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Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival · 2018

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2018

Official Selection

Programme

19 films · 3 reviews

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Asandhimitta

A film director receives a mysterious call from a former classmate, telling him a fragmented story of how she has been involved in a triple homicide and is now waiting for her fate in a local prison.

(Country: Sri Lanka; Year: 2018; Director: Asoka Handagama; Writer: Asoka Handagama; Stars: Dharmapriya Dias, Shyam Fernando, Nilmini Sigera, Yashoda Wimaladharma, Dharmapriya Dias, Shyam Fernando, Nilmini Sigera, Yashoda Wimaladharma)

Awaken

Documentary exploring the relationship between humans, technology and the natural world, filmed across more than 30 countries.

(Country: United Arab Emirates, US; Year: 2018; Director: Tom Lowe; Stars: Shayni Couch, Jasmijn Reijntjes, Rashid Al Mullah, Paola Ibrahim, Roosi Nogisto, Sacha Kalis, Brender Eberhard, Daria Hubanova, Viktoria Skronnik, Shayni Couch, Jasmijn Reijntjes, Rashid Al Mullah, Paola Ibrahim, Roosi Nogisto, Sacha Kalis)

Bad Poems (Rossz versek)

Tamás, 33, is heartbroken after his girlfriend breaks up with him in Paris and wallowing in self-pity, he takes a trip down memory lane to figure out what went wrong with the relationship and himself in general.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2018; Director: Gábor Reisz; Writer: Gábor Reisz; Stars: Gábor Reisz, Katica Nagy, Zsolt Kovács, Katalin Takács, Donát Seres, Mátyás Prukner, Barnabás Prukner, Niels Schneider, Zsolt Zayzon, Lili Monori, Szabolcs Hajdu, Bálint Györiványi, Ábel Visky, Roland Lukács, Dani Bálint)

The Guest

A liberal Islamic scholar, Dr. Yahya, is on trial after being accused of anti-religious attitudes. In the midst of his problems, the trial and his wife's cancer diagnosis, he prepares to invite Osama, an assistant professor at the university who is asking for his daughter's hand in marriage, but this guest comes with a gift that no one expected.

(Country: Egypt; Year: 2018; Director: Hadi El Bagoury)

The Human Part (Ihmisen osa)

A bankrupt man holds a full time job as a swindler to keep the facade of the successful businessman he used to be, trying to fool both society and his family.

(Country: Finland, Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Juha Lehtola; Writer: Kari Hotakainen, Juha Lehtola, Leo Viirret; Stars: Kari Hietalahti, Rami Peltonen, Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Ria Kataja, Asko Sarkola, Leena Uotila, Juuso Kuusisto, Armi Toivanen, Nicole Stiles, Della McLoud, Kari Hietalahti, Rami Peltonen, Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Ria Kataja, Asko Sarkola)

Kadakh

Kadakh is a satirical portrait of the carlessness of urban upper class Indians.

(Country: India; Year: 2018; Director: Rajat Kapoor; Writer: Rajat Kapoor; Stars: Ranvir Shorey, Mansi Multani, Rajat Kapoor, Tara Sharma, Cyrus Sahukar)

A Place To Live (Pour vivre ici)

Monique, having lost her husband after a long and happy marriage, feels the need to leave home and the countryside to avoid an emotional breakdown and loneliness and to reconnect with her son and daughter.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2018; Director: Bernard Émond; Writer: Bernard Émond; Stars: Amena Ahmad, Marie Bernier, Sophie Desmarais, Danny Gilmore, Élise Guilbault, Claude Lemieux, Amena Ahmad, Marie Bernier, Sophie Desmarais, Danny Gilmore, Élise Guilbault, Claude Lemieux)

Sheeple

A crisis faces two criminal brothers - the meth lab gang leader Shakoor and his softer younger brother Shahin, unhappy about being number two but unable to find the backbone to grow into his shoes.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2018; Director: Houman Seyyedi; Writer: Houman Seyyedi; Stars: Navid Mohammadzadeh, Farhad Aslani, Farid Sajjadi Hosseini, Marjan Ettefaghian, Navid Pourfaraj, Nazanin Bayati, Ladan Zhaveh Vand)

A Shelter Among the Clouds (Streha mes reve)

Review preview for A Shelter Among the Clouds

Religious and family tensions are explored with care and sensitivity.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A goatherd finds his life thrown out of balance by the arrival of his siblings and a stranger from the city.

(Country: Albania; Year: 2018; Director: Robert Budina; Writer: Robert Budina; Stars: Arben Bajraktaraj, Zef Jubani, Suela Bako, Klara Lamthi, Irena Cahani, Arjola Demiri, Estela Pysqyli, Avdullah Gjikokaj, Melisa Valbona, Rubin Boshnjaku, Merita Gjyriqi, Idriz Selimaj, Arben Spahija, Osman Ahmeti, Helga Boshnjaku)

Full review

Slam

Ricky, a young Arab Australian, finds his peaceful suburban life is turned on its head when his sister Ameena disappears without a trace.

(Country: Australia, France; Year: 2018; Director: Partho Sen-Gupta; Writer: Partho Sen-Gupta; Stars: Adam Bakri, Rachael Blake, Rebecca Breeds, Darina Al Joundi, Danielle Horvat, Abbey Aziz, Damian Hill, Lourdes Abdishou, Julian Maroun, Russell Dykstra, David Roberts, Nicholas Hope, Neda Aslani, Alison Headrick, Simon Elrahi)

Still River

A Greek couple who recently moved to an industrial Siberian town are shocked to discover the woman is pregnant with no prior intercourse. Looking for a logical explanation, her husband starts to distrust his wife, who chooses to embrace the pregnancy, turning to religion to cope.

(Country: Greece, France, Latvia; Year: 2018; Director: Angelos Frantzis; Writer: Angelos Frantzis, Spyros Kribalis; Stars: Katia Goulioni, Juris Bartkevics, Glebs Beikov, Kirill Bolsev, Irina Jegorova, Andreas Konstantinou, Leonids Lencs, Katrine Pasternaka, Ivars Puga, Regina Razuma, Marks Selutko, Guna Zarina, Kirill Zaytsev, Kaspars Znotins, Katia Goulioni)

The Story Of A Summer Lover (Povestea unui pierde-vara)

A maths professor experiencing a mid-life crisis, prepares to leave Irina with whom he is in an open relationship. His perspective shifts when he finds out that she is pregnant.

(Country: Bulgaria, Romania; Year: 2018; Director: Paul Negoescu; Writer: Paul Negoescu; Stars: Adrian Anghel, Iulia Ciochina, Marius Drogeanu, Angela Ioan, Nicoleta Lefter, Olimpia Malai, Rolando Matsangos, Alexandru Papadopol, Radu Romaniuc, Crina Semciuc)

Sunburn

Set in a posh rental villa on a scorchingly hot summer day, four friends wait for a fifth.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2018; Director: Vicente Alves do Ó; Writer: Vicente Alves do Ó; Stars: Ricardo Pereira, Oceana Basílio, Nuno Pardal, Rafael Gomes, Ricardo Barbosa, Ricardo Pereira, Oceana Basílio, Nuno Pardal, Rafael Gomes, Ricardo Barbosa)

Two Fridas (Dos Fridas)

Review preview for Two Fridas

Though Mauro Herce's cinematography is strong, Yasin struggles to take us beyond the look to the feel of the women's relationship.

Amber Wilkinson · 2 out of 5
A drama with roots in the historic character of Judith Ferreto, the nurse of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, who spent her latter days in Costa Rica.

(Country: Costa Rica, Mexico; Year: 2018; Director: Ishtar Yasin Gutierrez; Writer: Ishtar Yasin Gutierrez; Stars: Maria de Medeiros, Ishtar Yasin Gutierrez, Grettel Méndez, Diana Lein, Maxim Baboshkin, Angeles Cruz, François Durèrne, Gabriela Guraieb, Jesai Jayhmes, Mauricio Jimenez, Mauricio Jiménez, Vicky Montero, Milena Picado, José Sefami, Luis de Tavira)

Full review

Two Men In Suits (Zwei Herren im Anzug)

Set in Bavaria during the summer of 1984, an embittered father and his estranged son are staying behind after the guests at the funeral of their wife and mother leave. The father decides to tell his son the whole story... who responds with his own version of events.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Josef Bierbichler; Writer: Josef Bierbichler, Josef Bierbichler; Stars: Josef Bierbichler, Martina Gedeck, Simon Donatz, Irm Hermann, Sarah Camp, Johan Simons, Peter Brombacher, Josef Staber, Stefan Hofinger, Benjamin Cabuk, Margarita Broich, Wowo Habdank, Philipp Hochmair, Traute Hoess, Andreas Lechner)

Until We Fall (Til vi falder)

Mourning the loss of their 10-year-old son, Adam and Louise return to their apartment in a quaint Spanish coastal town to try to and find closure and rebuild their love for each other, only to encounter more pain.

(Country: Denmark, Sweden; Year: 2018; Director: Samanou Acheche Sahlstrøm; Writer: Samanou Acheche Sahlstrøm; Stars: Dar Salim, Lisa Carlehed, Francesc Garrido, Mario de la Rosa, Óscar Casas, Yaiza Guimaré, Pernille Andersen)

Wandering Girl

Four girls, stepsisters from different mothers, are united by the death of their father who had been a casanova. They embark on a journey to take the youngest of them to live with an aunt in the countryside.

(Country: Colombia; Year: 2018; Director: Ruben Mendoza; Writer: Ruben Mendoza)

Werewolf (Wilkołak)

Review preview for Werewolf

You don't have to look far for allegory in Panek's film.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Eight children rescued from a concentration camp, find themselves under siege from a freshly pack of former camp guard dogs.

(Country: Poland, Netherlands, Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Adrian Panek; Writer: Adrian Panek; Stars: Kamil Polnisiak, Nicolas Przygoda, Sonia Mietielica, Danuta Stenka, Maksymilian Balcerowski, Radoslaw Chrzescianski, Werner Daehn, Krzysztof Durski, Matylda Ignasiak, Eugeniusz Malinowski, Helena Mazur, Wojciech Namiotko, Barbara Pigon, Julia Slusarczyk, Jakub Syska)

Full review

Winter's Night

A middle-age couple visit Cheongpyeong Temple after 30 years where they spent the night together for the first time... a lost phone will lead to a night of nostalgia and reminiscing.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2018; Director: Woojin Jang; Stars: Seo Younghwa, Yang Heungju, Lee Sanghee, Woo Jihyeon)