One of the headline guests at this year’s festival is US-French actor Isaach De Bankolé, known to the audiences from blockbusters like “Miami Vice” and “Casino Royale” but also from the films of Jim Jarmush.

US-French actor Isaach De Bankolé with African roots learned acting in France. De Bankolé plays in two films in the Black Nights programme. He has a smaller role in the black comedy “Calvary” by the Irish director John Michael McDonagh. The main act of this film, Brendan Gleeson is one of the strongest candidates for European actor of the year award. De Bankolé has a powerful role in “Mirage”, the latest work by the Hungarian director Szabolcs Hajdu. In its own subtle way it is a story about racism, equality, and dictatorship that sees Hajdu returning to the themes of repression and exploitation explored in his last two films.

“De Bankolé has cooperated with many well-known European and American directors; his varied experience can be witnessed in the latest roles screened at the Black Nights. De Bankolé is truly fresh and unique on the screen due to his special presence,” comments festival director Tiina Lokk.

In Mirage he plays and African football player who gets involved in game fixing and is forced to escape to Hungarian countryside. “De Bankolé is a perfect match for this character – he used to play as a professional athlete in the French second league. We did shoot football scenes that were very expensive but eventually decided to skip them from the film. For a western it’s more suitable that the main character’s background remains a mystery,” explains director Szabolcs Hajdu.

Isaach De Bankolé will arrive in Tallinn on 19th November and will attend screenings for Q&A:

·      19th November at 19.30 Coca-Cola Plaza 2 – “Mirage” (red carpet screening)
·      20th November at 19.15 Coca-Cola Plaza 10 – “Mirage”
·      20th November at 21.30 Coca-Cola Plaza 2 – “Calvary”
·      21th November at 21.00 Artis 1 – “Calvary”