The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival closed its 29th edition on November 21 in Tallinn, Estonia, with a strong showing for Spanish and Baltic cinema. The Grand Prix went to Julia de Paz Solvas’ The Good Daughter, a Catalan drama about a father-daughter relationship shaped by a man’s violence toward the girl’s mother. The film also won the audience award, and lead performer Kiara Arancibia received best actress.
In the main competition, Turkish filmmaker Ali Vatansever was named best director for LifeLike, which follows a terminally ill man who spends his remaining time in virtual reality. Composer Erdem Helvacioglu collected best score for the same title. Best actor was shared by Aladdin Detlefsen and Kanji Tsuda for Thomas Stuber’s Frog in the Water. Japan’s The Imaginary Dog and the Lying Cat earned best cinematography for Yutaka Yamazaki, while Norway’s No Comment took best script. British World War II-set Think of England was honored for best production design.
The festival’s first-feature competition highlighted emerging directors. Christian Bonke’s Hercules Falling won best film, and Samuel Abrahams picked up best director for the mockumentary Lady. Special jury prizes in that strand went to Simple Girl and Sunday Ninth. China Sea by Lithuanian filmmaker Jurgis Matulevicius won in the critics’ picks program, and fellow Lithuanian director Vytautas Katkus’ The Visitor led the Baltic competition.
Documentary sections also leaned toward regional voices. Finland’s Days of Wonder won the international Doc@POFF award, and Aiste Zegulyte’s Holy Destructors took the Baltic documentary prize. In the Rebels With a Cause sidebar, The Baronesses by Ben Yadir and Mokhtaria Badaoui secured best film.
Festival director Tiina Lokk said ahead of the event that the selection “holds up a mirror to our world,” pointing to stories about war, migration, women’s rights, and family pressure. With Catalan cinema in a special focus slot and a jury chaired by Teona Strugar Mitevska, the festival drew submissions from more than 100 countries and capped its November 7–23 run with awards that signal Tallinn’s growing weight on the European calendar.
