The first four films to play and compete in the official competition at this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, known locally as PÖFF, have been revealed.
The four features are Italian-Israeli co-production Reading Lolita in Tehran by Eran Riklis, and Italian production The Boy with Pink Pants by Margherita Ferri – followed by Finnish-Italian coproduction 100 Liters of Gold, directed by Teemu Nikki. For the first time in 4 years, the Official Selection Competition includes an Estonian feature –Shadow, directed by Jaak Kilmi.
Tiina Lokk, the founder and director of the festival, commented the selection process: “As with many film festivals around the world, we faced challenges putting together this year’s programme. The impact of the pandemic is clear to see, as it led to a period of a pause in film production. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since films have been overproduced for years. We’ve put together an outstanding programme of bold and daring auteur films, despite the impact of the pandemic.”
This is a festival we’ve been proud to attend multiple times over the past number of years and look forward to heading back to Estonia in November. We attended last year and covered the opening few days for the very first time (read all about our time at the 27th festival here).
More news on PÖFF 2024 as we approach the festival dates which takes place from the 8th until the 24th of November.
We have more info on these first-announced films below.
Reading Lolita in Tehran | International premiere
Eran Riklis’ (The Syrian Bride, 2004; Lemon tree, 2008) newest drama is set to a post-revolution Iran and tells a story about a teacher who secretly gathers six of her most committed female students to read forbidden western classics. Unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, they soon removed their veils, their stories intertwining with the novels they read: just like the heroines of Nabokov, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James or Jane Austen, the women in Nafisi’s living room dare to dream, hope and love as we experience the complexity of the lives of individuals facing political, moral and personal siege. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a remarkable exploration of women’s resilience in revolutionary Iran.The film is based on a best-selling autobiographical book by Iranian-American author Azar Nafisi.
The Boy With Pink Pants | International premiere
Andrea Spezzacatena had just turned 15 when he decided to take his own life. The sunny boy had excellent grades in school and a good relationship with his parents. His act was therefore totally unexpected and remained without explanation until his mother, after his death, went into his Facebook profile and reconstructed the hell her son was going through between cyberbullying and bullying at school. The film, narrated by Andrea’s voice from beyond, tells us how the boy came to think he had no other way out, and is a powerful warning about the danger of those words and gestures that, on the surface, may seem harmless to us. The director, Margherita Ferri, focuses on coming-of-age/rite-of-passage stories about diverse characters in search of their identity and their place in the world. She also works as a director for Netflix and Amazon Italy.
100 Liters Of Gold | International premiere
Two middle-aged sisters, Taina and Pirkko, are famous sahti-makers from Sysmä, Finland. Sahti is a strong beer made today the same way as 500 years ago. The third sister, Päivi, is getting married, and she asks her sisters if they can make 100 liters of sahti for the wedding. Unfortunately, it’s too good not to drink it. The sisters wake up in a horrible hungover and realize they have drunk it all. They have 24 hours to find 100 liters of good sahti, or they will lose all the respect. Teemu Nikki’s first feature film, Euthanizer (2017) was selected as Finland’s official Oscar entry for the 2019 Academy Awards. His third feature film, The Blind Man That Didn’t Want To See Titanic (2021) was selected for Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti Extra section. His previous film Death is a Problem For The Living screened at The Official Selection – Out Of Competition at PÖFF 2023.
Shadow | International premiere
Tartu, Estonia, 1894, lunatic asylum. Juhan Liiv (Pääru Oja), the legendary future Estonian poet, suffers from schizophrenia and mania. His homeland, which he wants to sing about, is suffering in the clutches of the reactionary Russian Empire. The Estonians’ aspirations for freedom were crushed. The poet flees and goes to his parents’ home in Alatskivi to recuperate, only to find himself at the centre of a strange murder mystery.
Director Jaak Kilmi brings Juhan Liiv’s unusual character to the screen for the first time, showing him from an unexpected angle. Kilmi’s extensive filmography includes the award-winning documentary Disco and Atomic War (2009) and the youth and children’s festival hit The Sleeping Beast (2022).
