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BLACK NIGHTS 2025 Competition

Tallinn Black Nights reveals the competition titles and juries

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- The main competition of the 29th edition of the festival features 16 world and one international premiere, while Macedonian filmmaker Teona Strugar Mitevska chairs the jury

Tallinn Black Nights reveals the competition titles and juries
18 Holes to Paradise by João Nuno Pinto

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has unveiled the identities of the competition titles for its 29th edition, which will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, from 7-23 November. Sixteen world premieres and one international premiere will be on the cards, with the films competing for multiple awards – the top prize being a €20,000 grant from the city of Tallinn. The titles were selected from among 1,900 submissions sent in from all over the world.

Festival director and head curator Tiina Lokk described this year’s selection as a reflection of the world’s anxieties and resilience. “It is difficult to pinpoint a single common thread this year, but once again, the selection holds up a mirror to our world,” she said. “Everything that worries and pains us is there – wars, the environmental crisis, political arrogance, migration, women’s rights and, above all, the fragile ties of family life.”

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Lokk also noted that the only country with two titles in the main competition is Spain, with Júlia de Paz SolvasThe Good Daughter and Anxos FazànsThe Dashed Lines. Curiously, both films are divorce dramas. The selection of two Spanish movies reflects this year’s trend of the rise in submissions from Spanish-speaking regions, especially from South America, and is also in sync with this year’s focus on Catalonian cinema.

Regarding the European titles in the competition, 18 Holes to Paradise by João Nuno Pinto (Mosquito [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Nunes Monteiro
film profile
]
) tells a story of family dynamics and gentrification on the Portuguese coast. Hungarian Wedding by Csaba Káel is a period adventure featuring lashings of music. Ali Vatansever’s (Saf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ali Vatansever
film profile
]
) LifeLike is described as a mix of VR chat, 3D avatars, Instagram stories and raw drama. No Comment by Petter Næss (Nothing to Laugh About, State of Happiness) is a political comedy-drama centred on media scrutiny. Thomas Stuber’s (Dark Satellites [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, In the Aisles [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Franz Rogowski
interview: Thomas Stuber
film profile
]
) The Frog and the Water is a road movie where “two human souls find each other”. In The Moon Is a Father of Mine by George Ovashvili (Khibula [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: George Ovashvili
film profile
]
, Corn Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: George Ovashvili
film profile
]
), a father and son test the boundaries of love, loyalty and trust on the eve of a pivotal event. Abu Bakar Shawky’s The Stories takes us to Nasser’s reign in Egypt from 1967-1984. Finally, Think of England by Richard Hawkins re-tells the real-life story of six people being tasked to make pornographic films in order to boost the British troops’ morale during World War II (see the news).

The Black Nights Film Festival has also revealed the make-up of the jury that will be judging the competition titles. It will be presided over by Macedonian filmmaker Teona Strugar Mitevska, whose films such as God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Labina Mitevska
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile
]
(2019), The Happiest Man in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile
]
(2022) and this year’s Mother [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile
]
premiered at the Berlinale and at Venice. The rest of the jury consists of German producer Ingo Fliess, US costume designer Debra McGuire, US cinematographer Roberto Schaefer, and Mongolian screenwriter and producer Nomuunzul Turmunkh.

Here is the complete list of Tallinn Black Nights competition titles:

The StoriesAbu Bakr Shawky (Austria/France/Belgium/Egypt/Sweden)
VersallesAndrés Clariond (Mexico)
The Good DaughterJúlia de Paz Solvas (Spain)
MiraNour Eddine Lakhmari (Morocco)
The Dashed LinesAnxos Fazáns (Spain)
Think of EnglandRichard Hawkins (UK)
The MuralistSengedorj Janchivdorj (Mongolia)
Hungarian WeddingCsaba Káel (Hungary)
The Imaginary Dog and the Lying CatYukihiro Morigaki (Japan)
No CommentPetter Næss (Norway)
DualityAbbas Nezamdoost (Iran)
18 Holes to ParadiseJoão Nuno Pinto (Portugal/Italy/Argentina)
The Moon Is a Father of MineGeorge Ovashvili (Luxembourg/Turkey/Georgia/Germany/Czech Republic/Bulgaria)
SisaJun Robles Lana (Philippines)
VeinsRaymond St-Jean (Canada)
The Frog and the WaterThomas Stuber (Germany)
LifeLikeAli Vatansever (Turkey/Greece/Romania)

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