After reviewing films remotely from the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival since 2020, last year was the first time I was on the ground. No longer was I tucked away behind my words. Instead, I found myself in the thick of the chaos that defines a film festival.
There was something special about being there in-person to cover PÖFF’s prestigious First Feature Competition, and being in close proximity to filmmakers sharing their vulnerability, their hopes and dreams. A first feature is an exciting and interesting moment in a filmmaker’s career, and if I’m honest, there’s nothing that piques my interest quite like a first feature to witness the beginnings of a filmmaker’s creative voice.
La crème de la crème of last year’s First Feature Competition were Chilean director Diego Figueroa’s A Yard of Jackals which earned Figueroa the award for Best Director, and Italian director Edgardo Pistone’s Ciao Bambino. What stood out about this filthy genius movie was the unexpected playful twist of exploring the Chilean junta and a society gripped by paranoia through the prism of horror. Meanwhile, the gorgeous looking black-and-white Ciao Bambino was infused with style and energy. Rightfully earning Pistone a special prize, its seductive tragedy was viscerally filled with an existential despair and hope as it confidentially strode towards its near perfect ending.
So, we arrive at the important question of what we can expect from this year’s lineup, and whether any of this year’s films can measure up to Figueroa and Pistone’s debuting gems?
Last was marked by the absence of a British film. This year, the United Kingdom will be represented by director Samuel Abrahams’ Lady, that PÖFF describe as, “Quirky, biting, and gloriously eccentric – a parody of British privilege that gleams with comic gold”. There is no shortage of diverse voices, from Europe, Mexico, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan across the thirteen films that make up the First Feature Competition.
Among the apparent highlights is Romanian director Cecilia Ştefănescu’s drama A Safe Place, about a married woman’s nostalgia for the life she once lived, and German director Hille Norden’s Easy Girl, a study of trauma, in which two young women, now in their 20s, reconnect and take the impulsive decision to move in together. Meanwhile, the psychological thriller Juana from Mexican director Daniel Giménez Cacho should whet the appetite of those partial to darker crime stories. Here, an investigator obsessively searches for the answers to unsolved crimes against women. Also, another psychological thriller that could be a highlight of the line-up is Polish director Artur Wyrzykowski’s This Is Not Happening, which sees a father try to save his son from a reckless decision, that escalates when their escape plan goes wrong, and they kidnap the young man’s fiancée.
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Below are the 13 titles selected for this year‘s First Feature Competition:
