PÖFF kicks off with a tragicomic musical film that dances around death.

When Claudia, a vibrant septuagenarian, is diagnosed with an incurable illness, she decides to end her days in a Swiss clinic. Flavio, her inseparable husband of over 40 years, feels unable to face life without her. This sets in motion their plan to end their lives together in Switzerland. Meanwhile, their daughter Violeta becomes an involuntary mediator between them while trying to clarify her own thoughts. The three embark on a fascinating and profound journey of love and self-discovery.

In his latest feature, Carlos Marqués-Marcet, whose 2014 film “10.000 KM” won the Goya for best new director, treats the audience to a unique, daring, and rewarding look at our unavoidable death. The excellent performances of Ángela Molina and Alfredo Castro deliver fresh take on such a daunting theme. Unequal parts contemporary dance-musical and taut ensemble drama with a theatrical – at times almost comical – intensity, “They Will Be Dust” reaches for the raw emotional core of humanity in all its inherent messiness.

Diana Cadavid, Toronto FF

The 29th PÖFF opening ceremony and opening film “They Will Be Dust”

We invite you to celebrate the arrival of one of the most important cultural events of the year!

The festive opening ceremony of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival will take place on Friday 7 November at 7 p.m. at the Alexela Concert Hall (Estonia pst 9).

This year’s focus country is Catalonia, and the ceremony will feature a performance by Maria Arnal, a popular Catalan singer who combines folk, pop, and electronic music in her work. This will be her first performance in Estonia.

She is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Spanish music, drawing inspiration from the polyphonic folk tunes of the Iberian Peninsula.

During the ceremony, the PÖFF Lifetime Achievement Award and the Bruno O’Ya Young Actor Scholarship will be presented.

The evening will be hosted by Laura Võigemast and Ingmar Jõela.

The ceremony will be followed by the festival’s opening film, “They Will Be Dust,” a musical tragicomedy by Carlos Marqués-Marcet. The film tells the story of a woman with an incurable disease who decides to end her life through euthanasia, joined by her husband. Thus begins a captivating and unusually humorous journey of love and self-discovery. The film’s music was composed by Maria Arnal, and the lead role is played by the renowned Spanish actress Ángela Molina.

Doors to the concert hall and black-carpet photo wall open to guests at 5:45 p.m.

Please arrive on time.