The anniversary selection brings emerging filmmakers and established directors together, offering audiences new discoveries alongside award-winning titles from the international festival circuit.
“A festival stays relevant by giving audiences a reason to be curious and to spend their time with us. This year’s programme reflects very different lives and experiences, yet tells stories we can connect with,” says Triin Tramberg, Artistic Director of PÖFF. “Giving Baltic cinema a central place in this anniversary programme feels especially meaningful. We want international audiences to discover the diversity of filmmaking in our region, and local audiences to see familiar places and experiences through fresh eyes.”
This year’s Focus: Baltics presents close to 40 feature-length films alongside a selection of shorts from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, spanning classics, contemporary works and premieres. The festival’s opening film, Ulya, is also a collaboration between the three countries, led by Latvia.
The Spotlight on Basque audiovisual introduces films and talent from the Basque Country, with activities extending to Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event to support international exchange and new partnerships.
PÖFF’s main programme features seven competitions, alongside four at Just Film and six at PÖFF Shorts. The Doc@PÖFF International and Baltic competitions run from 7–13 November, followed by the Official Selection, First Feature, Rebels with a Cause, Critics’ Picks and Baltic Film competitions from 13–19 November.
The programme also features award winners from the world’s leading film festivals and Oscar favourites, including Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur, Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo’s The Black Ball, Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland and Peter Farrelly’s I Am Rocky.
In total, 13 films in the PÖFF programme have been submitted by their countries for the International Feature Film Oscar, while 15 appear on the European Film Awards pre-selection list.
Beyond the competitions, audiences can explore Best of Festivals, Best of Docs, environmental and science films, sports films, Midnight Shivers, Standing with Ukraine and Old Gold. The anniversary programme PÖFF Celebrating! This Is Where It All Began revisits a selection of Nordic films screened at the festival’s first edition.
PÖFF and its industry platform, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, expect to welcome nearly 2,000 guests from more than 50 countries, including acclaimed film talents such as Christopher Hampton, Tim Blake Nelson, Golshifteh Farahani, Griffin Dunne and David Dawson. Celebrating its own 25th anniversary, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event runs from 9–20 November, bringing audiovisual professionals together for project presentations, discussions, training and networking.
Across its 834 screenings, PÖFF is made possible by the enthusiasm, care and dedication of its team, including 463 volunteers and 85 interns. Their contribution helps make the festival a welcoming experience for audiences and filmmakers alike.
The full programme and screening schedule are available at poff.ee.
About PÖFF
The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) is one of Northern Europe’s largest film festivals and the region’s only FIAPF-accredited competitive feature film festival. Held annually in Tallinn, Estonia, PÖFF brings together international premieres, established filmmakers and emerging talent, alongside its youth and children’s film festival Just Film, short film festival PÖFF Shorts, and film industry platform Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. The festival’s 30th edition takes place from 6–22 November 2026.
