The Tallinn Film Festival is taking place this year for the 28th time (founded in 1997), since 2014 it has been accredited as one of only 15 A-class film festivals in the world and is one of the largest film industry events in Northern Europe. In 2023, more than 88,000 moviegoers and 1,600 accredited guests from 65 countries visited the Tallinn Festival.
This year, several of the Latvian films selected for the Tallinn Festival programs will have their international premiere there (a total of three screenings for each film), but Latvian cinemagoers are already familiar with these films – they are either already available in cinemas, or will enter the repertoire soon after the festival screenings.
A feature film by director Jura Kursieš has been selected for the main competition of the Tallinn Film Festival this year Noble oneswhich, after the world premiere on November 14, will also celebrate the national premiere in Riga the very next day, and from November 15 it will be in the repertoire of Latvian cinemas. Screenings of the film are also planned in Tallinn on November 15 and 23.
Traditionally, the largest number of Latvian films can be found in the Baltic film competition, the participants of which are selected by international experts, but the authors of the films come to meet the audience in question-and-answer sessions after the festival premiere. This year, out of 14 Baltic competition films, seven are related to Latvia – four feature films, one documentary film – the philosophical study of Māras Maskalānas The end (screenings 17.11, 18.11 and 24.11) -, one animated film – Ginta Zilbaloža is now world famous Stream (screenings on 16.11., 19.11 and 23.11.) – and one minority co-production, which can be seen right now in the repertoire of Latvian cinemas, – a feature film by Lithuanian director Laurīn Bareišas Dry drowning. On November 19, the international premiere of director Mārs Martinson’s big film will take place in Tallinn The land that sings (it will be available in Latvian cinemas from November 8), the world premiere will be celebrated on November 20 by director Ivars Tontegoda’s film Anna LOL, which is expected on Latvian screens at the beginning of December. A feature film by director Liene Lindes has also been selected for the Baltic competition Black velvet (screenings on 21.11, 23.11 and 24.11) and the vampire comedy by Märčas Läčas Affected by eternitywhich recently brought its world premiere to the US festival Fantastic Film special jury awards and will appear in Latvian cinemas at the very end of December.
The important competition programs are also offered to the audience of the Tallinn festival, one Latvian film at a time First Feature Competition, where director Signe Birkova’s first feature film will have its world premiere on November 20 Lotus and Rebels with a Cause, which includes the impressive music film by director Uģis Oltes Tessa Man, which is known to the Latvian public as the recently held one Riga IFF opening film.
The Latvian film industry is also widely represented in Tallinn’s children’s and youth film programs – two full-length films have been selected for the competition Childrens Competition Programmewhere Estonian children and the competition jury will watch the debut film of Marta Selecka and Andras Doršs Bum! (from November 3 also in Latvian cinemas) and Reiņas Kalnaeļļ’s full-length animated film Thelma’s ideal mother (In Latvia, the film will be released during Christmas). I is intended for slightly older viewersnternational Youth Competition Programmewhere Latvia’s name appears in a co-production with the Netherlands in the film directed by Ineke Houtmanes A book about everything.
Three Latvian short films are included in various short film competitions of the Tallinn Festival – the work of young director Emīlija Karetnikova is selected in the program Confessions of my childhood bodywhile in the competition Short Animation Competition Latvia is represented by one of the strongest and most innovative animation studios Atom Art. This time, producer Sabine Anderson is bringing director Zane Oborenko’s film made using the sand animation technique to Tallinn. In love with Kafka and director Edmund Jansson’s unusual play of shapes and rhythms Freeride in C, which helped the director obtain a professional doctorate in arts.
Special film program Old Gold: Classic Films Come to Life highlights restored cinema classics, valuable phenomena of world cinema history, and next to films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Otar Joseliani, Roberto Rossellini, Roy Anderson and other classics, Jura Podnieks’s most famous film work – a documentary film – will be shown there Is it easy to be young? (1986) – in the restoration of which the State Cinema Photographic Document Archive, the National Cinema Center, the State Cultural Capital Fund and the studio Locomotive with the brand Locomotive Classics.
From November 15 to November 22, the film industry section of the Tallinn Festival will take place Industry @ Tallinn & Baltic Event, which looks to the future, this week the focus is on future film projects and almost finished films, which find possible partners, distributors, festival curators on various platforms, film professionals meet in various workshops, film market screenings and other events important to the industry. These days, the multi-part feature film by Andrejas Īkis, already known to Latvian audiences, has been chosen for the Tallinn presentations. Rebellion, and the future feature film of the director Jura Poškus the calendar is calling me also the feature film project of director Elsa Gauja The last feast and the idea of the young director Kristians Riekstiņš to create a black comedy for young people together with the producer Alisa Rogulis Everyone needs money.
The industry events section of the Tallinn Film Festival will end on November 22, the last screenings for the audience – on November 24.
Source: www.diena.lv
