Say goodbye to the old ways of doing TV business and hello to new ones. “We need to rethink everything. The business model we used to have, that’s gone,” said Silver Reel’s Claudia Bluemhuber, a panelist at this year’s TV Beats Forum at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. “We’re going to see fewer shows. […]

The 28th 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” […]

TALLINN, Estonia — Industry @ Tallinn & Baltic Event, one of the leading industry events in Northern Europe, closed Nov. 22 with an awards ceremony where the focus country Germany dominated the list of 15 winning projects at various stages of development or post-production, on top of two accolades to promising producers.  For the first time, […]

On the heels of a world premiere at the 28th Annual Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival’s First Feature Competition and ahead of its screening at Latin America’s largest film market, Ventana Sur, Paris-based sales outfit MPM Premium and Santiago-based Infractor Films have given Variety exclusive access to the trailer for Chilean filmmaker Diego Figueroa’s frantic psychological thriller, […]

Bhutanese filmmaker Dechen Roder’s “I, The Song” has been acquired by Fidalgo Film Distribution for Norway. The film had its world premiere at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, where the acquisition was made, and has its Asia premiere at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. In the film, to save her job and reputation, a […]

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has unveiled the winners of its TV Beats Co-Financing Market, intended to foster creative collaborations in series co-production and empower independent producers. Finnish drama “The Women I Think About at Night” took the event’s top honor, the Series Co-Production Development Award and its €50,000 ($52,780) purse, part of the Pilot […]

Klaus Härö tells the story of a complicated real-life hero, Abraham Stiller, in World War II drama “Never Alone.” When Jewish refugees sought shelter in Finland, Stiller, a respected member of Finland’s Jewish community, tried to save some of them from deportation. But he “wasn’t flawless,” argued the director after the premiere at Tallinn.    […]

Paris-based sales company Loco Films has picked up world rights to Sebastian Parra R’s Colombian low-fi sci-fi thriller “Seed of the Desert” (“Semilla del Desierto”), premiering in competition at this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Variety has been given exclusive access to the film’s trailer, seen below. The feature debuts on Monday, Nov. 18, […]

Boris Guts’ “Deaf Lovers,” an Istanbul-set romantic drama, has been acquired by Antipode Sales International for global sales. Already a noteworthy title in this year’s Tallinn Black Nights competition lineup, the film garnered extra attention last week when the State Film Agency of Ukraine called on the fest to pull the film from its lineup. […]

Emilios Avraam’s debut feature, “Smaragda – I Got Thick Skin and I Can’t Jump,” a coming-of-middle-age story set in Cyprus, is world premiering in competition tonight at this year’s Tallinn Dark Nights Film Festival. The film’s titular protagonist suffers from environmental sensitivities, failed relationships and a stagnant career as a TV entertainer. Not content with her […]

Ukraine’s Kateryna Vyshnevska is set to receive the very first Honorary TV Beats Producer Award at Tallinn. But she’s not planning to slow down anytime soon, teasing upcoming shows “Moloch” and “A Girl from Tallinn.”  Set in the contemporary world of high politics and secret service intrigue in Central Europe, “Moloch” is produced by Bionaut […]

In its 23rd year, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event has expanded in its scope and reach without moving away from its core: training, promoting Baltic film and TV filmmakers and connecting them with the rest of the world. According to industry honcho Marge Liiske, this year’s event will focus on the role of cinema in larger […]

In 2011, French thesps Omar Sy and Anne Le Ny co-starred in the comedy hit “Untouchable.” Now, the two are reunited in the domestic thriller “Out of Control,” with “Lupin” star Sy in one of the leading roles next to Elodie Bouchez (“All Your Faces,” “The Dreamlife of Angels”), José Garcia (“Totems,” “The Ax”) and […]

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has removed Russian director Boris Guts’ “Deaf Lovers” from its Standing with Ukraine program after “serious backlash,” according to festival director Tiina Lokk. In a release, Lokk said the Estonia-Serbia co-production, which will still world premiere in Tallinn’s official competition, has received negative reactions from both Ukrainians and Russians, even […]

“This film is important, but the most important [thing] for us right now is to bring the hostages back home and for the Israel-Middle East conflict to stop as fast as possible,” says Nir Bergman, one of Israel’s most esteemed filmmakers, in a conversation with Variety about his Tallinn competition entry “Pink Lady.” Bergman, whose […]