Such were the conditions faced by Korvpalliklubi Kalev (Kalev Tallinn), the basketball team representing Estonia, when they competed in the 1991 USSR Premier Basketball League championship. In addition to Estonia, this league included teams from Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Kalev Tallinn was to compete in a championship where the odds were against them when it came to morale, resources, and the inner workings of Soviet competitive sports. But they were talented players with a fiery coach and a dedicated club president. This uphill battle is the focus of Ove Musting's 2022 film, Kalev.
We’re entranced by stories like these, as shown by the huge turnout for the screening of Kalev at the 2023 European Union Film Festival. Excitement lingered in the air and it was a full house at Toronto's Alliance Française.
