The 25th edition of the Black Nights Film Festival is being held in Tallinn from November 12-28: the only A-list category film festival in the Nordic-Baltic region. This year sees another strong presence of German films, with some showing in competitive sections such as OTHER CANNIBALS by Francesco Sossai. Other productions can be seen in the New German Cinema focus. FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS talent Tua El-Fawwal (DRUCK, COCOON, WET DOG) was selected for the Black Night Stars programme for young acting talents.   

Andreas Kleinert's biopic DEAR THOMAS about the author Thomas Brasch not only impresses with the talented German actor and European Shooting Star 2021, Albrecht Schuch, in the lead - the film has also been invited to compete in the Official Selection of the Estonian festival’s main competition.

Two German films will screen in the First Feature competition: to begin with, there’s the feature debut PRECIOUS IVIE by the director Sarah Blaßkiewitz who has also been part of this year's FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS campaign. The film is about two sisters, friendship and identity - and all the challenges that come with the life of a young Afro-German woman looking for work in Leipzig. The film was successfully shown at several German festivals and received nominations and awards. For example, Lorna Ishema (also a FACE TO FACE 2021 talent) received the German Film Award in the Best Supporting Actress category. And then there’s the directorial debut by the DFFB graduate Francesco Sossai in the First Feature section: OTHER CANNIBALS is about the encounter between Fausto and Ivan, who - driven by an unspeakable and extreme thought - attempt the impossible escape from their everyday existence.

The historical drama THE SHADOW HOUR by Benjamin Martins is competing in the Rebel with a Cause programme: in 1942, the Berlin author, journalist and Christian Jochen Klepper, whose wife is Jewish, is forced to make a tragic decision by the anti-human policies of the Nazis. The decision the Kleppers finally take is exemplary for the last revolt by the Jewish-Christian community.

The festival's focus on New German Cinema is a collaboration with the Goethe-Institut in Tallinn. Apart from the competition entries, there are another seven works being shown on the big screen, including the German Oscar entry I’M YOUR MAN by Maria Schrader or Lisa Bierwirth's LE PRINCE which premiered in Karlovy Vary’s competition.

2021 will be the fourth time that a German talent has made it into the Black Nights Stars programme showcasing emerging young talent: Tua El-Fawwal, along with seven other actors, is in this year’s line-up and will take part in a four-day programme that includes speed dating with international casting directors, an industry talk and a workshop. Tua E-Fawwal follows in the footsteps of Louis Hofmann (2017), Maria Dragus (2019) and Aaron Hilmer (2020).

You can find the complete list of German films and co-productions screening at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival here....