The Singing Revolution

Through much of the 20th century, the Baltic nation of Estonia suffered harsh occupations by the Nazis, and the Soviets (twice). But the Laulupidu Festival, where thousands of citizens would take the stage to sing folk songs, emerged as a symbol of national pride and resistance to Moscow. A man interviewed for this upbeat little doc acknowledges it all sounds a bit "silly" and "naive"—judgments perhaps reinforced by "We Are the World"–style footage of festivalgoers swaying arm in arm. But given the bloodshed in Iraq and elsewhere, who can begrudge a people who fought for their freedom with a sing-along?