Ray Panthaki’s In Starland, Jose Maria Cabral’s Sh*t Happens and Alison Kuhn’s The Matriarch are among 21 world premieres selected across the Official Competition and First Feature Competition sections at Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (POFF, November 6-22).
All 12 titles in the Official Competition are world premieres, including Sh*t Happens, a dark comedy from Dominican filmmaker Cabral. It follows a wealthy Dominican household where the biotechnologist father develops a treatment for his sickly daughter, only for the miracle remedy to get out of control. Cabral’s feature Woodpeckers premiered at Sundance in 2017.
Scroll down for the list of titles
The Matriarch is the second fiction feature from German-Vietnamese filmmaker Kuhn, after 2025’s Holy Meat. The Matriarch follows a 17-year-old who enters her mother’s trafficking business, and seizes a chance to prove herself while also navigating her first romance.
In Starland is the directorial debut of UK actor Panthaki, and is one of nine world premieres in the 12-title First Feature Competition. Set in small-town America, it follows a middle-aged man whose solitary existence is shattered when he enters the hedonistic world of a group of young influencers.
Sing Sing star Clarence Maclin leads the cast. Panthaki and Daniel Khalili produce for UK firm Le Bateau Lavoir, Daisy Allsop for Archface Films and Victor Paul Wajnberg, with Christine Vachon’s Killer Films joining as executive producer.
“The films are diverse in geography, style and subject, but they share a strong sense of storytelling and a desire to look at familiar things from an unexpected angle,” said Triin Tramberg, heading into her first edition as POFF artistic director.
“We wanted to draw on POFF’s global reach to reflect a multifaceted and complex cinematic world, while ensuring that every film could connect emotionally with our audiences,” said curator Malaika Bova of the First Feature Competition.
The Official Competition jury will be led by screenwriter Christopher Hampton, alongside Lebanese producer Myriam Sassine, US cinematographer David Stump, French producer Julie Billy and Estonian actress Tiina Tauraite. They will award a €20,000 ($22,400) Grand Prix for best film.
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival lineups
Official Competition
A Job Well Done (Switz) dir, Frederic Baillif*
Caballe (Sp-Bel) dir. Patricia Ortega*
Drumskin (Arg) dir. Joaquin Cambre*
I Just Want To Talk To My Mom (Iran-Tur) dir. Mohsen Rabiei*
No Me Without You (Est) dir. Janno Jugens*
On Top Of The Cliff (Mex-Peru-Switz) dir. Enrica Perez*
One Sweet Hour (Ire) dir. Declan Recks*
Sh*t Happens (Dom Rep) dir. Jose Maria Cabral*
Sinless (Hun) dir. Attila Hartung*
The Assignment (Bel-Ger-Neth) dir. Patrice Toye*
The Matriarch (Ger) dir. Alison Kuhn*
Where Is My Son? (Kaz) dir. Dias Bertis*
First Feature Competition
Black Slaughter (Fr-Isr) dir. Gigi Betito*
Exotic (Pol) dir. Sonja Orlewicz-Zakrewska
In Starland (UK-US) dir. Ray Panthaki*
Happy Ending (Iran) dir. Atena Mahmoudi*
Lionheart (Den) dir. Nagieb Khaja
Oblivion (Lith) dir. Danielius Minkevicius*
Princess (Ecu-Mex-Arg-Peru-Bol) dir. Christian Rojas*
Running Wild (Tai) dir. Wang Yi-Ling*
Status: Rejected (Phil) dir. Vahn Leinard Pascual
The Sweetness Of Bitter Things (N Mac) dir. Andrey Volkashin*
When She Hears The Bells (Fr-Ger-Bel) dir. Chabname Zariab*
White As Salt (Tur) dir. Murat Eroglu*
* - world premiere
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