In the Mirror
Fairy-tales are stories which we are told as children and which we recognise in all sorts of characters around us as adults.
With her creative works which determinedly experiment with the language of film and the narrative, director and screenwriter Laila Pakalniņa has become renowned both at film festivals far away and right here at PÖFF last year with her documentary "The Spoon". Her film "The Shoe" intertwined fairy-tales with social criticism at Cannes as early as in 1998. After "Cinderella", she this time takes on "Snow White" We can all remember the evil stepmother whose sinister nature manifested in boundless self-admiration as she demanded daily praise from her reflection? Today, people talk to their reflection regularly multiple times more than the evil stepmother ever did throughout the entire fairy-tale.
"In the Mirror" places "Snow White" in the world’s fitness gym where, on the backdrop of the countless shed tears of sweat, we look for an answer to the question of who is the strongest and toughest in the world.
In this story, everyone talks to their reflection, which playfully comes from the perspective of the viewer. What does a person who only looks at himself see and what goes unnoticed on the background of all that? "In the Mirror" proposes answers at a high artistic level, while also daring to use the piquancy of absurd humour.
Elise Eimre
Laila Pakalniņa (1962) graduated in film direction from the Moscow Film Institute (VGIK) and has directed over 30 documentaries and fiction films. Pakalnina appeared on the international scene when two of her documentaries were chosen for Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes film festival. Her first feature film, “The Shoe”, was a return to Soviet Union in 1950s (PÖFF 1998). Pakalnina’s second feature “The Python” was selected at Venice Film Festival programme and was shown also at PÖFF. Pakalnina’s documentary “Three Men and Fishbound” (2008, co-directed with Maris Maskalans) won the Best Baltic Film prize at PÖFF. Her films “Dawn” (2015) and “In the Mirror” (2020) have also participated in PÖFF's Main Competition programme.
Filmography:
(Valik/Selected): Kurpe (King, PÖFF 1998), Pitons (Püüton, PÖFF 2003), Kilnieks (Koer, lennuk ja laulupidu, PÖFF 2006), Par dzimteniti (Kolm meest ja kalatiik, doc, PÖFF 2008, co-dir), 33 Zveri Ziemassvetku Vecitim (Jõuluvana 33 looma, doc, 2011), Ausma (Koidik, PÖFF 2015), Karote (Lusikas, doc, PÖFF 2019), Spoguli (Peegelpildis, PÖFF 2020), Mājas (Kodud, PÖFF 2021, doc), Termini (2024, doc), Putnubiedēkļi (Scarecrows, 2025)
Grand Prix for The Best Film, grant of 20 000 euros from the city of Tallinn, Award for Best Director, grant of 5000€ from Alexela
