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More of a poem than a conventional narrative, Signe Birkova’s vividly detailed feature début is a luscious tribute to the world of silent film, a disjointed and dreamlike fable about the strange days in 1919 when the future seemed about to be born, before women had been squeezed out of creative roles and history had veered off along the path that brought us to where we are today. That it begins with a visit to a fortune teller teases us with the idea that there are many possible paths but, as the woman with the swinging crystal tells us shortly after vomiting out her own heart and turning into a nun, just one inescapable fate.

The person consulting the fortune teller is Alice von Trott (Severija Janušauskaitė), whose curiosity about her fate stems from the discovery that she has inherited a mansion in a remote part of Latvia. This turns out.

Premiering at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (aka PÖFF), which kicks off November 8 in Estonia, Signe Birkova’s Lotus is among the lineup’s most intriguing titles. Shot on a mix of 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm, including silent-film portions shot with a Debrie Parvo camera from 1921, the film is a dreamlike musical carousel following Lithuanian actress Severija Janušauskaitė as Alice von Trotta, an underdog silent-cinema director. Ahead of its premiere, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the first trailer.

Here’s the synopsis: “Baltic German Alice von Trotta returns to her late father’s manor in Latvia in 1919. She intends to sell it and start a new life. During her stay, she meets some local laborers who demonstrate hostility and show resistance. Moreover, Alice discovers that she has been lured into a carefully tailored trap, organized by the demonic lawyer Emil Keyserling, a decadent underground organization Viva LA Mort, and its necrophile leader Sieba Falstaff.

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has selected 11 debut films for its First Feature Competition, including Steve Bache’s “paedosexuality” drama No Dogs Allowed.

The German film follows a 15-year-old boy trying to control his paedophilic impulses. He meets an older man in an online chat forum, only for the older man to take advantage of his insecurities. Paedosexuality is a term for the sexual fixation on children.

Scroll down for the full list of First Feature Competition films

Carlo Krammling stars with Robin Sondermann, Katharina Marie Schubert and Bineta Hansen. The film is written by Stephan Kampf, and produced by Marcos Kantis,...

One of Northern Europe’s leading festivals, the A-listed Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (also known as PÖFF) unspooling Nov. 8-24 in the Estonian capital, has unveiled its first features and inaugural documentary competition programs, each boasting an enticingly curated slate of 11 titles.

Among the seven world premieres selected for the First Feature strand are Germany’s “No Dogs Allowed” by student Academy Award nominated Steve Bache tackling the taboo subject of paedophilia in teen years; “Two of Me”, the humorous meta story of twin brothers dreaming to make it big in movies, helmed by Estonian twins “the Eskobros”; and “A Yard of Jackals”, Chilean thriller set during Pinochet’s dictatorship toplining Néstor Cantillana and Blanca Lewin from HBO’s “Fugitives” (“Prófugo”).

Programmer Triin Tramberg said the First Feature selection committee watched 250 films from 66 countries, picking those with the biggest sales and distribution potential.

“We don’t have industry people...

Titles include magical-realist ensemble tragedy ’8 Views Of Lake Biwa’.

New projects from leading Estonian production firms Tallifornia and Allfilm are among the 20 titles selected for Tallinn Black Nights’ Works in Progress strand.

The 20 projects are split across three strands: eight in the Baltic Event section for titles from the region; six in the International section; and six in the Just Film strand, for emerging filmmakers.

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Tallifornia has two productions in the Baltic Event section: Free Money, written, directed and produced by Rain Rannu; and Miguel Llanso’s Infinite Summer. Both titles are produced by Tonu Hiielaid for Tallifornia,...

Further funding awarded to new Bruno Dumont feature and ‘Niko’ franchise.

Joshua Oppenheimer’s upcoming musical The End starring Tilda Swinton is one of 23 features to receive a share of €5.5m ($6.1m) in the latest round of Eurimages co-production support funding.

The film, a co-production between Denmark, Germany and Ireland, receives €480,000 – the largest of the 23 awards in this selection.

Scroll down for the full list of titles

The End stars George MacKay and Stephen Graham alongside Swinton in the musical about the last human family. Neon has acquired North America rights.

The Empire, the latest film from French director Bruno Dumont,...

Now in its fifth year, European Film Promotion’s Future Frames is a next-generation showcase comprising short works by students and recent graduates of European film schools, curated by the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival in cooperation with the Efp.

The program has already established itself as an important platform for discovering European talent; this year’s program, which includes two student Academy Award winners, promises to be especially exciting. Participants will take part in a master class led by Greek helmer Syllas Tzoumerkas (“The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea”) and meet with industry experts from various fields in order to build up their international networks.

The selected directors and their films will be introduced to the public, press and industry at the festival over June 30-July 3. The program is supported by the Creative Europe — Media Program of the European Union and the respective Efp member organizations. AMC Networks and...