The 28th Black Nights Movie Pageant, often known as PÖFF, wrapped Nov. 22 with an awards ceremony in Tallinn the place filmmakers took centre stage to ask for the top of battle within the Center East, solidarity with Georgia beneath Russian affect and the defence of tradition.
Oscar-nominated British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi – whose debut characteristic “The Trainer” scooped the Dennis Davidson Highlight Award to enhance range, inclusion and illustration in cinema – was the primary to take a political stand.
“‘The Trainer’ is a movie that we shot in militarily occupied and colonized Palestine, within the West Financial institution a little bit over two years in the past. By no means may I’ve imagined that the movie would arrive at such a vital juncture within the discourse on Palestine as Israel continues to conduct genocide, the crime of all crimes in Palestine, in Gaza, as we communicate. I actually consider cinema has the ability to lift the worldwide social consciousness and that that is an award that understands that,” she stated.
Portugal-based Japanese filmmaker Takashi Sugimoto whose documentary “Black Gold” received the Jury Prize from the Doc@PÖFF Competitors, adopted swimsuit on stage, saying “I really feel for Gaza-this [issue] resonates in me and I hope we’ll discover a option to meet and talk about.”
Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman, named finest director from the primary competitors jury for his drama “Pink Girl,” addressed the battle within the Center East with a transparent message. “A very powerful for us proper now could be for the 101 hostages to be introduced again residence and for the battle to cease,” he urged.
In the meantime the grand-old dame of Georgian cinema Lana Gogoberidze, recipient of the 2024 PÖFF Lifetime Achievement, voiced her concern for her nation beneath Russian affect. “My nation has been struggling for independence for hundreds of years and we did obtain this. However now we’re at risk once more. We actually want pals and we take into account Estonia as our good friend,” she stated, standing on stage subsequent to pageant director Tiina Lokk. “I don’t assume human beings have invented something higher than the phrase solidarity as a option to specific compassion to these in issue. Salvation comes with solidarity”, she claimed.
PÖFF itself, whose tagline reads “Standing with Ukraine,” kicked off beneath disagreeable political strain from the State Movie Company of Ukraine which referred to as on the pageant to take away from its program the characteristic “Deaf Lovers” by Russian-born filmmaker in exile Boris Guts, even earlier than its world premiere in the primary competitors, Nov. 17.
Silent Metropolis Driver
Courtesy of POFF
Shot in Istanbul, the Estonian-Serbian pic, which depicts a heated relationship between a Ukrainian lady and a Russian man, was criticized for “blurring the boundaries of understanding the fact of Ukrainians.” PÖFF ultimately excluded it from the “Standing with Ukraine” program however saved it in its official choice competitors.
Going again to the “Deaf Lovers” controversy, Lokk who based the A-listed pageant in 1997, informed Selection her power the primary week of the pageant was partly highjacked from the joyful pageant occasions to deal with aggressive on-line assaults.
“I’ve skilled previously ‘cordial’ strain from completely different organisations, authorities representatives, however nothing of that scale,” she stated. “As we speak, it’s all behind us; we’re all pals once more, and the screening and interviews with the director clearly proved his anti-war stance. Going ahead, we’ll in fact, proceed to advertise unbiased voices and preserve the door open to all filmmakers whose movies symbolize democratic values.”
Movie in all its energy of reflection upon the world we stay was celebrated all through the total length of the pageant, over Nov. 8-24. In her closing speech Lokk proudly stated: “We’ve had a unbelievable run over these 16 days, with greater than 250 movies, 350 brief movies from 81 international locations, worldwide friends from 60 international locations, greater than 800 screenings and audience-breaking numbers [above last year’s 88,400 admissions, notable for a city of 457,000, although at press time the figures weren’t yet available].
PÖFF Winners
PÖFF’s Grand Prix for finest movie was handed out to the Mongolian movie “Silent Metropolis Driver,” written and directed by Sengedorj Janchivdorj whose earlier pic “The Gross sales Lady” scooped the Viewers Award at PÖFF’s summer season open-air pageant Tartuffe 2023.
The movie follows “an enigmatic hearse driver as he navigates the solitude and injustice that hang-out his tormented life,” reads the logline. “This darkish fairy story from Mongolia took us without warning,” stated the jury, headed by German filmmaker Christoph Hochhäusler (“Until the Finish of the Evening,” “I Am Responsible”).
From the very first shot on, we felt the feeling of a movie breaking new floor. “Silent Metropolis Driver” is a really trendy movie, however type right here is substance, the formal decisions usually are not used to divert however to deepen this very cinematic universe, populated by distinctive bigger than life characters which nonetheless stay very human.” The characteristic was additionally honored for its manufacturing design.
From the identical competitors strand, seasoned Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman (“Damaged Wings,” “BeTipul”), received finest director for “Pink Girl,” a queer drama set in ultra-Orthodox circles in Jerusalem. MK2 handles international gross sales.
Empire Of The Rabbits
Within the appearing classes, Pirjo Lonka and Elina Knihtilä shared one of the best actress award for his or her portrayal of two very completely different sisters within the Finnish comedy “100 Litres of Gold,” by Teemy Nikki (“The Blind Man Who Did Not Need to See Titanic”); finest actor honors went to Lee Hyo-Ye for Korean thriller “The Loop.”
The Turkish drama “Empire of the Rabbit,” by Seyfettin Tokmak, described as ‘haunting, meditative, heart-breaking and poignant” by the jury, scooped each finest script and cinematography.
Within the first characteristic aggressive part, German drama “No Canine Allowed” by scholar Oscar-nominated Steve Bache was voted finest movie by the jury headed by advertising and marketing trade veteran John Durie who acknowledged: “Mr Bache has made a film for at this time – and tomorrow – coping with one of the taboo topics in society: Paedophilia through on-line grooming, however it’s made with absolute sensitivity and vulnerability because of the superb forged and specifically the 2 lead characters.”
Within the Baltic Movie competitors, Lithuania underscored its dominant place within the fiction house amongst Baltic nations scoring a clear sweep with movie and directing awards handed out respectively to “The Southern Chronicles” by Ignas Miškinis, and “Drowning Dry” by Laurynas Bareiša. Described by Selection’s Alissa Simon as “an exploration of trauma, which Bareiša investigates in unconventional ways in which defy and subvert dramatic conventions,” Lithuania’s Oscar rep “Drowning Dry” was not too long ago picked for U.S. distribution by Dekanolog through a take care of gross sales outfit Alpha Violet.
Different finest movie winners have been the French-Belgian “The Watchman,” which screened within the inaugural Doc@PÖFF Competitors; the German satirical thriller “The Protected Males,” a part of the Rebels with a Trigger program, and the Japanese father-son comedy “The Brothers Kitaura,”screened within the Critics’ Picks strand.
A number of plaudit winners included Canada’s “Mongrels” by debut helmer Jerome Yoo, which took residence the Fipresci Award and the Particular Prize for the forged from the First Movie Competitors, and Denmark’s “Kontra” by Jonas Risvig, honored within the youngsters and youth part with the Simply Movie Grand Prix and Simply Movie Youth Jury finest movie prize.
No Canine Allowed
Courtesy of Schiwago Movie
On the closing ceremony Lokk additionally introduced that Catalonia will likely be within the Black Nights Focus for 2025, following on Germany this yr.
Official Choice Competitors
Finest Movie, “Silent Metropolis Driver”, Sengedorj Janchivdorj (Mongolia)
Finest Director, “Pink Girl,” Nir Bergman (Israel/Italy)
Finest Cinematography, “Empire of the Rabbits,” Seyfettin Tokmak (Turkey, Croatia, Mexico, Lebanon)
Finest Script, “Empire of the Rabbits,” Seyfettin Tokmak (Turkey, Croatia, Mexico, Lebanon)
Finest Actress, ex æquo Pirjo Lonka and Elina Knihtilä for “100 Litres of Gold” (Finland, Italy)
Finest Actor, Hyo Je Lee for “The Loop” (South Korea)
Finest Authentic Rating, Alyana Cabral, Moe Cabral for “Some Nights I Really feel Like Strolling” (Philippines, Singapore, Italy)
Finest Manufacturing Design, Munkhbat Shirnenfor “Silent Metropolis Driver” (Mongolia)
First Characteristic Competitors
Finest Movie Award, “No Canine Allowed,”Steve Bache (Germany)
Finest Director: “A Yard of Jackals,” Diego Figueroa (Chile, Spain)
Jury Particular Prize for the forged: Sein Jin, Jae-Hyun Kim, Da-Nu Nam, Candyce Weir, Jedd Sharp, Morgan Derera, Sangbum Kang for “Mongrels” (Canada)
Jury Particular Prize for the Director: “Ciao Bambino,” Edgardo Pistone (Italy)
Baltic Movie Competitors
Finest Baltic Movie Award, “Southern Chronicles,”Ignas Miškinis(Lithuania, Estonia)
Finest Director, “Drowning Dry,” Laurynas Bareiša(Latvia, Lithuania)
Critics’ Picks Competitors
Finest Movie Award, “Brothers Kitaura,”Masaki Tsujino (Japan)
Finest Director, “I, The Track,” Dechen Roder(Bhutan, Norway, Italy, France)
Jury Particular Point out, “Fishgirl,” 2024, Javier Cutrona (Ecuador)
Rebels with a Trigger Competitors
Finest Movie Award, “Protected Males,” Irene von Alberti(Germany);
Finest Director, “Contact Lens,” Ruiqi Lu(China)
Doc@PÖFF Competitors
Finest Movie Award, “The Watchman,” Victoire Bonin, Lou de Pontavice (France, Belgium)
Finest Cinematographer, Linas Žiūra for “Murmuring Hearts” (Lithuania, France)
Jury Particular Prize, “Black Gold,” Takashi Sugimoto(Portugal)
Worldwide Federation of Movie Critics (Fipresci)
“Mongrels”, Jerome Yoo (Canada)
Viewers Award
“Pyre,” Vinod Kapri (India)
Youth Movie and Kids Movie Pageant Simply Movie Awards
Simply Movie #Younger Filmmaker Award
“40 Days For Inge,” Betra Käsper (Estonia)
Simply Movie Toddler’s Simply Finest Movie Award,
“Niko – Past the Northern Gentle”, Kari Juusonen (Finland, Germany, Eire, Denmark)
Simply Movie Kids’s Finest Movie Award
“I By chance Wrote a E book!”, Nóra Lakos (Hungary, Holland)
Simply Movie Youth Finest Movie Award
“Kontra,” Jonas Risvig (Denmark)
Jury Particular Point out
“Rolling Papers”, Meel Paliale (Estonia)
Simply Movie EFCA Award
“Dwelling Giant,” Kristina Dufková (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia)
Simply Movie Grand Prix
“Kontra”