The 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival runs Nov. 6-22 with 230 features and 259 shorts from 87 countries, in Triin Tramberg's first year as artistic director.
Estonia's Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) opens its 30th edition on Friday, Nov. 6, and runs through Nov. 22. According to the festival and to a Hollywood Reporter preview, the programme includes 230 feature films and 259 shorts from 87 countries. Together, PÖFF, its youth and children's strand Just Film and the shorts section PÖFF Shorts will present 107 world premieres and 47 international premieres, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
It is the first edition under artistic director Triin Tramberg, who joined the festival as a programme assistant and is now in her 16th year there. Founder Tiina Lokk remains CEO, with a stronger focus on strategy and development. Tramberg told the Hollywood Reporter that she regards this year as observational, testing ideas to decide what to keep, and said she did not come to save a sinking ship but to improve a festival that is running smoothly. She also noted recurring themes of motherhood and what she called a new genre of coming-of-age stories about women aged 35 and over.
The anniversary programme gives prominent space to Baltic cinema from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, building on the Baltic Film Competition running since 2008 and a Baltic documentary competition added last year. Latin America also has a strong presence, with titles from countries including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. Tramberg pointed to Latvia's Oscar win for Flow as evidence of the region's momentum and said the Baltics are becoming a place for independent co-productions.
