ARNOLD

In the autumn of 2000, an alternative European Song Contest took place in Finland, at which all participants were disabled. 22- year-old baker’s apprentice Arnold Oksmaa from Estonia, who says he suffers from a mental handicap, came second. When in the following year the Estonian winner of the conventional Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson receives a prize from the government, Arnold decides to claim a reward for his achievement as well. The film documents his attempts to make himself heard through radio- and TV-interviews – at least he wants federal support for the renovation of his run-down flat. Arnold is determined o make use of his “fame“. Appearances at rural public festivals, which he obviously enjoys, are only the beginning for him. In the employment exchange for instance, he suggests the advisor places him as an opera singer. Simultaneously, the life of confessing bisexual Arnold is being sketched out: The childhood in the orphanage, his first sexual encounters with men and women, the difficult relationship with his foster parents, the relationship with his girlfriend Kati. And again and again the doubts of his environment if he really is suffering from a mental handicap.