingin Sanomat and Edasi.org
You feel like getting a matcha with us?@kalamajablues
It's About a Wedding (2020)
writer-director
It’s About a Wedding is a comedy-drama short film, written and directed as my graduation project from the Baltic Film and Media School in Estonia.
It follows a heartbroken novelist who copes with her crush’s wedding by writing him the worst wedding imaginable, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.
This project was also my first collaboration with Grete Jürgenson, who stars again in the lead role in Mari, Sweetie.
Festivals & Industry:
—Premiered in the National Competition program of the Black Nights Film Festival’s PÖFF Shorts 2020 to critical acclaim
You feel like crashing a wedding? @itsaboutaweddingfilm
TELEVISION
FILM
biography
Vivian Säde is a screenwriter, director, and producer from Tallinn, Estonia. Through her boutique company Moondustfilms, she creates offbeat comedy-drama and magical realism narratives exploring Baltic girlhood and the emotions that punch us all in the gut from time to time.
She is the creator of the multi-season web series Kalamaja Blues (2023–2025, Yle, ERR), notable for featuring Estonia’s first queer relationship on national television, and is currently in pre-production on the short film Mari, Sweetie (2026) with Allfilm.
She is also developing the television project Clean with Finnish screenwriter Hanna Leivonniemi through the European Writers Club’s Bridging Generations initiative.
Alongside filmmaking, she is a trained vocalist who enjoys weaving music into her creative work.
She holds an MA in Screenwriting from Screen Academy Scotland (cum laude).
on the production company moondusfilms:
an introduction:
Moondustfilms is a boutique production company based in Tallinn, Estonia, founded in 2018 by Vivian Säde. The company serves as the creative home for Säde’s film and television work, specializing in offbeat comedy-drama and magical realism narratives often rooted in Baltic perspectives.
Notable projects include the multi-season web series Kalamaja Blues (2023–2025), co-produced with Yle and ERR, which became the first Estonian series on national television to center a queer relationship, and the short film It’s About a Wedding (2020), which premiered in the National Competition at Black Nights Film Festival’s PÖFF Shorts.
Moondustfilms is currently co-producing Mari, Sweetie with Allfilm, a magical realism short scheduled for release in 2026.
on education:
Vivian graduated cum laude from Tallinn University’s Baltic Film and Media School with a BA in Audiovisual Media, specializing as a writer-director.
She went on to earn her MA in Screenwriting (cum laude) from Screen Academy Scotland at Edinburgh Napier University.
on music:
Alongside filmmaking, Vivian trained as a vocalist and occasionally lends her voice to music projects.
Most recently, she collaborated with Estonian pop artist INGER on a reimagined arrangement of “Ära jahtu,” originally by the iconic Estonian rock band Singer Vinger. The music video for the track features behind-the-scenes footage from the set of the second season of Kalamaja Blues, as well as scenes filmed in the studio with INGER.
She has also recorded vocals for folk-electronica artist Su—Mu and continues to explore ways of weaving music into her creative work.
“Kalamaja Blues deftly captures the sweet ache of youth… vibrant colours, queer narratives and pop-culture nods make it feel like Estonia’s own Sex Education.” (translated)
— Edasi.org, 2024
Read the full article →
“A vivid Estonian coming-of-age series with universal appeal.” (translated)
— Helsingin Sanomat, 2024
“Comedy-drama with a ‘Friends’ and ‘Seinfeld’ energy… tackling love, LGBTQ themes, and Tallinn’s bohemian scene.”
— Estonian World, 2023
“Kalamaja Blues feels the beat.” (translated)
— ERR Kultuur, 2024
press
re: Kalamaja Blues
“We are very impressed by how personal, important and impactful this story is… it embodies the spirit of Finnish Weird.”
— Variety, 2024
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“A poignant magical realism short exploring loneliness, mental health, and girlhood.” (translated)
— Postimees Kultuur, 2024
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“‘Mari, kallis’ won recognition at the Finnish Film Affair.” (translated)
— ERR Kultuur, 2024
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re: Mari, Sweetie
re: Vivian Säde
“Vivian Säde… one of Estonia’s fresh creative voices exploring magical realism and youth culture.” (translated)
— Õhtuleht, 2023
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