Left for dead. Hated by his own. Now he’s the last thing standing between his people and the army of God.

Year 1200. Christianity has conquered nearly the entire known world – except for one final pagan stronghold, buried deep in the dark fringes of Europe. While Jerusalem is hailed as the land of the Son of God, Pope Innocent III declares this last defiant territory the “Land of Mary” in honor of the Virgin – and orders it crushed.

Crusader knights blaze a path north, wiping fractured tribes off the map. Only one village remains in their way – and one outcast left to defend it. Vello, once abandoned in the woods by his father for being too weak to live, has survived. Now, with his father slain and his people frozen in fear of the knights’ god, Vello becomes their last line of defense between the crusade and the sea.

When the girl he loves, Lembi, is taken by the enemy, Vello must do the impossible: rise from exile, unite the broken tribes, and lead a rebellion against the most feared army on Earth – and the god they believe makes them unkillable.

The crusade is coming.
And he’s going to meet it head-on.

The Godkiller is an adaptation of Mait Metsanurk’s acclaimed novel, On the Ümera River. The film is directed and written by Mikk Mägi, with Rein Kotov as the cinematographer, Matis Mäesalu as the production designer.

The film is produced by Estonian production companies Taska Film, Apollo Film Productions, and HansaFilm, with Latvian co-producer Film Angels Studio and Finnish co-producer Son of a Pitch. The Estonian producers are Kristian Taska, Armin Karu, Tanel Tatter, and Veiko Esken; the Latvian co-producer is Jānis Kalējs; and the Finnish co-producer is Tero Kaukomaa. 

The film is supported by the Estonian Film Institute, the Ministry of Defence, the Viru Film Fund, the Cultural Endowment, the LIAA Support Programme for International Film Productions, the Finnish Film Foundation, YLE, Business Finland, Postimees, Kanal2, Sparta Sports Club, and DHL. 

Ümera jõel will be released in cinemas on 13 October 2028.

More information:

Kristian Taska
film@taska.ee
www.taska.ee