Skip to main content

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival · 2024

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2024

Official Selection - Competition

Programme

18 films · 6 reviews

Jump to a film

The Boy With Pink Trousers (Il ragazzo dai pantaloni rosa, The Boy With Pink Pants)

Review preview for The Boy With Pink Trousers

Illustrates how heartfelt and fastidious commitment to a story doesn't always make for engaging cinema, no matter how good the intent

Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
Film based on the story of a real cyberbullying incident in Italy.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2024; Director: Margherita Ferri; Writer: Roberto Proia; Stars: Claudia Pandolfi, Andrea Arru, Sara Ciocca, Samuele Carrino, Corrado Fortuna, Maurizio Jiritano, Barbara Bovoli)

Full review

Buzzheart

A boyfriend faces a series of increasingly bizarre tests to prove his worth to his girlfriend's parents.

(Country: Greece, US; Year: 2024; Director: Dennis Iliadis; Writer: Dennis Iliadis; Stars: Evelina Papoulia, Yorgos Liantos, Konstantina Messini, Claudio Kaya, Evelina Gourna)

Can I Get A Witness

In a future where humans must die at 50, teenage artists bear witness to their final moments.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Ann Marie Fleming; Writer: Ann Marie Fleming; Stars: Sandra Oh, Cassandra Sawtell, Jovanna Burke, Andre Anthony, Joel Oulette, Reece Presley, Oscar Chark, Tedra Rogers, Ben Immanuel, Naika Toussaint, Yuki Morita, Jude Wilson, Ally Battaggia, Keira Jang, Kymo Van Oers)

Deaf Lovers (Kurdid armastajad)

A young woman and man meet in Istanbul. Both are Deaf and start to fall for one another - but one is from Ukraine and the other from Russia.

(Country: Estonia, Serbia; Year: 2024; Director: Boris Guts; Writer: Boris Guts; Stars: Anastasia Shemyakina, Daniil Gazizullin)

Empire Of The Rabbits

A daring boy’s journey against the cruel entanglements of deception and disabilities of the adult world.

(Country: Turkey, Mexico, Croatia; Year: 2024; Director: Seyfettin Tokmak; Writer: Seyfettin Tokmak; Stars: Alpay Kaya, Sermet Yeşil, Kubilay Tunçer, Perla Palamutçuoğullari, Emrullah Çakay)

The Exalted

A woman's world is rocked when her husband becomes embroiled in a corruption scandal.

(Country: Estonia, Greece, Latvia; Year: 2024; Director: Juris Kursietis; Writer: Liga Celma-Kursiete, Juris Kursietis; Stars: Katariina Unt, Johanna Wokalek, Pekka Strang, Hanna Hilsdorf, Yorgos Pirpassopoulos, Juris Zagars, Judith Hofmann, Gerda Embure, Egons Dombrovskis, Dainis Grube, Erika Eglija)

Girl America (Amerikánka)

Review preview for Girl America

Exploitation, abuse and neglect are only a part of the story. There is also a fearless pursuit of joy.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A girl in an orphanage employs fantasy as a means of escape.

(Country: Czechia; Year: 2024; Director: Viktor Taus; Writer: David Jarab; Stars: Pavla Beretová, Lucie Zácková, Klára Melísková, Tomás Psenicka, Magdaléna Borová)

Full review

The Loop

A bullied boy's suicide triggers an unexpected series of events.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Gabe DeGrazia, Kurt Reynolds; Writer: Kurt Reynolds; Stars: Myles Jordan, Kitty Timbers, Nicholas Trotter, Travis Wagoner)

The Mousetrap

During war a man becomes trapped in a bunker with only a rat as a companion.

(Country: Ukraine; Year: 2024; Director: Serhii Kastornykh; Writer: Serhii Kastornykh; Stars: Andrey Isaenko, Hanna Birzul, Yuri Kulinich)

Out Of Control (Dis-moi juste que tu m'aimes)

A wife's insecurities surface when an old flame of her husband's arrives in town leading her to an affair with unintended consequences.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Anne Le Ny; Stars: Omar Sy, Vanessa Paradis, Élodie Bouchez, José Garcia, Marie Ayissi)

Pink Lady

Review preview for Pink Lady

It’s the hopefulness at the heart of their tragedy that really kills you.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
An ultra-Orthodox couple try to save their marriage after the husband is blackmailed for being gay.

(Country: Israel; Year: 2024; Director: Nir Bergman; Writer: Mindi Ehrlich; Stars: Nur Fibak, Uri Blufarb, Gal Malka, Sara von Schwarze, Michal Weinberg)

Full review

Pyre

Review preview for Pyre

The only thing worse than death for these two is the thought of being left entirely alone.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
In the Himalayan Mountain range, a rural village loses its inhabitants to the city’s allure while an elderly couple, Padam Singh and Tulsi, live in desolate isolation.

(Country: India; Year: 2024; Director: Vinod Kapri; Writer: Vinod Kapri; Stars: Padam Singh, Heera Devi)

Full review

Reading Lolita In Tehran

Review preview for Reading Lolita In Tehran

The film’s strength lies in its quieter observations of change.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A teacher gathers students to read classic books, despite the threat from the authorities.

(Country: Italy, Israel; Year: 2024; Director: Eran Riklis; Writer: Marjorie David, Azar Nafisi; Stars: Golshifteh Farahani, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mina Kavani, Reza Diako, Arash Marandi, Catayoune Ahmadi, Sina Parvaneh, Lara Wolf, Raha Rahbari, Ash Goldeh, Isabella Nefar, Abbas Fasaei, Hamid Karimi, Bahar Beihaghi, Shahbaz Noshir)

Full review See: Interview with Eran Riklis about Azar Nafisi and Reading Lolita In Tehran

Seed Of The Desert (Semilla del Desierto)

In a deserted land, Chelina and Caviche face a difficult decision when in fear of a violent father they decide to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. To fund the abortion, they become gasoline smugglers and embark on a challenging journey.

(Country: Colombia; Year: 2024; Director: Sebastián Parra R; Writer: Sebastián Parra R; Stars: Sebastian Damian, Maria Ibarra Peña, Andres Agreshot, Ilber Oñate)

The Shadow (Vari)

Thriller charting Estonian poet Juhan Liiv's fight for freedom.

(Country: Estonia; Year: 2024; Director: Jaak Kilmi; Writer: Indrek Hargla; Stars: Pääru Oja, Rain Simmul, Karol Kuntsel, Kersti Heinloo, Peeter Tammearu, Riho Kütsar, Ago Anderson, Andres Mähar, Alice Siil, Tarmo Tagamets, Meelis Rämmeld, Veiko Jänes, Audra Mishinite, Lena Barbara Luhse, Indrek Sammul)

Silent City Driver

An enigmatic hearse driver navigates the solitude and injustice that haunt his tormented life.

(Country: Mongolia; Year: 2024; Director: Sengedorj Janchivdorj; Writer: Nomuunzul Turmunkh, Sengedorj Janchivdorj; Stars: Tuvshinbayar Amartuvshin, Narantsetseg Ganbaatar, Bat-Erdene Munkhbat)

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking

When an old man dies the sex worker he was with decides to fulfil his last wish.

(Country: Philippines, Italy, Singapore; Year: 2024; Director: Petersen Vargas; Writer: Petersen Vargas; Stars: Jomari Angeles, Argel Saycon, Tommy Alejandrino, Gold Aceron, Miguel Odron)