The traditional awards ceremony held at the Estonian National Opera wrapped up the 25^th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on Saturday 27 November. This year’s festival, which unspooled in the Estonian capital from 12-28 November, offered a rich programme consisting of 179 features (including 34 world, 32 international and 11 European premieres), 244 shorts through its PÖFF Shorts strand, and 18 series through its dedicated TV Beats initiative.

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The jury of the main competition, headed by EFA chairman Mike Downey, crowned Andreas Kleinert’s historical biopic Dear Thomas [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Andreas Kleinert
fiche film] with the prestigious Grand Prix. Shifting deftly between reality and fever dream, and far from following the usual biopic conventions, Dear Thomas has taken a biography and made it into a manifesto for art and its power for change. In its official statement, the jury commended the film’s “powerful narrative and masterly execution of the biopic form and [the way it sheds] an essential light on one of the seminal figures of German letters”.

Meanwhile, the Award for Best Director went to Poland’s Wojciech Smarzowski for The Wedding Day [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Wojciech Smarzowski
fiche film]. Smarzowksi, who also won the Award for Best Screenplay this year, was praised by the jury for “his biting exposé of modern-day corruption, historical revisionism and deep-rooted hatred of the other, in a perfect revelatory concoction of abhorrent crimes, both past and present, in the heart of Europe”.

Next, the Best Actress Award went to young Russian talent Sofia Krugova for her turn in Kirill Sokolov’s No Looking Back [+lire aussi :
interview : Kirill Sokolov
fiche film], whilst Albrecht Schuch received the Best Actor gong for his performance as German writer Thomas Brasch in Dear Thomas.

Moreover, the First Feature Competition jury, led by Jayro Bustamante, gave its main award to Other Cannibals [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Francesco Sossai
fiche film], directed by Francesco Sossai. The movie has been described as a “twisty thought experiment combining black comedy, a pinch of western and a deep dive into the heart of human desire”.

Among the other victors were Andrius Blaževičius’ Runner [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Andrius Blaževičius
fiche film], the recipient of the Baltic Competition Award, and Piotr Stasik’s The Moths, the winner of the Rebels with a Cause section. Finally, the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) watched the First Feature Competition titles and crowned Aleksandra Terpinska’s Other People [+lire aussi :
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interview : Aleksandra Terpińska
fiche film] as Best Film, describing it as “a fresh, energetic and rhythmic drama, orbiting around a wannabe rapper and a wealthy housewife”.

Here is a list of this year’s award winners:

Grand Prix for Best Film
Dear Thomas [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Andreas Kleinert
fiche film] – Andreas Kleinert (Germany)

Best Director
Wojciech Smarzowski – The Wedding Day [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Wojciech Smarzowski
fiche film] (Poland)

Best Cinematography
Emre Tanyildiz – The List of Those Who Love Me (Turkey)

Best Script
Wojciech Smarzowski – The Wedding Day

Best Actress
Sofia Krugova – No Looking Back [+lire aussi :
interview : Kirill Sokolov
fiche film] (Russia)

Best Actor
Albrecht Schuch – Dear Thomas

Best Original Score
Esa-Pekka Salonen – The Wait [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] (Finland)

Best Production Design
Anna Nyitrai – Perpetuity [+lire aussi :
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interview : György Pálfi
fiche film] (Hungary)

Best First Feature Film
Other Cannibals [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Francesco Sossai
fiche film] – Francesco Sossai (Germany)

Special Jury Prizes
Immersion – Nicolás Postiglione (Chile)
Her Way [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
fiche film] – Cécile Ducrocq (France)

Best Baltic Feature Film
Runner [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Andrius Blaževičius
fiche film] – Andrius Blaževičius (Lithuania/Czech Republic)

Rebels with a Cause Competition

Rebels with a Cause Award
The Moths – Piotr Stasik (Poland)

Rebels with Their Shorts Award
They Were to Cross the River – Faeze Karimpour (France)

FIPRESCI Prize
Other People [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Aleksandra Terpińska
fiche film] – Aleksandra Terpinska (Poland)

Ecumenical Award
Mukagali – Bolat Kalymbetov (Kazakhstan)

Lifetime Achievement Awards
Carlos Saura
Elle Kull

DDA Spotlight Award
Liesl Tommy – Respect (USA)
Sebastian Meise – Great Freedom [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Sebastian Meise
fiche film] (Germany/Austria)

PÖFF Shorts Nomination for the EFA Awards
Steakhouse – Špela Čadež (Slovenia)

Youth and Children’s Film Festival Just Film

Just Film Grand Prix
Playground [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Laura Wandel
fiche film] – Laura Wandel (France)

Just Film ECFA Award
My Dad Is a Sausage [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Anouk Fortunier
fiche film] – Anouk Fortunier (Belgium/Netherlands)