Omar Sy Vehicle ‘Out of Control’ Among 11 World Premieres Lined Up for Tallinn Black Nights Fest Main Competition

Annika Pham The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (known as PÖFF) has unveiled the full lineup of its flagship Official Selection, whose 18 features from 23 countries will compete for the coveted €20,000 ($21,600) Grand Prix. They include 11 world premieres. The jury is helmed by acclaimed German director Christoph Hochhäusler.

Tiina Lokk, the founder and director of the festival, said “the Official Selection Competition has it all! There’s a psycho-thriller that approaches horror, a psychological family drama, and sci-fi genre is represented. The selection is broad, and so is the range of countries. We’re not trying to highlight a certain theme or a particular region, we are free in our choices,” she noted.
Emphasizing the various topics covered, Lokk cites old age, the end of life and euthanasia “perhaps due to the influence of COVID,” domestic violence and war, “not tackled in the traditional form” but rather via psychological dramas.

“Last year there were a lot of politically charged films, but this year the political situation in the world will not be reflected in this way,” she said.
Features with children at the core – usually included in the festival’s Just Film section dedicated to children and youth – are also part of the official selection through stories of bullying at school and children’s rights, among others. High-profile world premieres include “Out of Control” by French actor-turned-director Anne Le Ny (“Those Who Remain”). In the thriller, Le Ny directs her acting partner in “Intouchables” Omar Sy as well as Vanessa Paradis, José Garcia and Elodie Bouchez.

Set in Brittany, the story follows a couple whose marriage is threatened when the husband’s first love comes back to town. “Pink Lady” is Israel’s top filmmaker Nir Bergman’s new feature after the Cannes selected “Here We Are.” Set in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem, the comedy drama starring Nur Fibak, follows a young modern woman’s journey to self-discovery and liberation. Bergman is also known as the co-creator of the Israli hit series “In Treatment.” From Latvia, “The Exalted” by Juris Kursietis (“Modris”) tells of a renowned German organist Anna who discovers her Latvian