The Cinderella of Tallinn

Tiiu Silves once worked as a math teacher and sold flowers in the streets of Tallinn. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she worked her way up to become a ruthless businesswoman. By selling industrial parts to the West, she managed to set up a profitable business with a subsidiary company in Moscow in no time at all. She even claims that her annual turnover exceeds the gross national product of Estonia. By using archive footage, Finnish filmmaker Pirjo Honkasalo places this personal tale in a broader, historican perspective. As in her earlier films, the theme of spirituality takes center stage. Silves believes that capitalism and spirituality are not mutually exclusive - she speaks in the same way about her business success as about her connection with the cosmos that she experiences while vacationing on Hiiumaa Island.