Mongolia’s ‘Silent City Driver’ Scoops Tallinn Fest’s Grand Prix as Filmmakers Call for Peace in Gaza and Solidarity

The 28^th Black Nights Film Festival, known as PÖFF, wrapped Nov. 22 with an awards ceremony in Tallinn where filmmakers took centre stage to ask for the end of war in the Middle East, solidarity with Georgia under Russian influence and the defence of culture.

Oscar-nominated British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi – whose debut feature “The Teacher” scooped the Dennis Davidson Spotlight Award to improve diversity, inclusion and representation in cinema – was the first to take a political stand. 

“‘The Teacher’ is a film that we shot in militarily occupied and colonized Palestine, in the West Bank a little over two years ago. Never could I have imagined that the film would arrive at such a crucial juncture in the discourse on Palestine as Israel continues to conduct genocide, the crime of all crimes in Palestine, in Gaza, as we speak. I really believe cinema has the power to raise the global social consciousness and that this is an award that understands that,” she said.

Portugal-based Japanese filmmaker Takashi Sugimoto whose documentary “Black Gold” won the Jury Prize from the Doc@PÖFF Competition, followed suit on stage, saying “I feel for Gaza-this [issue] resonates in me and I hope we will find a way to meet and discuss.”

Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman, named best director from the main competition jury for his drama “Pink Lady,” addressed the conflict in the Middle East with a clear message. “The most important for us right now is for the 101 hostages to be brought back home and for the war to stop,” he urged.

Meanwhile the grand-old dame of Georgian cinema Lana Gogoberidze, recipient of the 2024 PÖFF Lifetime Achievement, voiced her concern for her country under Russian influence. “My country has been struggling for independence for centuries and we did achieve this. But now we are in danger again. We really need friends and we consider Estonia as our friend,” she said, standing on stage next to festival director Tiina Lokk. “I don’t think human beings have invented anything better than the word solidarity as a way to express compassion to those in difficulty. Salvation comes with solidarity”, she claimed.

PÖFF itself, whose tagline reads “Standing with Ukraine,” kicked off under unpleasant political pressure from the State Film Agency of Ukraine which called on the festival to remove from its program the feature “Deaf Lovers” by Russian-born filmmaker in exile Boris Guts, even before its world premiere in the main competition, Nov. 17.

Shot in Istanbul, the Estonian-Serbian pic, which depicts a heated relationship between a Ukrainian woman and a Russian man, was criticized for “blurring the boundaries of understanding the reality of Ukrainians.” PÖFF eventually excluded it from the “Standing with Ukraine” program but kept it in its official selection competition.

Going back to the “Deaf Lovers” controversy, Lokk who founded the A-listed festival in 1997, told Variety her energy the first week of the festival was partly highjacked from the joyful festival events to tackle aggressive online attacks. 

“I have experienced in the past ‘cordial’ pressure from different organisations, government representatives, but nothing of that scale,” she said. “Today, it’s all behind us; we’re all friends again, and the screening and interviews with the director clearly proved his anti-war stance. Going forward, we will of course, continue to promote independent voices and keep the door open to all filmmakers whose films represent democratic values.”

Film in all its power of reflection upon the world we live was celebrated throughout the full duration of the festival, over Nov. 8-24. In her closing speech Lokk proudly said: “We’ve had a fantastic run over these 16 days, with more than 250 films, 350 short films from 81 countries, international guests from 60 countries, more than 800 screenings and audience-breaking numbers [above last year’s 88,400 admissions, notable for a city of 457,000, although at press time the figures weren’t yet available].

PÖFF Winners

PÖFF’s Grand Prix for best film was handed out to the Mongolian film “Silent City Driver,” written and directed by Sengedorj Janchivdorj whose previous pic “The Sales Girl” scooped the Audience Award at PÖFF’s summer open-air festival Tartuffe 2023.

The film follows “an enigmatic hearse driver as he navigates the solitude and injustice that haunt his tormented life,” reads the logline. “This dark fairy tale from Mongolia took us by surprise,” said the jury, headed by German filmmaker Christoph Hochhäusler (“Till the End of the Night,” “I Am Guilty”).

From the very first shot on, we felt the sensation of a film breaking new ground. “Silent City Driver” is a very stylish film, but style here is substance, the formal choices are not used to divert but to deepen this very cinematic universe, populated by unique larger than life characters which nevertheless remain very human.” The feature was also honored for its production design.

From the same competition strand, seasoned Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman (“Broken Wings,” “BeTipul”), won best director for “Pink Lady,” a queer drama set in ultra-Orthodox circles in Jerusalem. MK2 handles global sales.

In the acting categories, Pirjo Lonka and Elina Knihtilä shared the best actress award for their portrayal of two very different sisters in the Finnish comedy “100 Litres of Gold,” by Teemy Nikki (“The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic”); best actor honors went to Lee Hyo-Ye for Korean thriller “The Loop.”

The Turkish drama “Empire of the Rabbit,” by Seyfettin Tokmak, described as ‘haunting, meditative, heart-breaking and poignant” by the jury, scooped both best script and cinematography.

In the first feature competitive section, German drama “No Dogs Allowed” by student Oscar-nominated Steve Bache was voted best film by the jury headed by marketing industry veteran John Durie who stated: “Mr Bache has made a movie for today – and tomorrow – dealing with one of the most taboo subjects in society: Paedophilia via online grooming, but it is made with absolute sensitivity and vulnerability thanks to the excellent cast and in particular the two lead characters.”

In the Baltic Film competition, Lithuania underscored its dominant position in the fiction space among Baltic nations scoring a clean sweep with film and directing awards handed out respectively to “The Southern Chronicles” by Ignas Miškinis, and “Drowning Dry” by Laurynas Bareiša. Described by Variety’s Alissa Simon as “an exploration of trauma, which Bareiša investigates in unconventional ways that defy and subvert dramatic conventions,” Lithuania’s Oscar rep “Drowning Dry” was recently picked for U.S. distribution by Dekanolog via a deal with sales outfit Alpha Violet.

Other best film winners were the French-Belgian “The Watchman,” which screened in the inaugural Doc@PÖFF Competition; the German satirical thriller “The Protected Men,” part of the Rebels with a Cause program, and the Japanese father-son comedy “The Brothers Kitaura,”screened in the Critics’ Picks strand.

Multiple plaudit winners included Canada’s “Mongrels” by debut helmer Jerome Yoo, which took home the Fipresci Award and the Special Prize for the cast from the First Film Competition, and Denmark’s “Kontra” by Jonas Risvig, honored in the kids and youth section with the Just Film Grand Prix and Just Film Youth Jury best film prize. 

At the closing ceremony Lokk also announced that Catalonia will be in the Black Nights Focus for 2025, following on Germany this year. 

Official Selection Competition

Best Film, “Silent City Driver”, Sengedorj Janchivdorj (Mongolia)

Best Director, “Pink Lady,” Nir Bergman (Israel/Italy)

Best Cinematography, “Empire of the Rabbits,” Seyfettin Tokmak (Turkey, Croatia, Mexico, Lebanon)

Best Script, “Empire of the Rabbits,” Seyfettin Tokmak (Turkey, Croatia, Mexico, Lebanon)

Best Actress, ex æquo Pirjo Lonka and Elina Knihtilä for “100 Litres of Gold” (Finland, Italy)

Best Actor, Hyo Je Lee for “The Loop” (South Korea)

Best Original Score, Alyana Cabral, Moe Cabral for “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking” (Philippines, Singapore, Italy)

Best Production Design, Munkhbat Shirnenfor “Silent City Driver” (Mongolia) 

First Feature Competition

Best Film Award, “No Dogs Allowed,”Steve Bache (Germany) 

Best Director: “A Yard of Jackals,” Diego Figueroa (Chile, Spain)

Jury Special Prize for the cast: Sein Jin, Jae-Hyun Kim, Da-Nu Nam, Candyce Weir, Jedd Sharp, Morgan Derera, Sangbum Kang for “Mongrels” (Canada)

Jury Special Prize for the Director: “Ciao Bambino,” Edgardo Pistone (Italy) 

Baltic Film Competition

Best Baltic Film Award, “Southern Chronicles,”Ignas Miškinis(Lithuania, Estonia)

Best Director, “Drowning Dry,” Laurynas Bareiša(Latvia, Lithuania)

Critics’ Picks Competition

Best Film Award, “Brothers Kitaura,”Masaki Tsujino (Japan)

Best Director, “I, The Song,” Dechen Roder(Bhutan, Norway, Italy, France)

Jury Special Mention, “Fishgirl,” 2024, Javier Cutrona (Ecuador)

Rebels with a Cause Competition

Best Film Award, “Protected Men,” Irene von Alberti(Germany);

Best Director, “Contact Lens,” Ruiqi Lu(China)

Doc@PÖFF Competition

Best Film Award, “The Watchman,” Victoire Bonin, Lou de Pontavice (France, Belgium)

Best Cinematographer, Linas Žiūra for “Murmuring Hearts” (Lithuania, France) 

Jury Special Prize, “Black Gold,” Takashi Sugimoto(Portugal)

International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci)

“Mongrels”, Jerome Yoo (Canada)

Audience Award

“Pyre,” Vinod Kapri (India)

Youth Film and Children Film Festival Just Film Awards

Just Film #Young Filmmaker Award
“40 Days For Inge,” Betra Käsper (Estonia)

Just Film Toddler’s Just Best Film Award,
“Niko – Beyond the Northern Light”, Kari Juusonen (Finland, Germany, Ireland, Denmark)

Just Film Children’s Best Film Award
“I Accidentally Wrote a Book!”, Nóra Lakos (Hungary, Holland)

Just Film Youth Best Film Award
“Kontra,” Jonas Risvig (Denmark)

Jury Special Mention
“Rolling Papers”, Meel Paliale (Estonia)

Just Film EFCA Award
“Living Large,” Kristina Dufková (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia)

Just Film Grand Prix
“Kontra”