The 13th Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, the biggest film festival in the Baltic region, opens this Thursday, November 27, and will run through December 6. A total of 21 European titles are screening in the EurAsia main competition.

EurAsia is described by programme selector Jaan Ruus as a concentrated overview of the year’s trends from the EU’s eastern border, or “East-East of the West”. Films include this year’s Oscar nomination submissions from Poland (The Reverse [trailer, film focus]), Finland (Letters to Father Jacob), Israel (Ajami [trailer]) and Kazakhstan (Kelin), as well as other festivals favourites such as Moon [trailer] (UK), Enter the Void [trailer] (France) and Brotherhood [trailer, film focus] (Denmark).
This year’s EurAsia international jury comprises actor Rain Tolk (Estonia), producer Aleksandr Rodniansky (Russia), directors André Gago (Portugal) and Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Thailand), composer Xavier Capellas (Spain), Swiss Films representative Francine Brücher, and actress Anu Lamp (Estonia).

Black Night’s second biggest section, the Tridens Baltic Feature Film Competition, will screen nine titles, including six from Estonia, such as Oscar nomination hopeful December Heat; the award-winning documentary Disco and Atomic War [trailer]; and children’s film Buratino, Son of Pinocchio.

Also in the programme are two films from Lithuania (Ignas Miškinis’ Low Lights and Oscar submission Vortex by Gytis Lukšas) and one from Latvia (Andis Miziss’ The Hunt). According to festival director Tiina Lokk, however, choosing films from these territories was a complicated task because the recession had an impact both on the quantity and quality of submitted titles. “No doubt it will be even harder next year as there is simply not enough money for making films – in Estonia as well,” she added.

Other highlights of the festival include a Special Focus on Portuguese cinema and a Nordic lights section with 11 recent films from the Nordic region. The parallel industry gathering, Baltic Event, will unspool from November 29-December 2.