Analyzing Pikad paberid, Estonia’s 2026 Oscar submission

The film starts with Sebastian at the cash register of a small grocery store. In comes a red-haired man (Silo) who asks for “pikad paberid” and pays in cash. When Sebastian exits the store through the back entrance later on, there he finds Silo loitering around near the garbage cans. Silo offers Sebastian a marijuana joint and Sebastian accepts, even though they are basically still strangers. They introduce themselves as “Silo” and “Sebastian” a minute or two later. Still strangers, but now knowing each other’s first names, Silo convinces Sebastian to show him how to use the cash register and they have fun making it ring several times. Would you allow a stranger to open and close a store’s cash register full of money? Probably not. But here we start to gather clues about Sebastian’s personality and perhaps his lack of good judgement.

Now, Silo convinces Sebastian to go to the beach together during work hours. After jumping into the freezing cold water, they decide that “Estonia is basically one big fridge,” and Silo starts to talk about Brazil, where “it’s always warm.” For some reason, these newly acquainted strangers decide that going to Brazil is a great idea! “We just need plane tickets and money.” they say. Apparently, neither has enough money for this type of adventure. Silo proposes that they combine their meager savings and buy kush (a strain of cannabis) to sell as drug dealers. And then Silo invites Sebastian to a rich kid’s house for a party where a number of younger people talk about their experiences with illegal drugs (DMT, acid). There, Sebastian meets Nora, a law student, with whom he starts to develop a relationship.