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Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival · 2018

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2018

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Programme

29 films · 10 reviews

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Ala Changso (Ala Jiangse)

Sonthar Gyal’s newest film traces a broken family’s pilgrimage to the Holy City of Lhasa.

(Country: China; Year: 2018; Director: Sonthar Gyal; Writer: Tashi Dawa, Sonthar Gyal; Stars: Yungdrung Gyal, Nyima Sungsung, Sechok Gyal, Jinpa, Guru Tsedan, Wenqing Zhang, Yungdrung Gyal, Nyima Sungsung, Sechok Gyal, Jinpa, Guru Tsedan, Wenqing Zhang)

European premiere

All The Gods In The Sky (Tous Les Dieux Du Ciel)

A factory worker whose sister was disfigured in childhood looks to otherworldly forces to liberate them both.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Quarxx; Writer: Quarxx; Stars: Jean-Luc Couchard, Melanie Gaydos, Thierry Frémont, Laurent Borel, Jean-Luc Couchard, Melanie Gaydos, Thierry Frémont, Laurent Borel)

Bhonsle

A veteran policeman finds his superior attitude changing towards his lower class neighbours.

(Country: India; Year: 2018; Director: Devashish Makhija; Writer: Devashish Makhija, Sharanya Rajgopal, Mirat Trivedi; Stars: Aditya Agnihotri, Aditya Agnihotri, Manoj Bajpayee, Abhishek Banerjee, Krishna Bansal, Shardul Bharadwaj, Gauravansh, Chittaranjan Giri, Geeta Guha, Sagar Gujar, Mohd Iqbal, Rajendra Jadhav, Sunil Jadhav, Suhasini Jaishankar, Jairoop Jeevan)

European premiere

Blind Spot (Blindsone)

Review preview for Blind Spot

The veneer of technical excellence never quite takes your mind off the lack of substance beneath.

Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
Real time drama about what happens when tragedy strikes a family.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2018; Director: Tuva Novotny; Writer: Tuva Novotny; Stars: Pia Tjelta, Oddgeir Thune, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Per Frisch, Carl Munck, Nora Mathea Øien, Marianne Krogh, Ellen Heyerdahl, Hilde Linseth Stømer, Teodor Barsnes-Simonsen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Pia Tjelta, Oddgeir Thune, Per Frisch, Carl Munck)

Full review

The Bra

Review preview for The Bra

Far from being lascivious, Nurlan is wistful, and Manojlovi, who has the look of a sort of hangdog Walter Mathau, favours expressions of surprise, puzzlement and resignation over anything so low-brow as lust.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
After the train of a retiring driver snags a blue bra, he embarks on a quest to return the under garment.

(Country: Germany, Azerbaijan; Year: 2018; Director: Veit Helmer; Writer: Veit Helmer; Stars: Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Denis Lavant, Paz Vega, Chulpan Khamatova, Maia Morgenstern, Irmena Chichikova, Boryana Manoilova, Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Denis Lavant, Paz Vega, Chulpan Khamatova, Maia Morgenstern, Irmena Chichikova, Boryana Manoilova)

Full review

Broken Island (La isla rota)

Guy, a Haitian boy escaping from poverty, eyewitnesses the assassination of his parents while crossing the Dominican border. Years later, he confronts the murderers.

(Country: Dominican Republic; Year: 2018; Director: Félix Germán; Writer: Félix Germán; Stars: Manny Perez, Algenis Perez Soto, Frank Perozo, Jean Jean, Dalisa Alegria, Alain Ortiz, Félix Germán, Micky Montilla, Luis Cruciel, Eugenia Azpurua, Dominique Telemaque, Gregory del Valle, Marie Michelle Bazile, Merionne Toussaint, Conrado Ortiz)

World premiere

Chained For Life

Review preview for Chained For Life

Chained For Life finds a rich vein of comedy in the awfulness of many people's reactions to disability.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A starlet finds herself in unfamiliar territory when she appears in a film about disfigurement that features real disabled people.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Aaron Schimberg; Writer: Aaron Schimberg; Stars: Jess Weixler, Adam Pearson, Stephen Plunkett, Charlie Korsmo, Sari Lennick)

Full review

Cutterhead

Rie is a PR-coordinator visiting a tunnel boring machine to portray the well-oiled European cooperation in the Metro construction when an accident suddenly occurs. Unable to escape, she takes refuge in an airlock with Croatian miner Ivo and Bharan, a worker from Eritrea. They must band together to survive.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Rasmus Kloster Bro; Writer: Rasmus Kloster Bro, Mikkel Bak Sørensen; Stars: Rasmus Hammerich, Adrian Heili, Lilli Fernanda Kondrup, Kresimir Mikic, Samson Semere, Salvatore Striano, Christine Sønderris, Anders Nylander Thomsen, Rasmus Hammerich, Adrian Heili, Lilli Fernanda Kondrup, Kresimir Mikic, Samson Semere, Salvatore Striano, Christine Sønderris)

Deep Rivers (Glyubokie Reki)

Review preview for Deep Rivers

Bitokov develops the shifting, brooding relationships of the men well but other elements of the story are given short shrift.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A stark landscape, unforgiving surroundings, gruelling work, and intense conflicts within the family circle – a vicious circle, the burden of which is only accentuated by the return of the youngest brother, who is to take the place of his sick father in this family of lumberjacks.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2018; Director: Vladimir Bitokov; Writer: Vladimir Bitokov; Stars: Oleg Guseynov, Muhamed Sabiev, Tahir Teppeev, Rustam Muratov)

Full review See: Tallinn Film Festival: Day Two - Lorik, Erased, Deep Rivers and The World Is Yours

Diamantino (Tristes Monroes)

Review preview for Diamantino

The film carries a message about the importance of tolerance, love and a healthy dose of silliness in the face of the darker elements of modern life.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Diamantino was once the greatest football player in Portugal. Now, in the middle of the worst crisis of his life, he decides to fill his void by adopting a refugee boy.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2017; Director: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt; Writer: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt; Stars: Joana Barrios, Abílio Bejinha, Chico Chapas)

Full review

Firecrackers

Lou and her best friend Chantal plan to get out of their isolated, run-down town but when they embark on an act of revenge, the consequences are devastating.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2018; Director: Jasmin Mozaffari; Writer: Jasmin Mozaffari; Stars: Michaela Kurimsky, Karena Evans, Callum Thompson, David Kingston, Tamara LeClair, Scott Cleland, Dylan Mask, Gabe Meacher, Robert Cormier, Tarick Glancy, Karleena Kelly, Devon Mary Doherty, Jorja Cadence, David Parisian, Matthew MacCallum)

Fortitude (Sabot)

A father diagnosed with cancer finds himself on a race against time to reconnect with his estranged son.

(Country: Uzbekistan; Year: 2018; Director: Rashid Malikov; Stars: Karim Mirkhadiev, Karim Mirkhadiev)

The Great Darkened Days (La grande noirceur)

While a world war rages, Philippe, a draft-dodger from Quebec, takes refuge in the American West, surviving by competing in Charlie Chaplin impersonation contests.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2018; Director: Maxime Giroux; Writer: Simon Beaulieu, Maxime Giroux, Alexandre Laferrière; Stars: Martin Dubreuil, Mike Calchera, Buddy Duress, Romain Duris, Cody Fern, Sarah Gadon, Reda Kateb, Walter T. Radabagh, Lise Roy, Eden Sela, Soko, Luzer Twersky, Clinton Van Arnam, Martin Dubreuil, Mike Calchera)

European premiere

Hamid

A boy whose father has gone missing finds himself lonely and neglected until he makes an unlikely phone call...

(Country: India; Year: 2018; Director: Aijaz Khan; Writer: Ravinder Radhva; Stars: Talha Arshad Reshi, Vikas Kumar, Rasika Dugal, Sumit Kaul, Bashir Lone, Gurveer Singh, Ashraf Nagoo, Mir Sarwar, Qazi Faiz, Umar Adil, Gunjan Sinha, Talha Arshad Reshi, Vikas Kumar, Rasika Dugal, Sumit Kaul)

I Think We're Alone Now

Review preview for I Think We're Alone Now

This odd couple film could easily have been mere farce, but the two leads, both on top form, imbue it with a warmth and pathos that breaks through in unexpected places.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
The apocalypse proves a blessing in disguise for one lucky recluse – until a second survivor arrives with the threat of companionship.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Reed Morano; Writer: Mike Makowsky; Stars: Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning)

Full review

Jinpa

(Country: China; Year: 2018; Director: Pema Tseden; Writer: Pema Tseden; Stars: Jinpa, Genden Phuntsok, Sonam Wangmo, Jinpa, Genden Phuntsok, Sonam Wangmo)

Lajko: Gypsy In Space (Lajko: Cigány az ürben)

A black comedy that allows us to learn that the first living being in space was not actually a dog called Lajka, but a Hungarian crop-sprayer by the name of Lajko.

(Country: Hungary, Russia; Year: 2018; Director: Balázs Lengyel; Writer: Balázs Lengyel, Balázs Lovas; Stars: Tamás Keresztes, József Gyabronka, Tibor Pálffy, Zétény Varga, Athina Papadimitriu, Nóra Trokán, Sergej Onopko, Anna Trokán, Gábor Máté, Andor Lukáts, Csaba Gosztonyi, Zoltán Rajkai, Ági Szirtes, Zsolt Trill, Tsogtsaikan Narantsogt A comma-separated list of actors)

Light As Feathers

15-year-old Eryk lives with his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother in a small village in Poland. Eryk is in love with this 13-year-old neighbour, but doesn't know the difference between love and abuse.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2018; Director: Rosanne Pel; Writer: Rosanne Pel; Stars: Erik Walny, Ewa Makula, Klaudia Przybylska, Erik Walny, Ewa Makula, Klaudia Przybylska)

Long Day's Journey Into Night

A man is haunted by regret as the past and present weave together.

(Country: China; Year: 2018; Director: Bi Gan; Writer: Bi Gan; Stars: Sylvia Chang, Chen Yongzhong Chen, Jue Huang)

Look At Me (Fi 'Ainaya)

Review preview for Look At Me

We are spared the usual sugary score and the savant trope is nowhere to be seen. Instead we get the mess, the anger and the frustration much more common in real life.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Lotfi, 40, is forced to come back to Tunisia when his ex-wife is unexpectedly hospitalised. He is now in charge of his autistic son Amr, nine, who ignores the dad he has never known.

(Country: Tunisia, France, Qatar; Year: 2018; Director: Néjib Belkadhi; Writer: Néjib Belkadhi; Stars: Nidhal Saadi, Sawssen Maalej, Nidhal Saadi, Sawssen Maalej)

Full review

European premiere

Manta Ray (Kraben Rahu)

Review preview for Manta Ray

The film remains mysterious without being confusing - you don't need to grasp every detail to understand its metaphors and message and its enigmatic aura invites repeat viewings.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A fisherman finds an injured refugee and tries to help him.

(Country: Thailand, France, China; Year: 2018; Director: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng; Writer: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng; Stars: Aphisit Hama, Wanlop Rungkamjad, Rasmee Wayrana, Aphisit Hama, Wanlop Rungkamjad, Rasmee Wayrana)

Full review

The Monkey And The Mouth (Adjø Montebello)

Concert film about rap duo Karpe that unites fiction with performance.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2017; Director: Thea Hvistendahl; Writer: Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid, Thea Hvistendahl, Chirag Rashmikant Patel; Stars: Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid, Oda Felicia Bardal Sigstad Abdelmaguid, Ravdeep Singh Bajwa, Jonatan Blode, Tommy Hyving, Rolf-Christian Lie Loberg, Chirag Rashmikant Patel, Andreas Rand, Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid, Oda Felicia Bardal Sigstad Abdelmaguid, Ravdeep Singh Bajwa, Jonatan Blode, Tommy Hyving, Rolf-Christian Lie Loberg, Chirag Rashmikant Patel)

Pearl

Drama set in the world of female bodybuilding.

(Country: Switzerland, France; Year: 2018; Director: Elsa Amiel; Writer: Elsa Amiel, Laurent Larivière; Stars: Julia Föry, Peter Mullan, Vidal Arzoni, Arieh Worthalter, Agata Buzek, Julia Föry, Peter Mullan, Vidal Arzoni, Arieh Worthalter, Agata Buzek)

Ray & Liz (Ray And Liz)

Review preview for Ray & Liz

Billingham's consideration calls for empathy rather than condemnation.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Drama about a dysfunctional family.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Richard Billingham; Writer: Richard Billingham; Stars: Michelle Bonnard, Tony Way, Ella Smith, Justin Salinger, Sam Gittins, James Eeles, Andrew Jefferson-Tierney, James Hinton, Michelle Bonnard, Tony Way, Ella Smith, Justin Salinger, Sam Gittins, James Eeles, Andrew Jefferson-Tierney)

Full review

The River (Ozen)

(Country: Kazakhstan, Poland, Norway; Year: 2018; Director: Emir Baigazin; Writer: Emir Baigazin; Stars: Zhalgas Klanov, Eric Tazabekov, Zhasulan Userbayev, Ruslan Userbayev)

School Service

A girl becomes a victim of a bus masquerading as an official school transport... and finds herself taken to Manila where she is forced to beg.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2018; Director: Louie Ignacio; Writer: Louie Ignacio, Rona Lean Sales, Rona Lean Sales; Stars: Ai-Ai Alas de las, Joel Lamangan, Joe Gruta, Therese Malvar, Felixia Crysten Dizon, Kevin Sagra, Kenken Nuyad, Santino Oquendo, Celine Juan, Ai-Ai Alas de las, Joel Lamangan, Joe Gruta, Therese Malvar, Felixia Crysten Dizon, Kevin Sagra)

Sirens (Nixen)

Two sisters’ lives are in limbo. In their youth, Nene and Ava were a singing duo. Now there is a child, a job at a café, a boyfriend, and their mother, who is still critical of them. One sister secretly arranges a gig for both of them, and the other smashes her life to pieces because of a feeling.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Katinka Narjes; Writer: Katinka Narjes; Stars: Odine Johne, Lucy Wirth, Emelie Harbrecht, Roland Bonjour)

International premiere

Song Lang (Tap Box)

Review preview for Song Lang

Both leads acquit themselves well despite having little or no prior acting experience.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A gangster and an actor in an opera company discover they are soulmates.

(Country: Vietnam; Year: 2018; Director: Leon Le; Writer: Leon Le, Thi Minh Ngoc Nguyen; Stars: Kim Chi, Isaac, Vu T. Le Thi, Phuong Minh, Huynh Ngoc, Bao Chau Nguyen, Lien Binh Phat, Kim Phuong, Huu Quoc, Tu Quyen, Hoang Sang, Hong Sap, Kim Long Thach, Tu Thanh, Phuoc Tinh)

Full review

Waiting On The Road (Beiço De Estrada)

Lives intersect at a roadside brothel.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2018; Director: Eliézer Rolim; Writer: Eliézer Rolim; Stars: Carlos Anisio E Rieg Rodig, Daniel Jessi)

International premiere