Anna Hints’ feature film “Black Hairy Beast” received a development award in Torino

At the TFL Meeting Event (20–22 November), held as part of the Torino Film Festival’s industry programme, the project by Hints and Prakash won the €6,000 development award presented by ArteKino.

The award is granted by ARTE’s cultural channel ArteKino Fund to highlight outstanding projects and support international arthouse cinema. The jury explained their choice as follows:
“We selected a project that felt truly alive – full of love, humour, imagination, and a rare creative courage. It reminded us that embracing one’s inner ‘creature’ – the parts we are taught to hide as well as those that seem not to fit – can be a profoundly liberating act.”

The debut feature Black Hairy Beast, currently in development by writer-director Anna Hints and co-writer Tushar Prakash, was chosen from 675 applications as one of 16 projects selected for the prestigious Torino ScriptLab programme in 2025, being the only project from the entire Baltic region.
“Black Hairy Beast” is bursting with fantasy and creativity, yet still rooted in life itself – in a deeply personal love story. During these nine months at Torino Film Lab, we found the heart of the film, our voice, and the courage to trust that voice – this has been the greatest reward of the journey,” said Hints.

The feature film is written and directed by Anna Hints, co-written by Tushar Prakash, and produced by Johanna Maria Tamm and Evelin Penttilä of Stellar Film. Script development has been supported by the Estonian Film Institute, the Estonian Cultural Endowment, and the Tartu Film Fund.