Family Drama ‘The Good Daughter’ Wins Top Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Award

The Good DaughterJúlia de Paz Solvas’ drama exploring family conflicts through the eyes of a teenage girl, won the top award in the main competition of the 29th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in Estonia. In addition to the Grand Prix, it also received the fest’s Audience Award.

The best director honor went to Turkish director Ali Vatansever for LifeLikea meditation on mortality and the human desire for transcendence that was partly shot in VRChat.

In the performance categories of the main competition, Aladdin Detlefsen and Kanji Tsuda shared the best actor award for their roles as two men who make an unexpected connection in In the Aisles director Thomas Stuber’s The Frog and the Water. And the best actress honor went to Kiara Arancibia for her lead role in The Good Daughter.

The jury consisted of Teona Strugar Mitevska, Debra McGuire, Nomuunzul Turmunkh, Ingo Fliess, and Roberto Schaefer.

It called The Good Daughter “a powerful and emotionally grounded drama that explores family conflict through the eyes of a teenage girl. The film handles difficult themes with remarkable sensitivity, allowing the story to feel both intimate and authentic. Its greatest strength lies in the depth and honesty of the central performance, which brings quiet intensity and vulnerability to the character’s journey. Experiencing the narrative through her perspective adds a raw emotional truth, making the audience feel the confusion, loyalty, and fear she endures.”

It added: “The cinematography and editing are subtle and restrained, supporting the story without overshadowing it. This minimalistic approach keeps the focus firmly on the emotional lives of the characters.”

In PÖFF’s First Feature Competition, Hercules Falling by director Christian Bonke and starring Game of Thrones and Borgen actor Dar Salim as a former soldier struggling with PTSD, won the best film award. Samuel Abrahams was named best director for Ladya mockumentary about an aristocrat’s struggle to be seen in the social media age.

Meanwhile, Jurgis Matulevičius’ China Seaabout a broken and canceled former MMA champion who is trying to pick up the pieces of his life, won the best film award in PÖFF’s Critics’ Picks Competition. Matías Szulanski was named best director for his A Summer Talea drama about the “societal and economic rot” in Argentina that leaves the audience breathless, as the jury put it.

The Baronessesfrom directors Nabil Ben Yadir and Mokhtaria Badaoui, won the best film award in PÖFF’s Rebels With a Cause section. The movie tells the story of four grandmothers who decide to perform Hamlet. Rógan Graham received the best director honor for his melancholic road movie Blindsight.

And in the Baltic Film Competition, Vytautas Katkus’ The Visitora meditation on solitude; took home the best film award, while Gabriele Urbonaite won the best director trophy for her feature directorial debut Renovationabout a woman turning 30 who faces cracks in the wall and her life.

Finally, in the documentary sections, in the Baltic competition, director Aistė Žegulytė picked up the best film honor, her second award in as many days for Holy Destructorswhich dives into the cosmos of blooming microfungi and had on Thursday evening won an honor at IDFA in Amsterdam. And a cinematic journey into the hidden world of a reclusive Finnish artist, Days of Wonder by Karin Pennanen, was honored as the best international documentary at Tallinn.

Also in Tallinn on Friday night, Austrian author Jessica Hausner received an honorary award, and Estonian director and children’s writer Janno Põldma was awarded a lifetime achievement honor.

Check out the full Tallinn 2025 winners below.

Official Selection Competition
Best Production Design
Chris Richmond, David Hand, Think of England

Best Original Score
Erdem Helvacıoğlu, LifeLike

Best Script
Ståle Stein Berg No Comment

Best Cinematographer
Yutaka Yamazaki, The Imaginary Dog and the Lying Cat

Best Actor
Aladdin Detlefsen, Kanji Tsuda, The Frog and the Water

Best Actress
Kiara Arancibia, The Good Daughter

Best Director
Ali Vatansever LifeLike (Türkiye, Greece, Romania)

Grand Prix
The Good Daughter, director Júlia de Paz Solvas (Spain)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Janno Põldma

Honorary Award
Jessica Hausner

NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asia Cinema) Jury Prize
The Muralist, director Sengedorj Janchivdorj (Mongolia)

International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award
Hercules Falling, director Christian Bonke (Denmark)

Audience Award
The Good Daughter, director Júlia de Paz Solvas (Spain)

#youngfilmmakerAward
Sunflower, director Katlin Kõiv

Grand Prix
They Call Me Danka, director Dovile Gasiunaite (Lithuania)