The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival will begin on 6 November to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
Triin Tramberg will lead the festival for the first time as artistic director during this milestone year. Festival founder Tiina Lokk is moving into a strategic role within the organisation. Tramberg described the jubilee line-up as one of the strongest programs ever and noted that the festival remains bold, unpredictable yet accessible.
A team of nearly 20 programmers and the artistic director selected 230 feature films from nearly 2,000 submissions. The selection includes 71 world premieres. Altogether, 489 films from 87 countries will screen between 9 November and 22 November, including the PÖFF Shorts sub-festival.
Latvia’s “Ulya” is scheduled to open the festival on 6 November. The program features a wider Baltic cinema showcase containing close to 40 feature films, shorts, classics and little gems. The only Baltic entry vying for the €20,000 ($22,400) Grand Prix is part of this showcase.
Tramberg added, “Giving Baltic cinema a central place in this anniversary program feels especially meaningful,” and eagerly tagged the Baltics as “the next Scandinavia.”
Patricia Ortega’s “Caballé,” which focuses on opera diva Montserrat Caballé, will world premiere in the official competition.
Daniel Romero’s psycho thriller “The Daughters” will appear in the Midnight Shivers. Tramberg said most PÖFF film entries this year hailed from Europe, followed by Latin America.
Uruguay is represented in the Critic’s Pick competition with the Catalan co-production “When I Existed,” while Ecuador is running for best first feature with Christian Rojas’ “Princess.”
The Dominican Republic is represented by “Sh*t Happens” in the official selection.
U.S. actor Griffin Dunne is confirmed for the screening of Max Korman’s “Joy Will Prevail.”
U.K. star actor Ray Panthaki will appear for his directorial debut “In Starland,” which premieres in the First Feature competition.
Danish actress Trine Dyrholm is due in Tallinn for the world premiere of the Danish hybrid picture “Father’s House.”
Iranian-born Goldshifteh Farahani stars in the official competition entry “When She Hears the Bells.” The Discovery Campus educational strand is attended annually by more than 70 professionals.
The 2023 Berlinale winner is “20,000 Species of Bees,” and the 2025 Cannes Un Certain Regard top winner is “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo.”
