"We are delighted that Tallinn has chosen us as the Focus Country in what is a very special anniversary year for us," says Simone Baumann, Managing Director of German Films. "We at German Films can already look back on many years of cooperation with the festival. We also hold the A-film festival in such great esteem because many German talents have started their international careers here and will hopefully continue to do so in the future."

This year will again see a German filmmaker having a film screening in the First Feature Competition. Director Steve Bache’s film NO DOGS ALLOWED doesn’t tackle an easy subject. It centres on 15-year-old Gabo who has paedophilic tendencies. He only confides this to the much older Dave in an online chat forum. But Dave is then arrested on suspicion of having abused minors and new difficulties arise for Gabo.

The Doc@PÖFF section is new this year. The festival organisers decided to introduce this new section in response to the trend of more and more documentary films being produced and submitted. Two German productions were invited: WITH MY OPEN LUNGS by Yana Sad will be celebrating its world premiere in Tallinn. The film shows the director's personal journey after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. She experiences heartache, family conflicts and a blossoming love that dreams of defying oppression. The documentary ICE AGED, as an international premiere, has director Alexandra Sell following six men and women from all over the world, tracing their dedication to training on local ice rinks in preparation up to the grand stage at the World Amateur Figure Skating Championships.

Two German films are also screening in the Rebels with a cause competition section. THE PROTECTED MENby Irene von Alberti shows the situation in Germany shortly before the elections when a mysterious epidemic breaks out that only affects men. Differences between the sexes that were thought to have been long overcome reappear and shake society to its very foundations. Based on Vincent van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo, YELLOW by Oliver Hirschbiegel depicts the artist's problem of hiring models and his difficult relationship with them. The film aims to find a new approach to show van Gogh's eccentric and notorious behaviour which has long since become a cliché.

The German Focus section presents a varied cross-section of eight German films that have attracted the attention and enthusiasm of critics and audiences at numerous festivals this year. The selection includes Matthias Glasner’s Berlinale award-winner DYING, Christoph Hochhäusler’s Locarno competition film DEATH WILL COME, and Tim Fehlbaum’s SEPTEMBER 5 which was feted in Venice.

Three films will be screened from the retrospective to mark German Films’ 70th anniversary: YESTERDAY GIRL by Alexander Kluge, THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and SOLO SUNNY by Konrad Wolf.

Another 27 German productions will be screening in the two sub-festivals Just Film and PÖFF Shorts, which also showcase the broad spectrum of shorts and children's films. Together with these extensions, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has developed over many years into one of the largest in Northern Europe.

The fact that German director Christoph Hochhäusler is also the jury president this year and will decide on the winner in the Main Competition is another nice connection with Focus Germany. Germany will also be represented at Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event by a delegation of producers from the various German regions. Over the course of five days, the filmmakers will have an opportunity to exchange ideas, see project presentations as well as participate in masterclasses, workshops, conferences and talent labs.

All of the German productions and co-productions in Tallinn at a glance:

First Feature Competition
NO DOGS ALLOWED by Steve Bache (Schiwago Film)

Rebels with a Cause Competition
THE PROTECTED MEN (DIE GESCHÜTZTEN MÄNNER) von Irene von Alberti (Filmgalerie 451)
YELLOW (GEEL) by Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downey Ink. Now)

Critic’s Picks – Out of Competition
QUIET LIFE by Alexandros Avranas (GR/SE/FR/EE/DE/FI, Senator Film Produktion)

Rebels with their Shorts Competition
OCCHIO by Giulia Falciani (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF)

Doc@PÖFF Competition
ICE AGED by Alexandra Sell (It Works Medien)
WITH MY OPEN LUNGS by Yana Sad (SAD MOVIE PRODUCTION)

Baltic Film Competition
LIONESS by Liina-Triškina Vanhatalo (EE/DE/LV, Heimathafen Film)
NEVER ALONE by Klaus Härö (FI/EE/AT/DE/SE, Penned Pictures)

German Focus
LONG STORY SHORT (FESTE & FREUNDE) by David Dietl (Wiedemann & Berg, Leonine) - OPENING FILM
SAD JOKES by Fabian Stumm (Postofilm)
TURNING TABLES (KLANDESTIN) by Angelina Maccarone (CALA Filmproduktion)
LA MORT VIENDRA (DER TOD WIRD KOMMEN) by Christoph Hochhäusler (DE/LU/BE, Heimatfilm)
DYING (STERBEN) by Matthias Glasner (Port au Prince, Schwarzweiss Filmproduktion, Senator Film Produktion)
FROM HILDE, WITH LOVE (IN LIEBE, EURE HILDE) by Andreas Dresen (Pandora Film)
SEPTEMBER 5 by Tim Fehlbaum (BerghausWöbke Filmproduktion, Constantin Film, ERF Edgar Reitz Filmproduktion)
RIEFENSTAHL by Andres Veiel (Vincent Productions)
ELAHA by Milena Aboyan (KINESCOPE FILM, Essence Film)

Best of Festivals 
ARMAND by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel (NO/NL/DE/SE, One Two Films)
THE ANTIQUE by Rusudan Glurjidze (GE/CH/FI/DE, BASIS BERLIN)
THE EDITORIAL OFFICE by Roman Bondarchuk (UA/DE/SK/CZ, Elemag Pictures)
MY FAVOURITE CAKE by Maryam Moghadam, Behtash Saneeha (IR/FR/SE/DE, Watchmen Productions)

Old Gold
YESTERDAY GIRL by Alexander Kluge (Independent Film, Kairos-Film)
THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN (DIE EHE DER MARIA BRAUN) by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Albatros Filmproduktion, Fengler Films, Filmverlag der Autoren, Tango Film, Trio Film)
SOLO SUNNY by Konrad Wolf (DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, Künstlerische Arbeitsgruppe „Babelsberg“)
GERMANY YEAR ZERO by Roberto Rossellini (IT/FR/DE, Deutsche Film (DEFA))

Best of Docs
SILENT TREES by Agnieszka Zwiefka (PL/DE, Ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion)

Midnight Shivers
CUCKOO by Tilman Singer (DE/US, Fiction Park)

Screen International Critics' Choice
CROCODILE TEARS by Tumpal Tampubolon (ID/FR/SG/DE, 2Pilots Filmproduction)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS by Scandar Copti (DE/PS/FR/IT, Red Balloon Film)

Flowers are not Silent. Resistance Films of Belarus
UNWANTED KINSHIP (UNGEWOLLTE VERWANDTSCHAFT) by Pavel Mozhar (Mozhar & Volkmar Film)

JUST FILM
Juniors Competition
NIKO – BEYOND THE NORTHERN LIGHTS by Kari Juusonen, Jørgen Lerdam (FI/DE/DK/IE, Ulysses Filmproduktion)

Dok@Just
2UNBREAKABLE by Maike Conway (Moviepool)

Youth Programme
SKATERGIRLS - GET UP by Lea Becker (Westside Filmproduktion, Rat Pack Filmproduktion, Constantin Film)
TOMORROW SOMEWHERE AT THE SEA (MORGEN IRGENDWO AM MEER) by Patrick Büchtig (Fachhochschule Dortmund)
WINNERS (SIEGER SEIN) by Soleen Yusef (BojeBuck Produktion, DCM Pictures)

Children’s Programme
GREETINGS FROM MARS by Sarah Winkenstette (Leitwolf Filmproduktion, Kinescope Film)

Children’s Right Programme
SKILL ISSUE (DER FLECK) by Willy Hans (DE/CH, Fünferfilm)

PÖFF Shorts
Shorts Live-Action Competition
GLIMMER OF HOPE (LICHTBLICK) by Sophia Tamaro

Shorts Animation Competition
DULL SPOTS OF GREENISH COLOURS by Sasha Svirsky (Wait a Second!)
IT SHOULDN’T RAIN TOMORROW by Maria Trigo Teixeira (PT/DE, Wait a Second!)
JOKO by Izabela Plucinska (PL/DE/CZ, Claytraces)
O/S by Max Hattler (DE/HK)
TAKO TSUBO by Eva Pedroza, Fanny Sorgo (DE/AT)

Shorts New Talents Competition: Live-Action
BABY BROTHER (SENSIBELCHEN) by Berthold Wahjudi (University of Television and Film Munich HFF)
BETWEEN THE LINES by Niklas Pollmann (AT/DE)

Shorts New Talents Competition: Animation
CARROTICA by Daniel Sterlin-Altman (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF)
I AM A FLOWER by Ariel Victor Arthanto (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF)
MOVING MOUNTAINS by Jessica Poon (Academy of Media Arts Cologne KHM)

Shorts Kids Animation Competition
MÛ by Malin Neumann (HAW Hamburg)

Shorts National Competition
BEAUTIFUL SMILE by Sophia Albrecht (DE/EE, Macromedia University of Applied Sciences)
LET THE LIGHT RISE UPON THE FOREST by Hanna-Mirtel Paas (DE/EE, Catalyst School of Film & Visual Media Company Berlin)

Doc@Shorts
FORGIVENESS by Felix Julian Koch (Abelone Films)
TIME GIVER (ZEITSCHENKERIN) by Lars Smekal
TUNNELS by Simon Ostermann, Seraina Nyikos

Shorts Panorama
BUTTERFLY KISS by Zohar Dvir (DE/IL, Fabian&Fred)
S/N:05 by Hans Jakob Harms

Shorts Alternatives
THE MALE GAZE RECIPE by Joey Arand

Night Cinema
DEMONS IN THE CLOSET by James Smith
MAMBO NO. 2 (MÜSSEN MÜSSEN) by Anne Feldmeier (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF)