Rea Lest

Born: 1990-05-14

Rea Lest-Liik (born May 14, 1990) is an Estonian stage and film actress who came to prominence in the 2010s following leading roles in several Estonian films, such as November and Manslayer/Virgin/Shadow. She has won several awards for stage and film roles. Rea Lest was born and raised in Tallinn. She is a 2009 graduate of the Jakob Westholm Gymnasium secondary school. In 2010, she enrolled at the University of Tartu to study art therapy, but left shortly after to enroll in the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre's drama department to study acting under instructor Tiit Ojasoo. In 2012, she won the Voldemar Panso 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, Simeoni Sundja, Kärt Tammjärv, and future husband Jörgen Liik. In 2014, shortly after graduating from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Lest began an engagement at the Theatre NO99; a non-profit foundation repertory theatre 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 category at the 2017 89th Academy Awards. In 2016, was cast in the lead role of Liina in the 2017 Rainer Sarnet directed gothic fantasy thriller November, based on Andrus Kivirähk'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, but it was not nominated. It made its North American premiere in the International Narrative Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017. The film is also notable for being Estonian veteran actor Arvo Kukumägi's last film role before his death in May 2017. The same year, Lest appeared as the lead in the Sulev Keedus 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 directed psychological thriller Skandinaavia vaikus (English: Scandinavian Silence). The film won both the critics and the audience award at the 2019 Riga Film Festival.


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Azrael

as Liesl
Released: 2024-09-27

In a world where no one speaks, a devout female hunts down a young woman who has escaped her...

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November

as Liina
Released: 2017-02-03

In a poor Estonian village, a group of peasants use magic and folk remedies to survive the...

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Dual

as Emergency Room Receptionist
Released: 2022-03-18

A terminally ill woman opts for a cloning procedure to ease her loss on her friends and family....

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Dark Paradise

as Karmen
Released: 2023-09-22

After 27-year-old Karmen's father dies, the security structures of her previous life start...

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FRESH BLOOD: Own and Stranger

as Grete (segment "True")
Released: 2018-11-02

Six fresh short films on the topic "Own and Stranger" from even more fresh Estonian directors.

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The Black Hole

as Uma
Released: 2025-01-31

As aliens descend to study humans, the people caught up in their investigations face turning...

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Aurora

as uncredited
Released: 2025-01-10

A religious leader's daughter enters into a secret extramarital affair, which collapses her...

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Scandinavian Silence

as She
Released: 2019-03-29

A recently released convict reunites with his sister. They set out on a journey but soon realize...

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True

as Grete
Released: 2018-11-01

In True, five strangers meet in a doctor’s office. In a changing world, even an innocent joke is...

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Mother

as Riin
Released: 2016-01-07

A woman's adult son has fallen into a coma after being shot. Taking care of him at home, she has...

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Manslayer/Virgin/Shadow

as Maara (Manslayer) / Elina (Virgin) / Luna Lee (Shadow)
Released: 2017-11-25

The film consists of three chapters. The Manslayer takes place more than a hundred years ago....

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