Estonian movie 'The Black Hole' wins top prize at French film festival
Estonian director Moonika Siimets' absurdist comedy "The Black Hole" has won the Grand Prix du Jury at the Les Utopiales Science Fiction Film Festival in Nantes, France.
"Utopiales is a very important international science fiction festival, which, in addition to films, also covers art, literature, video games and comics more broadly. It aims to view science fiction not only as entertainment, but as a means of analyzing processes taking place in society, future developments, technology and more," Siimets explained.
"'Black Hole' also uses science fiction and comedy to address social issues such as loneliness, violence against women and aging. I am very pleased that the international jury in France noticed and appreciated this," the director added.
Last week, "The Black Hole" also won the award for Best Feature Film at the Sognielettrici Electricdreams International Film Festival in Milan.
In October 2024, the film won the grand prize in the Free Spirit competition program at the Warsaw International Film Festival, and in April of this year, Siimets was awarded the prize for best director at the goEast Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Germany.
The film also won the jury prize for best feature film at the UnderGround Film Festival 2025 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and a special jury prize at the European Film Festival Palić, in Serbia.
"The Black Hole" had its world premiere at the Fantastic Fest festival in Austin, Texas in August 2024.
The plot of the film is inspired by Armin Kõomägi's collection of short stories "Minu Mustamäe" and Andrus Kivirähk's short story "Inimväärne elu" ("A Life Worthy of a Human Being").
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Editor: Neit-Eerik Nestor, Michael Cole
