Juhan Ulfsak

Acting

Juhan Ulfsak

Born

1973-04-18 (53)

Place of birth

Tallinn, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Harju County, Estonia]

Known for

Acting

Credits

49 titles

Juhan Ulfsak (born April 18, 1973 in Tallinn) is an Estonian actor. In 1995, he graduated as an actor from the Viljandi Culture College (where he later worked as a drama teacher), while simultaneously improving his skills at the Helsinki Theater College. Since 1998, an actor at the Von Krahl Theater. Over the years, he has worked with many different directors and theater troupes in Estonia and abroad. Received several awards as an actor (Estonian Theater Awards Best Actor Award 2012 and others). He is also a recognized film actor, having played in the films of, for example, Veiko Õunpuu, Rainer Sarnet, Pirjo Honkasalo, Christopher Nolan ("Tenet", 2020). As a director, Juhan Ulfsak has done…

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 15 titles

Tenet poster
7.2

Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.

Tenet

2020

The Wizard of the Kremlin poster
6.5

In the chaos of post-Soviet Russia, rising KGB officer Vladimir Putin joins forces with master manipulator Vadim Baranov to reshape life behind the Iron Curtain, using violence and deception to change the world forever.

The Wizard of the Kremlin

2026

Attack on Finland poster
5.6

The reception for Finland's Independence Day is rudely interrupted when the presidential palace is attacked and the state leadership is taken hostage. Max Tanner of the Security Police is appointed as a negotiator in the hostage crisis, that unfolds as part of a bigger plan to undermine European security.

Attack on Finland

2021

The Last Ones poster
4.5

Tundra of Lapland, Finland. Rupi, a young man who fills his days dealing and drinking, works in a mine hoping to raise enough money to escape the desolate village where he lives.

The Last Ones

2020

Our Erika poster
5.0

The inspiring journey of Estonian track bicycle racer Erika Salumäe, as she navigates the pressures of fame, personal sacrifice, and national pride, redefining resilience in the pursuit of her Olympic dreams.

Our Erika

2026

Erik Stoneheart poster
5.8

Erik is convinced he has a stone for a heart. That’s why he doesn’t mind that his parents have no time for him, or that he is bullied at school, or that he has no real friends. When his family moves to a villa they inherited, he is confronted by Maria whom Erik's parents want to kick out along with her father. Maria refuses to move and promises to make Erik's life a living hell. As a last attempt to defeat Erik, Maria goes to look for her mother who disappeared two years ago. Together they end up on a fantastical journey to the In-Between-World and Erik learns how hard it really is to wear a heart of stone.

Erik Stoneheart

2022

Orenda poster
5.4

Orenda means an invisible force, a life spirit that inhabits everything living and lifeless: people, wind, birds, rabbits, stone. The one who serves Orenda and sings to it may receive its power. Exploring the themes of guilt and grace, the destinies of two women intertwine into a tense emotional thriller set on a remote island.

Orenda

2025

One-Dimensional Man poster
4.0

Raul's father Viktor, a Soviet-era Estonian militia officer, shaped his son with communist ideology. Raul was raised in a violent and pathological attitude of the despotic father, blindly driven by the ideology. Driven by his jealousy of his wife and her bohemian lifestyle, Viktor, being a high ranking KGB officer, stated her as a predator against the Soviet nation, and one early morning she is taken by KGB agents to an unknown destination.

One-Dimensional Man

2025

Helene poster
6.2

Year 1915. Helene Schjerfbeck lives as a forgotten artist with her elderly mother in the countryside. It has been years since the last exhibit, and Helene continues to paint only because of her passion. Everything changes when art dealer finds Helen and her 159 wonderful paintings - and wants to organize a big private exhibit. However, Helen's turning point comes only when she is introduced to Einar Reuter. Young Einar is a forester, art enthusiast, and a passionate admirer of Helene's work. He becomes Helen's trusted and lover.

Helene

2020

January poster
6.1

It is 1991 in Latvia and nineteen-year-old aspiring cinematographer Jazis’s whole world is thrown into chaos as he is dragged into the people’s peaceful protests against the Soviet Army’s attempted takeover of power in his country.

January

2022

Ab Absurdo poster
NR

Through pitchblack humor that’s born from a familiar absurdity of life’s situational satire, this film offers a sharp insight to the minds of somewhat intertwined inner worlds of two lonely individuals.

Ab Absurdo

2023

Dark Paradise poster
7.5

After 27-year-old Karmen's father dies, the security structures of her previous life start falling apart, as her relationship with her half-brother Viktor also deteriorates, and she faces the darkness and emptiness of the universe.

Dark Paradise

2023

FRESH BLOOD: With the Best Intentions poster
NR

Five fresh short films on the theme "With the best intentions" from even fresher Estonian directors.

FRESH BLOOD: With the Best Intentions

2020

The Diary of Vaino Vahing poster
NR

When love is the greatest torment, will art or play save you? A dramatic documentary about author Vaino Vahing.

The Diary of Vaino Vahing

2021

No artwork available
NR

Ukraine after the annexation. Haunted and reckless, Mykhailo returns to bury his father, only to discover that the old man has effectively been a ghost for 20 years. Like Schrödinger's cat, he seems ready to reappear at any moment.

Three Weeks Under the Sea

2026

2010s · 14 titles

Concrete Night poster
5.9

A 14-year-old boy in a stifling Helsinki slum takes some unwise life lessons from his soon-to-be-incarcerated older brother.

Concrete Night

2013

The Little Comrade poster
6.9

In the midst of Stalinist tyranny, six-year-old Leelo's mother is sent to a prison camp. Haunted by her mother's last words telling her to be a good kid, Leelo vows to be on her best behaviour in the confusing grown-up world in the hope that it will bring her mother back.

The Little Comrade

2018

Phantom Owl Forest poster
7.4

A 10-year old girl's Christmas plans take an unexpected turn after she is brought to a mysterious Estonian farm.

Phantom Owl Forest

2018

Virago poster
6.3

A man falls off a roof. Another one drowns. Another catches fire. Wherever you look, men are dropping like flies. “May God rest their souls,” sigh the widows as they cross themselves somberly. This is the life and the death of the men in Virago—a village where for centuries no man has lived long enough to see his fortieth birthday. Until today.

Virago

2019

Miami poster
4.8

Miami is the story of two sisters who have grown up separately. The older sister, Angela, is an exotic dancer with her own touring dance group. The younger, Anna, on the threshold of adulthood, lives in a small town working in sales. When their father dies, Anna looks for and finds Angela. The fascinating, high-strung Angela asks the timid Anna to accompany her on tour and, before long, trouble from Angela’s past catches up to them and the sisters’ love is put to the test.

Miami

2017

Rat Trap poster
6.0

During an election campaign, a large sum of money goes missing at an Estonian politician's home party. The story involves some party guests who have serious money problems and are trying to come to terms with past mistakes. However, the self-confident politician strangely does not turn to the police, but begins to demand his justice by force.

Rat Trap

2011

The Days That Confused poster
5.4

A young man tries to make sense of the world in the summer heat of late nineties Estonia.

The Days That Confused

2016

Manslayer/Virgin/Shadow poster
4.4

The film consists of three chapters. The Manslayer takes place more than a hundred years ago. The leading character Maara is a young bride who is about to start her life in her new family. The Virgin, set in the spring of 1949, tells the story of a young woman called Elina, who has been deported from Ingria into Estonia during the previous war. The Shadow moves in the present, on the border of real life and fantasy. The main character, Luna Lee, has decided to flee from home. Is there anything besides emptiness somewhere? The film is led by the singularity of the leading character - Maara, Elina and Luna Lee are all played by the same actress.

Manslayer/Virgin/Shadow

2017

The Idiot poster
5.1

A story of a naive man, whose direct behavior stirs in people moral unrest, rage and embarrassment over their own pettiness, making them yearn for goodness.

The Idiot

2011

Lonely Island poster
NR

Five stories and many more lives that are affected, they flow by each other and sometimes intersect. In one way or other we talk about emotional scars that each of us carries around. Events take place in a space of a few days as our heroes try to cope with their past and move on with their lives.

Lonely Island

2012

Roukli poster
NR

Two men on the run cause chaos in a small community that is on the brink of getting swallowed by war.

Roukli

2015

Shift poster
NR

When Miina, a seemingly well-off woman is caught shoplifting, the female officer uses her chance to show off her contempt. She sees a rival in the shoplifter and decides to teach Miina a lesson. Surprisingly, both women meet just a few hours later in a situation where the previous rivals become partners in crime and must put their fates in the hands of each other.

Shift

2010

Mushrooming poster
5.8

Politician Aadu Kägu goes to the mushroom forest with his wife Viivi to rest his nerves from the reputation campaign. They are joined by a voter, penniless rock star Zäk. In order to avoid common mushroom forests, they drive to some countryside at random. Soon the trio discovers that they are lost, at the same time a media scandal breaks out - the investigative press suspects that Kägu has misused state money. The fight for honor, life and death begins, both in the forest and in the city.

Mushrooming

2012

Red Mercury poster
4.2

It's the early 90's. A new currency is in circulation in Estonia - the kroon. The former federal republic has become a world leader in non-ferrous metal exports. There is a relentless struggle around this criminal business. It brings new victims every day. Estonia ranks first in Europe in terms of the number of killings. This is just the beginning...

Red Mercury

2010

2000s · 10 titles

Autumn Ball poster
5.5

Autumn in Estonia, where six people live, six solitudes, prisoners of the monotonous architecture of Soviet-era concrete buildings, in search of human companionship, of love, of a ray of light in an ocean of gray.

Autumn Ball

2007

The Temptation of St. Tony poster
6.9

A mid-level manager who develops an aversion to being a good person questions his morality as he faces the challenges of middle age and loses control of his life.

The Temptation of St. Tony

2009

The Power of Fear poster
3.6

Ivan, a cynical journalist, is assigned to investigate mysterious events in a small town. During his first night, he is seduced by a strange and mysterious girl. As they embrace, she transforms into a hideous demon. Ivan fights the creature, managing to strangle it. But it is too late, Evil has been unleashed. When Ivan is charged for the brutal murder, he feels his last hope disappear. As he is overcome by the dark forces trying to pose as his soul, Ivan comes to realize that his only hope lies in his power to find the faith that he once lost

The Power of Fear

2006

Shop of Dreams poster
5.7

Three friends return from a vacation and discover that the TV studio they work for has gone bankrupt - so they decide to start their own costume renting business.

Shop of Dreams

2005

December Heat poster
5.5

The young country of Estonia is dancing to the jazzy tune of the 1920's when on December 1, 1924, the capital Tallinn is overrun by members of the Comintern in an attempt to stage a Communist coup. The film follows the fates of a young soldier called Tanel and his wife, a telephone operator named Anna, amidst the ensuing chaos which determines whether the country remains independent or becomes a minor province in the Communist Empire.

December Heat

2008

186 Kilometers poster
3.2

Jan Uuspõld is a talented actor who is not up to scratch due to his problems with alcohol. He makes up his mind to stop taking clownish roles and accepts a serious part in a play at Vanemuise theatre instead. His journey from Tallinn to Tartu becomes an unusual and in a way exaggerated voyage depicting the life and mentality of contemporary Estonia through various human natures, attitudes and ways of thinking.

186 Kilometers

2007

Ruudi poster
6.6

A family comedy about a 7-year-old boy, who's a devoted viking fan.

Ruudi

2006

Mat the Cat poster
4.0

Martin a boy with adjustment difficulties, moves with his mother to a new place. Martin has a habit of always getting into all kinds of trouble, and on the last day of school, everything goes wrong. Martin likes the school principal's daughter Marta, but the girl is also liked by the most popular boy in the school, Kevin, who has a fancy scooter. In his last trouble, Nitram, a charming wizard cat, comes to Martin's aid, who brings new adventures.

Mat the Cat

2005

Empty poster
5.6

A young intellectual, Mati, engineers himself into a situation where he has to spend a weekend with his wife Helina and her lover Eduard. The trio goes to Eduard's summer house, surrounded by the majestic scenery of big forests and an empty beach. Mati, either out of jealousy or pride, has decided to win back his wife and will do anything his introverted and inert mind can come up with.

Empty

2006

Uncaught Miracle poster
NR

The 6 short films of "Tabamata ime" are based on Edward Vilde's play of the same name first published in 1912. Vilde's play is about a young piano player Leo Saalep, who returns to his homeland Estonia to give a concert, and whose alleged international breakthrough has given him the long awaited role of putting Estonian culture on the map in the eyes of the local culture elite.

Uncaught Miracle

2006

1980s · 2 titles

Series credits

Behind the camera