29/04/2024 - Helen Lõhmus and Leana Jalukse’s documentary looks into the abuse suffered by young freestyle skier Kelly Sildaru, ruthlessly coached by her father

Helen Lõhmus and Leana Jalukse’s documentary Kelly – Someone Else’s Dream, which has been world-premiered in EFP’s The Changing Face of Europe strand of this year’s Hot Docs, is a powerful – and very painful – tale of mental abuse, still considered a taboo topic in Estonia and in many other parts of the world.

The Estonian directorial duo zooms in on young Estonian freestyle skier Kelly Sildaru, who was just 13 when she won the gold medal at the 2016 Winter X Games. The prodigy and her untrained coach – her father, Tõnis Sildaru – became a media sensation, rapidly setting and breaking record after record.

In the freestyle-skiing business, everyone seems impressed with Kelly’s unprecedented achievements. But there’s a horrible story to uncover, that of a child forced to pursue her father’s own dream, a man ultimately driven by greed, ruthlessness and frustration.

We’re guided through Kelly’s odyssey through a well-assembled juxtaposition of talking heads, archive footage and animated sequences. In particular, the latter effectively mark the escalating conflicts between the parent and his child, which open up wounds that seem impossible to heal. The first turning point unfolds when, ahead of Kelly’s first Olympic run, the athlete gets severely injured. Here, it becomes crystal clear to many that the accident was prompted by her father’s uncontrollable thirst for victory and lack of training.

In one of the most heart-breaking scenes, we can hear a phone call between Sildaru and his daughter. The man yells unspeakable things at his offspring, unjustly hurling all of his anger and hate in her direction. Viewers will probably feel that things are likely to only get worse, scene after scene, and that’s literally what happens.

With the help of her mother, Kelly opens up about her traumatic experience. Among the witnesses to the girl’s nightmare is also her manager, Michael Spencer, who plays a key role throughout.

Moreover, the presence of Olympians Keri Herman, Sarah Höfflin and Marie Martinod, and athletes such as Kristi Leskinen, Oliver Treufeldt and Riho Laast-Laas, gives the helmers the opportunity to engage in a deep reflection on the relationship between children and sports, and how the industry’s dynamics basically forbid all of the things that make people fall in love with the practice in the first place, including fun, friendship, inclusivity and psychophysical wellbeing.

All in all, Lõhmus and Jalukse manage to craft a fast-paced documentary that keeps viewers hooked, without falling into any rhetorical trappings. The absence of any recent interview with the protagonist’s father is also explained by his refusal to meet with the two filmmakers.

The closure of the narrative arc takes stock of Kelly’s trials and tribulations, but it also conveys an uplifting message of hope and empowerment, inviting people to speak up and ask for help.

Kelly – Someone Else’s Dream is an Estonian-French co-production staged by Oreé Films and PVS Company. Austria’s Autlook Filmsales is in charge of its world sales.