These films screening at PÖFF show how silly life can be if it’s taken too seriously. And on the other hand, tragic, if you don’t do so. Here, you will find portrait films that won’t merely remain biographies but instead showcase the inner workings of a person, with all their contradictions.
The following stories bring people to the cinema screen who are bigger than life itself. Rise and demise, determination and fragility, as well as timeless and fleeting stories, intertwine here, allowing the viewer to understand oneself through the lives of others. These are films on a mission to explore how time, memory, and choices create identity, and how even in the most personal stories, universal truths still echo through.
André is an Idiot, proves that even stage four cancer can’t kill the zest for life or dark humour. Matti Nykänen- The Legend highlights a hero whose life was as frantic ashis accomplishments. Old Man’s Journeys takes us on a trip through the memory planes of Baltic film star Juozas Budraitis.
Days of Wonder highlights a forgotten art genius. Happiness is Living in Our Land rebels to the sound of punk at history’s crossroads, and Saipan showcases how ego can become the biggest competition on the football field.
You can discover the entirety of this year's PÖFF programme HERE.
7th of November, Friday at 18.15 at Sõprus cinema
Dir: T. Benna (USA)
André is faced with a stage-four cancer diagnosis but refuses to lose his sense of humour. He decides to die with the same flair and sense of absurdity that guided him through life. The result is a moving and unexpectedly funny picture of a man who turns the end of his life into a new beginning for others. André is an Idiot premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received the Audience Award.
8th of November, Saturday at 20.30 at Apollo Kino Solaris
The Estonian premier with the director
Dir: O. Laine (Finland)
Matti Nykänen was already a legend in his lifetime. The people closest to him open up in this new documentary. It’s a warm and loving story, but at the same time a tragic one about one of the greatest ski jumpers. The film takes the viewer on a journey from Nykänen’s childhood to his final moments. Searching for the answer to the question, Why did it go as it did?
8th of November, Saturday at 15.30 at Apollo Kino Plaza
The world premiere with the filmmakers
Dir: N.Milerius (Lithuania)
A portrait of film and theatre icon Juozas Budraitis, who looks back on his life on and off screen. Known as the Lithuanian film rebel whom the Italian film director Michelangelo Antonioni would’ve wanted in his films if only the Iron Curtain hadn’t stopped him. Having appeared in more than 120 films, including Estonian and Lithuanian productions, the actor will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's PÖFF.
9th of November, Sunday at 18.30 at Apollo Kino Plaza
The world premiere with the filmmakers
Dir: K. Pennanen (Finland)
Not every filmmaker inherits an unfinished film. When Finnish director Karin Pennanen’s uncle, Markku, died after living as a hermit for tens of years, she stepped into his house for the first time in 34 years and discovered a world previously unknown. Days of Wonder turns a story of loss into a wondrous tale that invites us to think about what it means to live authentically.
Happiness is Living in Our Land
10th of November, Monday at 21:50 at Apollo Kino Plaza
The world premiere with the filmmakers
Dir: I. Spungin (Estonia)
Behold, Tallinn is on fire! Director Indrek Spungin’s wild documentary brings to the screen the entire story of the legendary punk band Velikije Luki and how Estonia tore itself free from the ropes of the Soviet Era. In the midst of stagnation and ideological control at the beginning of the 1980s, a punk band is born out of a garage whose energy shakes up the frozen system.
10th of November, Monday at 1845 at Apollo Kino Plaza
International premiere with the director
Dir: G. Žickytė (Lithuania, Estonia and Bulgaria)
Have You ever thought about who inspired Arvo Pärt’s legendary piece Für Alina? It is impossible to be left indifferent to the story of Irena Veisaitė. Lithuanian director Giedrė Žickytė returns to the screen after the success of her last film, The Jump, with her most heartwarming documentary yet, which showcases the biography of the extraordinary woman and her lifelong friendship with Arvo Pärt.