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Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival · 2025

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2025

Spotlight: Austria

Programme

10 films · 5 reviews

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Club Zero

Review preview for Club Zero

The narrative proceeds at a controlled pace set to a jangling score of percussion and chants, which is enough to set viewers on edge without the disturbing scenes of food being tentatively eaten and then disgorged.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A teacher takes a job at an elite school and forms a strong bond with five students - a relationship which eventually takes a dangerous turn.

(Country: Austria, UK, Germany, France, Denmark; Year: 2023; Director: Jessica Hausner; Writer: Jessica Hausner, Géraldine Bajard; Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Sam Hoare, Camilla Ritherford, Amanda Lawrence, Elsa Zylberstein)

Full review See: Jessica Hausner in conversation on costume designer Tanja Hausner, cinematographer Martin Gschlacht, Sidse Babette Knudsen, and Peter & the Wolf in Club Zero , Jessica Hausner in conversation on Club Zero, Elsa Zylberstein and Mathieu Demy as parents, and the Pied Piper of Hamelin

Holiday

Irene gets a job as a hotel maid, but soon finds out that the previous maid disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

(Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 2004; Director: Jessica Hausner)

The Last Ambassador

Review preview for The Last Ambassador

Manizha Bakhtari may not be a household name but after watching Natalie Halla’s documentary you’re likely to think she ought to be.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Profile of the Afghan ambassador in Vienna, Manizha Bakhtari, as she defies the incoming Taliban government and fights for women's rights.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2025; Director: Natalie Halla; Writer: Natalie Halla; Stars: Manizha Bakhtari, Naser Hotaki, Parnian Hotaki)

Full review See: Natalie Halla on capturing the life of Manizha Bahktari in The Last Ambassador

Lourdes

Review preview for Lourdes

This is a film with a fine regard for detail, and it is neither mocking nor deferential.

Val Kermode · 4 out of 5
The story of a wheelchair-using woman's pilgrimage in search of a miracle.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2009; Director: Jessica Hausner; Writer: Jessica Hausner; Stars: Gilette Barbier, Walter Benn, Aurelia Burckhardt, Martin Habacher, Hubert Kramar, Gerhard Liebmann, Elina Löwensohn, Petra Morzé, Martin Thomas Pesl, Linde Prelog, Léa Seydoux, Sylvie Testud, Bruno Todeschini, Orsolya Tóth, Thomas Uhlir)

Full review

Lovely Rita

Review preview for Lovely Rita

It looks as depressing as it feels.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 2 out of 5
Teenage angst in a dull town leads to life-threatening acts that cause distress.

(Country: Austria/Germany; Year: 2001; Director: Jessica Hausner; Writer: Jessica Hausner; Stars: Barbara Osika, Christoph Bauer, Peter Fiala, Wolfgang Kostal, Karina Brandlmayer)

Full review

Melt

Documentary captures the beauty of Earth’s frozen landscapes and the people living among them.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2025; Director: Nikolaus Geyrhalter)

Mother's Baby

Review preview for Mother's Baby

The filmmaker who previously made her name with romantic comedy-dramas, proves to be a bonafide genre auteur, although it is her first attempt

Marko Stojiljkovic · 3.5 out of 5
The family dream becomes a nightmare as 40-year-old Julia struggles to bond with her newborn child.

(Country: Austria, Germany, Switzerland; Year: 2025; Director: Johanna Moder; Writer: Arne Kohlweyer, Johanna Moder; Stars: Claes Bang, Julia Franz Richter, Marie Leuenberger, Hans Löw, Caroline Frank, Andreas Ortner, Judith Altenberger, Evelyn Ruzicka, Nina Fog, Nairi Hadodo, Ines Miro, Selina Ströbele, Tchuci)

Full review

The Souffleur

A hotelier whose establishment is scheduled for redevelopment tries to cling to the past.

(Country: Austria, Argentina; Year: 2025; Director: Gastón Solnicki; Writer: Julia Niemann, Gastón Solnicki; Stars: Willem Dafoe, Lilly Lindner, Stephanie Argerich, Gastón Solnicki, Imona Mirrakhimova, Claus Philipp, Camille Clair)

The Stories

A tragicomedy encompasses political turmoil, football euphoria, and a wide range of Egyptian songs from 1967 to 1984.

(Country: Austria, France, Belgium, Egypt, Sweden; Year: 2025; Director: Abu Bakr Shawky)

White Snail

A Belarusian model dreaming of a career in China finds herself drawn to a mysterious loner who works the night shift at a morgue. A fragile love story.

(Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter; Writer: Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter; Stars: Marya Imbro, Mikhail Senkov)