Spanish drama The Good Daughter has emerged as the standout winner of this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, taking the Grand Prix, the Audience Award and best actress for newcomer Kiara Arancibia. It is the first time one film has claimed both the top jury prize and the audience vote at the Estonian A-category event, with the Grand Prix backed by a €20,000 grant from the city of Tallinn.
Directed by Catalan filmmaker Júlia de Paz Solvas, the film follows Carmela, a teenager who moves in with her mother and grandmother after her parents separate. Her father, a visual artist she idolises, has a restraining order after being accused of gender-based violence against Carmela’s mother, so father and daughter can meet only at a supervised visitation centre. Caught between adults who seem unable to hear her and institutions that feel distant, Carmela struggles to keep hold of her affection for her father while absorbing the impact of domestic abuse on her family.
Festival jurors praised the feature as a powerful portrait of a girl facing intense family conflict, highlighting the way it handles difficult subject matter with restraint and emotional clarity. They singled out Arancibia’s performance for conveying fear, loyalty, confusion and determination without exaggeration, arguing that her work gives the film much of its force.
The Good Daughter is De Paz Solvas’s second feature after Ama and expands her interest in stories centred on young women negotiating unstable home lives. Co-written with long-time collaborator Núria Dunjó, the Spanish-Belgian co-production is adapted from the director’s 2021 short Harta and runs 99 minutes. It premiered in Tallinn’s main competition on 15 November and is set for a theatrical release in Spain in spring 2026, with Avalon distributing locally and Beta Cinema handling international sales. Industry observers see the Tallinn sweep as a strong launchpad for the film’s wider festival and arthouse run across Europe and beyond.
