Editor

The 19th edition of the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival (HÕFF) crowns Wander to Wonder (dir. Nina Grantz)  as the Méliés Short Film Competition winner and Sander Maran's Chainsaws were Singing as the best Estonian genre film.
 
The Silver Méliés of the biggest genre festival in Baltics went to Wander to Wonder by Nina Grantz. The jury said: "We award the Méliés d’argent to this daring mixture of comedy, tragedy and even horror. Meticulously crafted, yet still effortlessly chaotic, it carries an underlying creepiness that serves as a perfect background to the flawed humanness of the characters. The filmmaker managed to blend all these elements, while still retaining an intimate scale."

Solstice-5 by Paul Chadeisson got a special mention. According to jury, the film is "An allegorical tale of humanity's future in the age of machines, with fantastic special effects. Precise attention to detail and breathtaking scale. A powerful and thought-provoking short film from first to last.

The jury consisted of Niels Bourgonje (the winner of HÕFF Silver Méliés 2023, Shut), Rain Rannu (the director of HÕFF's Best Estonian Genre Film 2023, Child Machine) and Estonian screenwriter Livia Ulman (Compartment Nr 6).
 
The Silver Méliés will grant the film a chance to compete for the Golden Méliés and become Europe’s best short film. The competition’s winners are announced at the annual ceremony that is usually held in November by the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation, of which HÕFF is a member.
 
The Estonian Genre Film Competition was overseen by a jury made up of five students from Haapsalu:  Mia Rahel Kander, Ralf Lamp, Margret Karm, Mart Villem Kelner and Lisandra Sommermann. They decided to award Chainsaws Were Singing, the Estonian musical horror comedy in the making for almost 10 years. Director Sander Maran’s debut feature ensures a wild ride with inventive kills, a chainsaw solo, exploding cars, romance, cute animal attacks, and even a supernatural Bukkake fridge. The film is a debut feature by Sander Maran. 

„This is a film where every little detail plays a big role. The characters are very contrasting and each one is a perfect cast. The score was great, and will haunt you for a long time, " explained the young jury. 

Chainsaws Were Singing scooped also The Audience Award 2024. 

A short film Escape Attempt by Alex Topaller and Dan Shapiro got the best sci-fi film award. The statuette "Robot Hand" is given out by the Estonian Sci-Fi association. All HÕFF features and shorts that are directly or indirectly related to the sci-fi genre are eligible for the award. This year, the awardee belonged to the Méliés Short Film Competition programme. The sci-fi jury consisted of Ene Kallas,  Veiko Belials and Jüri "Sci-Fi guru" Kallas.

The jury was amazed: "Technical perfection alone is not enough. For a film to be successful as a whole, all the components must be in balance. Above all, in addition to the visuals, you need a story. A story that captivates and compels you to watch, to live. The story of Escape Attempt reminds us of a relevant fact: people who have grown up in a welfare society and have never been exposed to evil and violence are often unable to understand it and to react adequately to it. The short film adaptation of the Strugatsky brothers' classic novel 'Escape Attempt' became a cohesive and compelling work due to its well-crafted script and execution."

Read more about the awards and the past winners.

For the third year in a row, HÕFF held charity auction for Ukraine and calls other film festivals for similar actions. 
The auction items were Estonian film memorabilias, and €5,325 were collected to support Ukrainian rescuers. The highest price, €700, went to the framed hairpiece of the character Märt (Ott Sepp) from the film Alien 2.  A driving licence from Chainsaws Were Singing, was sold for €600, along with the autographs of the cast.
For €575, a signed giclee print of Priit and Olga Pärn's film Life without Gabriella Ferrita found its owner. 

The money was donated to Estonian Rescue Association that supports directly the Ukrainian rescuers in the ongoing war. 



The photo galleries are HERE.  

Festival's website: https://hoff.ee/en/