The 8th Annual New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America returns this November with the best new films from the Baltic region! On November 8, see the deep, funny and provocative story of a girl navigating adolescence and climate crisis in the documentary Becoming Roosi (Siit ta tuleb, Roosi, dir. Margit Lillak, Estonia/Germany, 2025). 

Filmed over a 10-year period, we first meet Roosi when she is eight years old, confronting the unusual conventions of her isolated childhood in an Estonian eco-village. Here, her mother Liina — a dedicated activist — is the frontwoman of the commune. Eight years later, Roosi finds herself following in her mother’s footsteps. Living far from the eco-village and fully immersed in the demands of cosmopolitan life, Roosi grapples with climate grief and guilt. With rare intelligence and outspokenness, she expresses raw truths about her generation’s existential concerns. She also struggles between two extremes: the pressure to inherit her mother’s battle, and the vital need to find her own identity through art, through her body, and through words. As she navigates the uncertain terrain of early adulthood, Roosi reveals the unexpected layers of growing up in today’s fluid, globalized world.

Becoming Roosi weaves together intimate archival moments from a singular childhood with a timeless coming-of-age story. With grace and emotional depth, this vibrant portrait explores the weight of climate anxiety, generational rifts and one young woman’s search for identity. (96 min. In Estonian/English with English subtitles)

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