Julia de Paz Solvas, Kiara Arancibia, Sergio Grobas

Source: Tallinn Black Nights / Flickr

Julia de Paz Solvas, Kiara Arancibia, Sergio Grobas

Julia de Paz Solvas’s The Good Daughter won the Grand Prix prize at the 29th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (POFF) this evening (November 21).

The Spanish coming-of-age feature follows the perspective of a teenage girl as she watches her parents go through an ugly divorce. It is produced by Sergio Grobas and Stefan Schmitz who share the €20,000 with Solvas.

The jury said The Good Daughter handled “difficult themes with remarkable sensitivity, allowing the story to feel both intimate and authentic”. The film also took the audience award and the best actress prize for Kiara Arancibia.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Best director went to Ali Vatansever’s LifeLike, a Turkish film that mixes VR-Chat 3D avatars, Instagram stories and drama to explore social media. Vatansever wins a €5,000 prize while the film also took home best original score for Erdem Helvacıoğlu.

In the first feature competition, Christian Bonke’s Hercules Falling won best film in addition to the Fipresci award. The Danish docu-drama follows a man suffering from PTSD after 10 years serving in the Australian army. The jury called it a “deeply moving film which shows the inner struggle in a brutal and realistic manner”.

UK director Samuel Abrahams won best director for his mockumentary Lady which the jury described as “fearless, playful and push[ing] the genre with absolute confidence”. 

Karin Pennanen’s Days Of Wonder won best international documentary for its “heartfelt tribute to a deceased loved one”.

Best Baltic film went to Vytautas Katkus’s The Visitor, a Lithuania-Norway-Sweden co-production about a new father who leaves his family life in Norway to sell his late parents’ flat. The film, which previously won best director in Karlovy Vary, wins a €5,00 grant split between Katkus and his producer (M-Films).

The Industry@Tallin & Baltic prizes were also announced at the same ceremony, with 17 awards given out in total.

International Competition 

Grand Prix for best film - The Good Daughter (Sp), dir. Júlia de Paz Solvas 
Best director - Ali Vatansever, Lifelike (Turk-Gre-Rom)
Best actor - Aladdin Detlefsen, Kanji Tsuda The Frog and the Water
Best actress - Kiara Arancibia, The Good Daughter
Best production design  - Chris Richmond, David Hand, Think of England
Best original score - Erdem Helvacıoğlu, LikeLike
Best script - Ståle Stein Berg, No Comment 
Best cinematographer - Yutaka Yamazaki, The Imaginary Dog and the Lying Cat 

First Feature

Jury Special Prize - Easy Girl (Ger), dir. Hille Norden 
Jury Special Prize in best editing - Jan Van Der Weken, Sunday Ninth (Bel), dir. Kat Steppe
Best director - Samuel Abrahams, Lady (UK)
Best film - Hercules Falling (Den), dir. Christian Bonke

Critics’ Picks Competition

Special mention - Mo Papa, dir. Eeva Mägi (Estonia)
Special mention - Oh, What Happy Days, dir. Homayoun Ghanizadeh
Best director - Matías Szulanski, A Summer Tale (Argentina)
Best film - China Sea, dir. Jurgis Matulevičius (Lithuania, Taiwan, Poland, Czechia)

Rebels with a Cause Competition 

Best director - Rógan Graham Blindsight (Rom-Türk)
Best film - The Baronesses, dir. Nabil Ben Yadir, Mokhtaria Badaoui (Bel-Lux-Fr) 

Doc@PÖFF Baltic Competition 

Jury Special Prize - My Family and Other Clowns, dir. Heilika Pikkov, Liina Särkinen (Est)
Best film - Holy Destructors, dir. Aistė Žegulytė (Lith-Fr-Lat) 

Doc@PÖFF International Competition

Best cinematographer - Max Golomidov, Edge Of The Night, dir. Vladimir Loginov (Est)
Jury special prize - Raisa Răzmeriță and her team Electing Ms Santa, dir. Raisa Răzmeriță (Mol-Rom)
Best film - Days of Wonder, dir. Karin Pennanen (Fin-Den-Nor)

Baltic Film Competition

Best Baltic producer for co-production - Zhannat Alshanova Becoming, dir. Zhannat Alshanova (Fr-Kaz-Neth-Lith-Swe)
Best director - Gabriele Urbonaite Renovation (Lith-Lat-Bel)
Best film - The Visitor, dir. Vytautas Katkus (Lith-Nor-Swe)

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