Rea Lest-Liik (born 14 May 1990), is an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

stage and film actress who came to prominence in the 2010s following leading roles in several Estonian films, such as '' Ema'' (2016), ''Mehetapja/Süütu/Vari'' (2017), and ''

November November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, the fourth and last of four months to have a length of 30 days and the fifth and last of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. Nove ...

'' (2017). She has won several awards for stage and film roles.

Early life and education

Rea Lest was born and raised in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

. She is a 2009 graduate of the Jakob Westholm Gymnasium secondary school. In 2010, she enrolled at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

to study art therapy, but left shortly after to enroll in the

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher M ...

's drama department to study acting under instructor Tiit Ojasoo. In 2012, she won the

Voldemar Panso Voldemar Panso (30 November 1920 Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the o ...

Young Actor Award while studying at academy. She graduated from the academy in 2014. Among her graduating classmates were actors Jaanika Arum, Helena Pruuli,

Reimo Sagor Reimo Sagor (born on 14 May 1987 in Lääne-Nigula Parish) is an Estonian actor. In 2014 he graduated from Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre's Stage Art Department. Since 2014 he is working at Vanemuine theatre in Tartu. Intermittently, he has ...

, Simeoni Sundja,

Kärt Tammjärv Kärt Tammjärv (born 11 June 1991) is an Estonian actress. She was born in Tallinn and graduated in 2010 from Pelgulinna Gymnasium, in addition, she has studied at Tallinn Music School and the . In 2014 she graduated from the Estonian Academy ...

, and future husband

Jörgen Liik Jörgen Liik (born 12 March 1990) is an Estonians, Estonian stage, film and television actor. Early life and education Jörgen Liik was born in Kuressaare, Saare County on the island of Saaremaa. He attended primary school at Orissaare Gymnasium ...

Career

In 2014, shortly after graduating from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Lest began an engagement at the

Theatre NO99 Theatre NO99 was a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia that began to operate in February 2005. It was a state-owned repertoire theatre that has its own building with two theatre halls in central Tallinn. The theatre closed in 2019. The theatre's na ...

; a non-profit foundation

repertory theatre A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...

in Tallinn. Lest left the theatre in 2018, prior to its closing in 2019. Lest made her film debut in the 2014 student film comedy short ''Lõputu suvi'' (English: ''Endless Summer''), directed by Jaan Penjam, and was Penjam's master's thesis production for the Film Department of the Baltic Film and Media School. In 2016, she was cast in her first feature-length film as the character Riin in the Kadri Kõusaar directed darkly comic crime mystery ''Ema'' (English: ''Mother''). The film was selected as Estonia's entry for the

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

category at the 2017 89th Academy Awards. In 2016, was cast in the lead role of Liina in the 2017

Rainer Sarnet Rainer Sarnet (born March 3, 1969) is an Estonian film director whose work started in animation. He then worked in advertising and publishing. His works include ''November (2017 film), November''. References External links

* Estonia ...

directed gothic fantasy thriller ''

'', based on

Andrus Kivirähk Andrus Kivirähk (born 17 August 1970) is an Estonian writer, a playwright, topical satirist, and screenwriter. As of 2004, 25,000 copies of his novel ''Rehepapp ehk November'' (''Old Barny or November'') had been sold, making him the most popul ...

's 2000 novel ''Rehepapp ehk November''. The film received positive reviews and was selected as the Estonian entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the

90th Academy Awards The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2017 in film, films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Californi ...

, but it was not nominated. It made its North American premiere in the International Narrative Competition at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was ...

in 2017. The film is also notable for being Estonian veteran actor

Arvo Kukumägi Arvo Kukumägi (9 August 1958, Litvina village, Setomaa – 16 May 2017) was an Estonian film and theatre actor. In 1980 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory's Performing Arts Department. 1980-1984 he was an actor at Estonian SSR State ...

's last film role before his death in May 2017. The same year, Lest appeared as the lead in the

Sulev Keedus Sulev Keedus (born 21 July 1957 in Tallinn) is an Estonian film director who studied at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. Selected filmography * ''Luigeluum'' (1982) * ''Ainus pühapäev'' (1990) * '' Georgica'' (1998) * ''Som ...

directed drama ''Mehetapja/Süütu/Vari'' (English: ''The Man Slayer/The Virgin/The Shadow''). Lest portrayed three different protagonists in three historical triptychs of women in Estonia struggling to decide their own destiny. In 2019, she appeared in a leading role opposite former Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre classmate Reimo Sagor in the

Martti Helde Martti Helde (born on 23 August 1987 in Rootsi, Kohila Parish) is an Estonian film director and screenwriter. In 2015 he graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in theatrical leader ( et, näitejuhtimine) speciality. Filmography ...

directed psychological thriller ''Skandinaavia vaikus'' (English: ''Scandinavian Silence''). The film won both the critics and the audience award at the 2019 Riga Film Festival.

Acknowledgements and awards

In 2018, Rea Lest won the Actress of the Year award at the Annual Awards of the Estonian Cultural Endowment in the field of audiovisual art for her roles in both ''November'' and ''Mehetapja/Süütu/Vari''. In March of that year, she was awarded Best Actress in a Film at the Estonian Film and Television Awards (EFTA) for her role in ''November''. In 2019, she was among ten European actors selected from twenty-nine candidates, each representing their country, to be presented with the European

Shooting Stars Award The Shooting Stars Awards are presented annually by the pan-European network organization European Film Promotion (EFP) to emerging actors from Europe. "Shooting Stars" is an initiative of the EFP for the international promotion and networking of p ...

by the

European Film Promotion European Film Promotion (EFP) is an international promotion organisation and a unique network of 38 national film promotion institutes who represent films and talent from their respective territories. Under the EFP flag, the members team up on ini ...

(EFP). The event took place in February 2019 during the 69th

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

Personal life

In 2018, Rea Lest wed former Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre classmate Jörgen Liik. The two had appeared opposite one another in both ''Mehetapja/Süütu/Vari'' and ''November''. Following her marriage, Lest began hyphenating her name as Rea Lest-Liik.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lest-Liik, Rea 1990 births Living people Estonian stage actresses Estonian film actresses Actresses from Tallinn Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni 21st-century Estonian actresses