For the first time in Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) history, the Grand Prix and Audience Award have been won by the same film: Spanish director Júlia de Paz Solvas’s “The Good Daughter.”

After her parents’ divorce, teenage Carmela moves with her mother to live with her grandmother. While trying to adapt to her new circumstances, she longs for her father, whose shadow influences all three generations of women.

“A powerful emotional drama about a girl trying to cope with the conflict dividing her family. It handles complex themes with delicacy, making the story very authentic,” summarised the jury, led by renowned North Macedonian director Teona Strugar Mitevska.

The 30-year-old Catalan director has said about her film: “What happens to the sons and daughters of victims of gender-based violence? Why don’t we hear their voices speaking loudly? This film attempts to shed light on this silent and profound form of violence-the kind that hurts but often remains invisible, is almost impossible to name, and even harder to address with the support and understanding it requires.”

The Grand Prix carries a €20,000 prize and the Audience Award a €5,000 stipend, both provided by the City of Tallinn.

The film’s leading actress, 17-year-old Kiara Arancibia, also received the Best Actress award. The jury highlighted her clear and convincing portrayal of deep internal conflict. “The actress expresses fear, loyalty, confusion and strength without overacting, giving the film much of its emotional power. Every scene feels authentic and personal, drawing the audience into the character’s world,” the jury stated.

The Best Film award in the Debuts Competition went to Danish director Christian Bonke’s “The Fall of Hercules,” which centers on a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress who cannot control his rage after returning from missions.

“Every war ends sooner or later, but some scars last forever. The soldier fights his own internal emotional war to return to his family, a battle more painful than the one he conquered. A deeply moving film that shows inner struggle in a brutally honest and realistic way,” the jury concluded.

Lithuanian filmmakers claimed three Best Film awards altogether. The winner in the “Critics’ Picks” competition is Jurgis Matulevičius’s “The Chinese Sea,” the Best Baltic Feature is Vytautas Katkus’s “The Guest,” and the Best Baltic Documentary is Aistė Žegulytė’s “Holy Destroyers.”

The “Rebels with a Cause” competition was won by Belgian directors Nabil Ben Yadir and Mokhtaria Badaoui’s “Baronesses,” and the doc@PÖFF international competition by Finnish director Karin Pennanen’s “The Spell of Days.”

Estonian filmmakers also received three awards.

Eeva Mägi’s “Mo Papa” won a special award in the “Critics’ Picks” competition. “Wonderful cinematography, an excellent cast, and clear-sighted, sharp-witted and empathetic direction are truly outstanding,” the jury stated.

Max Golomidov won the Best Cinematography award in the doc@PÖFF international competition for “Night Border,” and Heilika Pikkov and Liina Särkinen received a special award in the doc@PÖFF Baltic competition for “My Family and Other Clowns.”

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29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Awards

MAIN COMPETITION

Jury: Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia), Roberto Schaefer (USA), Debra McGuire (USA), Ingo Fliess (Germany), and Nomuunzul Turmunkh (Mongolia)

Grand Prix for Best Film
“The Good Daughter” (Spain)
Director: Júlia de Paz Solvas; Producers: Sergio Grobas and Stefan Schmitz

Best Director
Ali Vatansever, “Together, Alone” (Turkey-Greece-Romania)

Best Cinematography
Yutaka Yamazaki, “The Imaginary Dog and the Fake Cat” (Japan)

Best Screenplay
Ståle Stein Berg, “No Comment” (Norway)

Best Actor (ex aequo)
Aladdin Detlefsen and Kanji Tsuda, “Frog and Water” (Germany)

Best Actress
Kiara Arancibia, “The Good Daughter” (Spain)

Best Original Score
Erdem Helvacıoğlu, “Together, Alone” (Turkey-Greece-Romania)

Best Production Design
Chris Richmond and David Hand, “Think of England!” (United Kingdom)

DEBUTS COMPETITION

Jury: Nina Paskowitz (USA), Giancarlo Nasi (Chile), Ilango Ram (Sri Lanka)

Best Film
“The Fall of Hercules” (Denmark)
Director: Christian Bonke; Producers: Amalie Lyngbo Quist and Sebastian Weyland

Best Director
Samuel Abrahams, “Lady” (United Kingdom)

Special Award for Editing
Jan Van Der Weken, “The Ninth Sunday” (Belgium)

Special Award for Production Design, Make-up and Costumes
“Simple Girl” (Germany)

CRITICS’ PICKS COMPETITION

Jury: Dechen Roder (Bhutan), Thomas Schultze (Germany), and Jean-Baptiste Babin (France)

Best Film
“The Chinese Sea” (Lithuania-Taiwan-Poland-Czech Republic)
Director: Jurgis Matulevičius; Producers: Ieva Cern and Stasys Baltakis

Best Director
Matías Szulanski, “Summer Story” (Argentina)

Special Award
“Mo Papa” (Estonia)
Director: Eeva Mägi

Special Mention
Ali Nasirian, “Oh, What Joy” (Iran-USA-France-Canada)

REBELS WITH A CAUSE COMPETITION

Jury: Ali Asgari (Iran), Rogan Graham (United Kingdom), and Alicia Reginato (Spain)

Best Film
“Baronesses” (Belgium-Luxembourg-France)
Directors: Nabil Ben Yadir and Mokhtaria Badaoui; Producers: Benoît Roland and Nabil Ben Yadir

Best Director
Adrian Sitaru, “Rock, Paper, Scissors” (Romania-Turkey)

Best Short Film
“Payday” (Finland)
Director: Päivi Hirsiaho

BALTIC FILM COMPETITION

Jury: Gözde Kural (Turkey), Montse Triola (Spain), and Alexandre Goberidze (Georgia)

Best Film
“The Guest” (Lithuania-Norway-Sweden)
Director: Vytautas Katkus; Producers: Marija Razgute, Brigita Beniusyte, Elisa Fernanda Pirir, Anna-Maria Kantarius, and Mimmi Spång

Best Director
Gabriele Urbonaite, “Renovation” (Lithuania-Latvia-Belgium)

Best Co-production Film
“You Can Tell a Winner from Afar” (France-Kazakhstan-Netherlands-Lithuania-Sweden)
Director: Zhannat Alshanova; Producers: Jean-Laurent Csinidis, Denis Vaslin, and Marija Razgutė

DOC@PÖFF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Jury: Tania El Khoury (Lebanon), Daniel Abma (Germany), and Marianne Ostrat (Estonia)

Best Film
“The Spell of Days” (Finland-Denmark-Norway)

Special Award
“Choosing Miss Santa Claus”
Director: Raisa Răzmeriță

Best Cinematography
Max Golomidov, “Night Border” (Estonia)

DOC@PÖFF BALTIC COMPETITION

Jury: Ana Fernandez Saiz (United Kingdom), Pamela Cohn (USA), and Koen Suidgeest (Netherlands)

Best Film
“Holy Destroyers” (Lithuania-France-Latvia)
Director: Aistė Žegulytė

Special Award
“My Family and Other Clowns” (Estonia)
Directors: Heilika Pikkov and Liina Särkinen

OTHER AWARDS

NETPAC Award
“Poet of the Walls” (Mongolia)
Director: Sengedorj Janchivdorj

FIPRESCI Award
“The Fall of Hercules” (Denmark)
Director: Christian Bonke

Audience Award
“The Good Daughter” (Spain)
Director: Júlia de Paz Solvas

Lifetime Achievement Awards
Juozas Budraitis and Janno Põldma

Honorary Award
Jessica Hausner

Bruno O’Ya Scholarship
Ursel Tilk

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Festival Presenters: Elisa and Nordic Hotel Forum

For more information:
Tiit Tuumalu
PÖFF Press Contact
+372 516 4204
tiit.tuumalu@poff.ee

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/poffihunt/albums/