Pärnu City Orchestra will present a concert screening of Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1932 horror film "Vampyr", with music written by Tõnu Kõrvits.

The concert screening, conducted by conductor Kaspar Männi, is part of the program of events for the 25th birthday of Black Nights Film Festival.

The work was commissioned by the Normandy Symphony Orchestra and premiered in 2015 in Caen. This is the first time it has been heard in Estonia.

"Vampyr" by the Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889–1968) is one of the most important horror films of all time. In 2000, the British newspapers The Guardian and The Observer ranked it 9th in their best horror films list.

"I wanted to portray an obvious dream on the screen and show that horror is not in the things around us, but in our subconscious," Dreyer himself said.

According to film critic Tristan Priimäe, the main emphasis of Dreyer's piece is on atmosphere, not narrative or dramatization, "On the surface, 'Vampyr is a typical vampire film, a story that seems quite tame in the context of today's extravagant scare tactics. But, as with all masterpieces, they speak louder when enjoyed up close,” he added.

Tõnu Kõrvits is also very much looking forward to this meeting of film and orchestra, "It is a great challenge for the composer to bring out everything that can be seen on the screen: emotions, thoughts, facial expressions, actions. How much to push it? Sometimes the picture is so powerful that it would be good if the music remained rather neutral.”

Concert screenings will take place on October 31 at 7pm at the Estonian National Museum, on November 1 at 7pm in Pärnu Concert Hall and on November 13 at 7pm in Kumu auditorium.

Buy a ticket here.