Editor

Summer is coming to Tallinn next week.....well not exactly the balmy weather of July and August, but a film that brings with it the sultriness of that special season. The American indie hit (500) DAYS OF SUMMER opens the 13th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the biggest film festival event in Eastern Europe, on November 26. The festival, which will unspool nearly 250 films in Estonia's capital city, is a true feast for adventurous cinema lovers.

One of the big American indie hits of the year, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER is a creative and surprising twist on young romance that is also a showcase for its talented acting duo Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, who have chemistry to burn. The title refers to a year and a half in the life of a bewildered guy irrevocably in love with an unconventional girl named Summer who he meets at his office in downtown Los Angeles.

Highlighting telling moments in their affair, told out of sequence, director Marc Webb has brought a quirky and engaging style to this story of love found, lost and then found again. It is to the film's credit that it never takes its characters or situations for granted, giving each scene an open-ended quality that hooks the viewer with curiosity to see how it will all come together. The end result is a consistently engaging and uncommonly genuine romantic comedy that's as breezy as it is poignant.

Marc Webb began his career directing music videos for artists such as Santana, Fergie, Regina Spektor, Evanescence and Nelly. These won him several MTV Awards. In 2003 he directed "Seascape", a short film that was selected for the Aspen Comedy Festival and then got involved in a documentary project about the first day at school in an educational establishment in Baghdad. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER is his first feature film.

The choice of this film is in tune with the Festival's strong embrace of independent cinema coming from North America. In fact, this year the Festival has initiated a new awards competition specifically for independent films from the USA and Canada (more on this in a future story).

For more information on this year's Festival, visit: http://2009.poff.ee/eng/esileht and Return to the Tallinn Black Nights Festival Dailies site.

Sandy Mandelberger, Tallinn FF Dailies Editor