Spanish film 'The Good Daughter' makes PÖFF awards history
"The Good Daughter," directed by Spanish filmmaker Júlia de Paz Solvas, won both the Grand Prix and the Audience Award at this year's Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF).
This was the first time the one film has won both these prizes.
"This film is a strong and emotional drama about a teenage girl dealing with family conflict. It handles difficult themes with care, making the story feel real. The lead performance is honest and sensitive, helping the audience understand her feelings. The simple cinematography and editing effectively support the story without detracting from it. Overall, the film shows family struggles in a realistic and meaningful way," the PÖFF jury comment said of "The Good Daughter," while the Grand Prix for the Best Film is rewarded by a grant of €20,000 from the City of Tallinn.
"The Good Daughter" (Spanish: La buena hija), a Spain-Belgium collaboration, sees Carmela, played by Kiara Arancibia, going to live with her mother and grandmother following her parents' separation. All the while she yearns to spend more time with her father, a plastic artist who she idolizes. Arancibia herself also bagged the PÖFF award for best actress.
Meanwhile Ali Vatansever for "Lifelike" (Turkey, Greece, Romania), took the best director award, for a movie the jury described as "Powerful and poignant, with great sensitivity, the director paints an emotional picture of the inner life of the main character by masterfully navigating between reality and the virtual world."
Aladdin Detlefsen and Kanji Tsuda jointly won the best award for their roles in "The Frog and the Water" (Germany), "Hercules Falling," directed by Christian Bonke (Denmark), won the Best First Feature Film award, and "The Visitor," directed by Vytautas Katkus (Lithuania, Norway, Sweden) was awarded Best Baltic Film prize.
The full list of awards is here.
PÖFF 2025 ends today, Sunday, November 23.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
