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 Saturday, November 8, director Meel Paliale‘s “disarming” youth-centered comedy-drama Rolling Papers (Pikad Paberid, Estonia, 2024) makes its NYC Premiere. *The screening will be followed by a film talk with director Meel Paliale.*

Rolling Papers follows Sebastian (Mihkel Kuusk), who leads a monotonous life as a store clerk. He finds his ordinary workday shaken up when he meets Silo (Karl Birnbaum), a free-spirited wanderer. Together, they smoke weed, drift through the ephemeral Estonian summer, and dream of a one-way ticket to Brazil. Rolling Papers explores the complex lives of young adults, united by their uncertainty about the future and a shared longing for a purposeful existence. Rolling Papers confidently explores the universal themes of a coming-of-age film—struggling with the gap between adolescence and adulthood, trying to figure out where you belong, and the ever-present allure of escapism—while careening away from the typical rudderlessness of the stoner comedy. Instead, the film becomes a tender exploration of fleeting youthful connections and the spark of possibility. The winner of the Audience Award at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), Rolling Papers is Estonia’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.