This year, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) and the Goethe-Institut present a selection of films that combine artistic accomplishment with social relevance. It includes the world premiere of the film Lysis and two international premieres of the the previously announced Two Men in Suits and Yung, in the festival’s Official Selection and First Feature Competition programmes respectively.
In his third feature Lysis, a breathtaking story that world premieres at Black Nights FF, director Rick Ostermann (Wolfskinder) turns the hazards of nature into an additional protagonist. A father takes his estranged son on a rafting trip into the wilderness that suddenly turns into a struggle for survival. The experimental filmmaking process captures this sense of adventure as stars Louis Hofmann (Screen Stars 2017 participant in Tallinn and the face of Netflix’s Dark) and Oliver Masucci (also of Dark fame) were left in the wilderness with action cameras attached, without a script, each supplied with their own story by the director.
A number of films deal with social issues that couldn’t be more timely. Styx, a dramatic allegory of the ongoing tragedy of refugees at sea that won three awards in the Berlinale’s Panorama section; All Good, an acute take on the effects of nonconsensual sex that won awards at Locarno IFF and Munich IFF; Gundermann, a box-office and critical hit about a construction worker turned singer-songwriter in the German Democratic Republic; Wackersdorf about the 1980’s protest against a nuclear reprocessing plant in a small Bavarian community; Wild Heart, a documentary about the band “Feine Sahne Fischfilet” whose singer Jan “Monchi” Gorkow has become an unlikely force against racism and anti-semitism.
Also featured are three titles from Berlinale’s Competition: In the Aisles by director Thomas Stuber exudes a magical realism and stars Franz Rogowski and Sandra Hüller (Toni Erdmann). Rogowski also stars in Transit, alongside Paula Beer (Frantz). Director Christian Petzold (Phoenix), contrasts the historical context of the plot with a setting in contemporary Marseille. 3 Days in Quiberon by Emily Atef won awards at the German Film Prizes for the best feature film (Karsten Stöter), director, cinematography (Thomas W. Kiennast), score (Christoph Kaiser, Julian Maas) as well as prizes for several actors (lead role Marie Bäumer, supporting roles Birgit Minichmayr and Robert Gwisdek).
The series is rounded off by the children’s film is Matti and Sami, a German-Finnish adaptation by Stefan Westerwelle of a well-known children’s book.
Tiina Lokk, director of Black Nights Film Festival commented: "We are extremely glad and grateful to continue the fruitful collaboration with Goethe-Institut for the 21st year, a collaboration that has helped us to bring so many great films and talented filmmakers to the festival! German cinema seems to have had an especially good year and we are proud to share a rich, diverse selection of it with our audience."
Johannes Thimm, coordinator of cultural programmes at the Goethe-Institute, added: “PÖFF and the Goethe-Institut have now cooperated successfully for more than 16 years to bring outstanding German films to Estonian audiences. Many are presented in Tallinn and Tartu by the talents that helped create them.”
FILMS
All Good; Germany, 2018, dir Eva Trobisch
3 Days in Quiberon; Germany/Austria/France, 2018, dir Emily Atef
Gunderman; Germany 2018, dir Andreas Dresen
In the Aisles; Germany, 2018, dir Thomas Stuber
Lysis, Germany, 2018, dir Rick Ostermann - world premiere
Styx, Germany/Austria, 2018, dir Wolfgang Fischer
Transit, Germany, 2018, dir Christian Petzold
Wackersdorf, Germany, 2018, dir Oliver Haffner
Wild Heart, Germany, 2017, dir Charly Hübner/Sebastian Schulz
Yung, Germany, 2018, dir Henning Gronkowski - international premiere
Two Men in Suits, Germany, 2018, dir Josef Bierbichler - international premiere
Matti and Sami, Germany 2018, dir Stefan Westerwelle
