The Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), which runs from 18th to 30th November 2011, has announced its full competition programmes. From established names to debut features, from festival hits to new discoveries, the competitions at PÖFF promise to deliver the very best in world cinema
With a focus on cinema for Europe and Asia, the International Competition EurAsia focuses offers a prize of 10'000EUR awarded to the winner of the Grand Prix alongside jury prizes for Best Director, Actor and Actress. Highlights of this year's competition include We Need To Talk About Kevin (Dir. Lynne Ramsay, UK) one of the most talked about films at the Cannes Festival containing a stunning central performance from Tilda Swinton as a mother dealing with the aftermath of her child's actions, and Rose (Rosa) (Dir. Wojciech Smarzowski, Poland), the lauded film about the harrowing treatment of Poles at the end of the Second World War. There'll also be the chance to enjoy The Artist (Dir. Michel Hazanavicks, France) the ode to silent cinema that has already charmed many audiences and Estonia's own Letters To Angel (Kirjad Inglile) (Dir. Sulev Keedus, Estonia). The film, about an Estonian soldier returning after the Afghan war to find himself fighting new battles, is Estonia's submission for Best Foreign Language Feature in the 2012 Academy Awards. Other countries represented in the competition include India, Kazakhstan, China and Iran. The jury are: Sergei Loznitsa (Director, Russia), Juanita Wilson (Director, Ireland), Peter Zeitlinger (Cinmeatographer, Austria) Indu Shrikent (Festival Director, India) and Peeter Urbla (Producer, Estonia).
Letters to Angel will also be screening in the Tridens Baltic Feature Film Competition which showcases the best cinema from Baltic Countries. With a prize of 5000EUR (sponsored by Tridens) for Best Film and 3200EUR (sponsored by Scottish Leader) for the film with best distribution potential it promises to be a hotly contested programme. Films include The Idiot (Idioot) (Dir. Rainer Sarnet, Estonia), a stylish adaptation of the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and the compelling documentary The New World (Uus Maailm) (Dir. Jaan Tootsen, Estonia) and a group of activists who attempt to change their corner of the world. There'll also be the chance to see How Are You Doing Rudolf Ming? (Teb Klajas, Rudolf Ming?) (Dir. Roberts Rubins, Latvia) a documentary about a boy obsessed with films and violence and The Book Smugglers (Dir. Jeremiah Cullinane, Ireland/Latvia) about 19th century Lithuanian book smugglers, who managed to save their language from extinction. The jury will consist of Dita Rietuma (Journalist/Lecturer, Latvia), Xavier Garcia Puerto (Festival Director, Spain) and Laufey Gudjónsdóttir (Film Consultant, Iceland).
The North American Independent Film Competition examines esoteric American films that have good potential for distribution. The programme will include Martha May Marcy Marlene (Dir. Sean Durkin, USA), which gained acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival for the strong central performance from Elizabeth Olsen (the younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) as a girl suffering from paranoia and delusions after escaping from a cult. Other films include 50/50 (Dir. Jonathan Levine, USA), a painfully honest comedy starring Joseph Inception Gordon-Levitt stars as a man diagnosed with cancer who deals with his fate with the help of his best friend played by Seth Rogan, and Win Win (Dir. Thomas McCarthy, USA), director Thomas McCarthy's follow up to acclaimed films The Station Agent and The Visitor which stars Paul Giamatti as an attorney who attempts to keep his practice afloat by acting as the legal caretaker of an elderly client. The jury will consist of Gabor Greiner (Sales Agent, Germany), Youngjoo SUH (Producer, South Korea) and Peeter Rebane (Director, Estonia)
The director of the Black Nights Film Festival Tiina Lokk said:
"As always, the Black Nights competitions represent a wide and diverse range of films and we're proud that such a broad spectrum of cinema gets the opportunity to win some wonderful awards. We're grateful to our sponsors for making the awards happen and we look forward to our juries and audience enjoying all that we have to offer."
The full programme for Black Nights will be announced on November 10th at www.poff.ee
PÖFF is part of the programme of the European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011.
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Notes for Editors
The full list of competition films are:
International Competition EurAsia
ADALBERT'S DREAM (VISUL LUI ADALBERT)
Dir. Gabriel Achim, Romania, 2011
AKKYZ
Dir. Zhanabek Zhetiru, Kazakhstan, 2011
THE ARTIST
Dir. Michel Hazanavicks, France, 2011
LATE LIFE (KETŠIKKAN HAJOT )
Dir. Ayub Shahobiddinov, Uzbekhistan, 2011
THE IDIOT (IDIOOT)
Dir. Rainer Sarnet, Estonia, 2011
DOUBLE STEPS (LOS PASOS DOBLES)
Dir. Isaki Lacuesta, Spain, 2011
ELENA
Dir. Andrei Zvjagintsev, Russia, 2011
BUSONG (PALAWAN FATE)
Dir. Auraeus Solito, The Phillipines, 2011
LETTERS TO ANGEL (KIRJAD INGLILE)
Dir. Sulev Keedus, Estonia, 2011
KOTOKO
Dir. Shinya Tsukamoto, Japan, 2011
MOURNING
Dir. Morteza Farshbaf, Iran, 2011
A SIMPLE LIFE (TAOJIE)
Dir. Ann Hui, Hong Kong/China, 2011
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Dir. Lynne Ramsay, UK, 2011
SONS OF NORWAY (SONNER AV NORGE)
Dir. Jens Lien, Norway, 2011
LAND OF OBLIVION (TERRE OUTRAGEE)
Dir. Michale Boganim, France/Germany/Poland/Ukraine, 2011
ROSE
Dir. Wojciech Smarzowski, Poland, 2011
VOLCANO (ELDFJALL)
Dir. Runar Runarsson, Iceland, 2011
Tridens Baltic Feature Film Competition
BARZAKH
Dir. Mantas Kvedaravicius, Finland/Lithuania
CUBATON (EL MEDICA- THE CUBATON STORY)
Dir. Daniel Fridell, Sweden/Finland/Estonia, 2011
A MONUMENT TO PLEASE EVERYONE (ET MEELDIKS KÕIGILE)
Dir. Kristina Norman, Estonia, 2011
THE IDIOT (IDIOOT)
Dir. Rainer Sarnet, Estonia, 2011
33 ANIMALS OF SANTA CLAUS (33 ZVERI ZIEMASSVETKU VECTITIM)
Dir. Laila Pakalnina, Latvia, 2011
THE KAPLINSKY SYSTEM (KAPLINSKI SÜSTEEM)
Dir. Raphael Gianelli-Meriano, Estonia, 2011
LETTERS TO ANGEL (KIRJAD INGLILE)
Dir. Sulev Keedus, Estonia, 2011
HOW ARE YOU DOING, RUDOLF MING? (TEV KLAJAS, RUDOLF MING?)
Dir. Roberts Rubins, Latvia, 2010
THE BOOK SMUGGLERS (KNYGNESIAI)
Dir. Jeremiah Cullinane, Ireland/Lithuania, 2011
RAMIN
Dir. Audrius Stonys, Latvia/Georgia, 2011
TADAS BLINDA. THE LEGEND (TADAS BLINDA. PRADZIA)
Dir. Donatas Ulvydas, Lithuania, 2011
THE NEW WORLD (UUS MAAILM)
Dir. Jaan Tootsen, Estonia, 2011
North American Independent Film Competition
50/50
Dir. Jonathan Levine, USA , 2011
388 ARLETTA AVE
Dir. Randall Cole, Canada, 2011
BELLFLOWER
Dir. Evan Glodell, USA, 2011
THE LAST RITES OF JOE MAY
Dir. Joe Maggio, USA, 2011
WIN WIN
Dir. Thomas McCarthy, USA, 2011
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
Dir. Sean Durkin, USA, 2011
STARBUCK
Dir. Ken Scott, Canada, 2011
DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL
Dirs. Kris Elgstrand & Dylan Akko Smith, Canada, 2011
ANOTHER EARTH
Dir. Mike Cahill, USA, 2011
MOTH DIARIES
Dir. Mary Harron, Canada/Ireland, 2011
For further information contact the International Press Officer Laurence Boyce at laurence.boyce@poff .ee
The Black Nights Film Festival has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/
For more information about Tallinn - 2011 European Capital of Culture go to http://www.tallinn2011.ee/eng
