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 Solvas’ The Good Daughter and Anxos Fazáns’ The 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, Thomas Stuber’s (whose 2018 title In the Aisles [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Franz Rogowski
intervista: Thomas Stuber
scheda film] was selected in competition at the Berlinale) 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 (winner of the 2014 Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe with Corn Island [+leggi anche:
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intervista: George Ovashvili
scheda film]), 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 (whose debut feature Yomeddine [+leggi anche:
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intervista: A.B. Shawky, Dina Emam
scheda film] was selected in competition at Cannes in 2018) takes us to Nasser’s reign in Egypt from 1967-1984. 18 Holes to Paradise by João Nuno Pinto (Mosquito [+leggi anche:
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intervista: João Nunes Monteiro
scheda film], selected in IFFR's Big Screen Competition in 2020) 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ali Vatansever
scheda film]) 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. 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Labina Mitevska
intervista: Teona Strugar Mitevska
scheda film] (2019), The Happiest Man in the World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Teona Strugar Mitevska
scheda film] (2022) and this year’s Mother [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Teona Strugar Mitevska
scheda film] 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 Stories – Abu Bakr Shawky (Austria/France/Belgium/Egypt/Sweden)
Versalles – Andrés Clariond (Mexico)
The Good Daughter – Júlia de Paz Solvas (Spain)
Mira – Nour Eddine Lakhmari (Morocco)
The Dashed Lines – Anxos Fazáns (Spain)
Think of England – Richard Hawkins (UK)
The Muralist – Sengedorj Janchivdorj (Mongolia)
Hungarian Wedding – Csaba Káel (Hungary)
The Imaginary Dog and the Lying Cat – Yukihiro Morigaki (Japan)
No Comment – Petter Næss (Norway)
Duality – Abbas Nezamdoost (Iran)
18 Holes to Paradise – João Nuno Pinto (Portugal/Italy/Argentina)
The Moon Is a Father of Mine – George Ovashvili (Luxembourg/Turkey/Georgia/Germany/Czech Republic/Bulgaria)
Sisa – Jun Robles Lana (Philippines)
Veins – Raymond St-Jean (Canada)
The Frog and the Water – Thomas Stuber (Germany)
LifeLike – Ali Vatansever (Turkey/Greece/Romania)