It’s a wrap for the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, which unspooled from 3-19 November. This year’s award winners were announced at the closing gala, held at the Estonian capital’s Alexela Concert Hall on Saturday night.

Ten years on from Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty [+lire aussi :
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interview : Paolo Sorrentino
fiche film], Italy snagged the Grand Prix once again with Emma Dante’s Misericordia [+lire aussi :
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interview : Emma Dante
fiche film], the film adaptation of Dante’s 2020 stage play. The story follows three prostitutes who live in a wasteland where a village of outcasts has emerged. There, the only ray of light in their lives is Arturo, whom they care for together. The actor portraying Arturo, Simone Zambelli, scooped the Award for Best Actor. The jury described Misericordia as “a powerful film about how to stay supportive and, above all, exhibit humanity in a marginalised environment”.

Meanwhile, the Best Director Award was handed to Manuel Martín Cuenca for Andrea's Love [+lire aussi :
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interview : Manuel Martín Cuenca
fiche film] (Spain). The jury praised “his ability to direct a human story told with heart, flair, and respect for its characters and their circumstances". Andrea's Love also scooped the Best Script Award, which was bestowed upon Cuenca and co-writer Lola Mayo.

Next, both Lubna Azabal and Kim Higelin won the Award for Best Actress. Azabal was praised for “her powerful and stunning portrayal of an idealistic teacher struggling with preconceived ideas” in Jawad Rhalib’s Amal [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jawad Rhalib
fiche film] (Belgium), while Higelin received hers thanks to “her moving, multi-layered performance as a teenager, whose painful coming of age is caught up in a toxic relationship” in Vanessa Filho’s Consent [+lire aussi :
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In the First Feature Competition, the top prize went to Loren Taylor’s The Moon Is Upside Down (New Zealand), crowned Best Film. The jurors labelled it “a bittersweet, multi-layered combination of three stories intertwined in a perfect way, about people who try to find their place in the world”.

Finally, the two Lifetime Achievement Awards were granted to Estonian composer Rein Rannap and British helmer Mike Newell, whilst the two Dennis Davidson’s Spotlight Awards went to Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Suzy Bemba
Q&A : Yorgos Lanthimos
fiche film] (USA/UK/Ireland) and Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (USA/UK/Poland).

Here is the full list of this year’s award winners:

Competition

Grand Prix for Best Film
Misericordia [+lire aussi :
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interview : Emma Dante
fiche film] - Emma Dante (Italy)

Best Director
Manuel Martín Cuenca - Andrea's Love [+lire aussi :
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interview : Manuel Martín Cuenca
fiche film] (Spain)

Best Cinematography
Goert Giltay - Natasha's Dance [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (Netherlands)

Best Script
Manuel Martín Cuenca, Lola Mayo - Andrea's Love 

Best Actor
Simone Zambelli - Misericordia

Best Actress (ex aequo)
Lubna Azabal - Amal [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jawad Rhalib
fiche film] (Belgium)
Kim Higelin - Consent [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] (France/Belgium)

Best Original Score
David Van Keer, Birger Embrechts - The Magnet Man [+lire aussi :
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interview : Gust Van den Berghe
fiche film] (Belgium/Luxembourg/France/Netherlands)

Best Production Design
Rezo Gigineishvili - Patient #1 [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (Georgia)

First Feature Competition

Best Film Award
The Moon Is Upside Down - Loren Taylor (New Zealand)

Special Jury Prizes
Mo Mamma [+lire aussi :
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interview : Eeva Mägi
fiche film] - Eeva Mägi (Estonia)
Tentigo - Ilango Ram (Sri Lanka/India)

Rebels with a Cause Competition

Best Film
Five and a Half Love Stories in an Apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania [+lire aussi :
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interview : Tomas Vengris
fiche film] - Tomas Vengris (Lithuania/Latvia/Ireland)

Best Director
Agustín Toscano - I Trust You (Argentina)

Best Short
Element - Will Niava (Ivory Coast) 

Critics’ Picks Competition

Best Film
The Land Where Winds Stood Still - Ardak Amirkulov (Kazakhstan)

Best Director
Guel Arraes - Great Sertão (Brazil)
Special Mention
Maya Kenig - The Milky Way [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]  (Israel/France)

Baltic Film Competition

Best Baltic Film
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood [+lire aussi :
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interview : Anna Hints
fiche film] - Anna Hints (Estonia/France/Iceland)

Best Baltic Producer for Co-production
Slow [+lire aussi :
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interview : Marija Kavtaradze
fiche film] - Marija Kavtaradze (Lithuania/Spain/Sweden)

Audience Award
Once Again (for the very first time) - Boaz Yakin (USA)

FIPRESCI Award
Falling Into Place [+lire aussi :
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interview : Aylin Tezel et Yvonne Wellie
fiche film] - Aylin Tezel (Germany)

NETPAC Award
Inpaintings - Ozan Yoleri (Turkey)

Lifetime Achievement Awards
Rein Rannap (Estonia)
Mike Newell (UK)

Dennis Davidson’s Spotlight Awards 
Yorgos Lanthimos - Poor Things [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Suzy Bemba
Q&A : Yorgos Lanthimos
fiche film] (USA/UK/Ireland)
Jonathan Glazer - The Zone of Interest [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] (USA/UK/Poland)