#youngfilmmaker 1

Films directly from young people

#youngfilmmaker 2

Films directly from young people

#youngfilmmaker 3

Films directly from young people

17

A straightforward film about how peer pressure and recklessness can lead to terrible results.

30th PÖFF Awards Ceremony

Viilige küüned, teritage silmad ja tulge Alexela kontserdimajja, kus teid ootab pidulik auhinnatseremoonia.

5 More Minutes

A fantasy comedy about a couple in a marital crisis who find themselves caught in a time loop while on holiday.

A Family

How differently can children in the same family perceive a divorce?

A Girl Unknown

The tragic consequences of China’s one-child policy – a law that was only amended 10 years ago.

A Job Well Done

In Geneva, social workers helping refugees confront an asylum system where compassion may become an act of defiance.

A Long Winter

Set high in the mountains, fall comes to an end and a family prepares for the long winter ahead.

A Photographer in Cannes

A glimpse into the life of red carpet photographer Erlend Štaub.

A Place to Heal

The arrival of a new patient turns the life of a psychiatric hospital upside down.

Adam's Apple

An authentic and personal documentary about the upbringing of a transsexual boy.

Amathia

A bitter feud between two brothers becomes a ruthless game of chess, fuelled by ideology, ego, lies and fear.

American Doctor

Three American doctors travel to Gaza, risking everything to save lives.

Animated Documentaries

Apart

A refugee bride from Cyprus finds love in apartheid South Africa, until a secret from her past changes everything.

Armony

We cannot choose the family we are born into, but sometimes we find exactly the kind of family we need.

Aroma

Fang lies in a coma. Yang can smell the world behind his closed eyes-and something begins to stir.

Arrow For a Stone Heart

A spell from the jungle comes to sweep us away, and we are delighted to go with it. Discover the story of Guaraní Mbya.

Atlas of the Universe

Filip and his father had one job: get new shoes from the city. Of course, nothing goes to plan.

Baltic UXO

Beneath the Baltic Sea’s calm surface lies a wounded world, still burdened by the weapons of war.

Barry & Me

A heart-warming story inspired by the real, legendary avalanche dog Barry.

Basque In The Sun

Behemoth!

A musician from a family of musicians returns to Los Angeles. A love letter to the music of the movies.

Beril_XXX

Beril walks us through Istanbul – capturing a generation’s longing for authenticity and revolt.

Betty Balloon

If a balloon and a cactus can be friends, perhaps the world isn’t such a prickly place after all?

Big Girls Don't Cry

Sid wants to belong more than anything, but finding herself comes at a steep price.

Birthday Candles

Make a wish and blow out the candles. What did you wish for?

Black Money for White Nights

A tragicomedy about ordinary people trapped between corruption, family loyalty and the collapse of moral certainty.

Black Nights Comedy

Black Slaughter

The search for a sacrificial lamb becomes a journey through identity, faith, and belonging with a touch of black humour.

Bloody Tennis

Sophie joins a tennis academy, where the brutality of competitive sports is taken to its extreme.

Born in the Jungle

A colourful animated adventure that makes the imagination run wild for both older and younger viewers!

Brace Your Heart

A richly observed portrait of love, resilience, and the enduring strength of Sámi women in northernmost Europe.

Brave New Love

Is it possible to love two people at once without eventually having to choose one and give up the other?

Breeder

An eccentric poodle breeder lures a broke student to her ranch with a promise of research funding. But there’s a catch.

Bunker

An architect’s marriage is tested after he accepts a project to build a bunker for a billionaire.

Burgundy

The story of Burgundy’s most extraordinary characters and a celebration of the pleasure that defines their lives.

Caballé

The beloved opera star Montserrat Caballé faces a challenge that takes her back to the beginning of her career.

Camouflage

On the threshold of a new life we are faced with what we have left behind. Even when we think we have already moved on.

Candidates of Death

What starts as a summer horror movie becomes a 17-year chronicle of friendship, dreams, and growing up.

Change of Heart

What to do when your heart tells you that things are no longer right?

Child of Sinaï

Nine-year-old Bedouin boy Jarah trains for a legendary camel race, carrying his family’s hopes on his small shoulders.

Children of Liberty

History that must be taught to future generations.

Christmas in Vigala

The Christmas of 1905 in Vigala is not a peaceful holiday.

Closure

A father torn between the dread of a fatal leap and the hope that his son may still be alive.

Congo Boy

Rafiki Fariala’s autobiographical story of a young rapper responsible for his family in the midst of a civil war.

Corpus

A horror thriller fuelled by steamy sex set against the backdrop of New York’s nightlife.

Crocodile

A documentary about young Nigerians whose amateur sci-fi films have been praised even by the creator of “Star Wars”!

Dance Films: Movements of Being

Dangerous Liaisons

A film classic based on a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, Head of Jury at this year’s PÖFF.

Daughters of the Forest

Deep in Mexico’s forests, two mycologists seek to reconcile the past and present while reimagining the future.

Death in Venice

An adaptation of Thomas Mann’s powerful novel.

Devil's Island

A bittersweet tale of Iceland in the fifties.

DICE-CHING-O-MAT

Roll the dice and choose: rewind, replay, or fast-forward through a life that mostly happened without you.

Dirt In Your Face

A taste of freedom, heavy metal, flirting, drinking, and punk spirit among the USSR’s most westernised youth.

Drifting Clouds

A film about unemployment with a happy ending.

Drumskin

A dark, feverish thriller exploring desire, obsession, and revenge through one woman's psychological transformation.

Elephants in the Fog

Wild elephants, rigid hierarchies, strict vows and chosen families within the Kinnar community in Nepal.

Emil and the Detectives

Daring young detectives try to bring a thief to justice.

Everybody Digs Bill Evans

A tender portrait of the inner world of a jazz genius as he learns that sometimes an intermission is part of the music.

Everytime

A grieving mother and her daughter’s boyfriend grapple with guilt, grief and forgiveness whilst on holiday together.

Exotic

Sexy bodies, spinning poles and the courage to be exactly who you are!

Extra Geography

A British school film offers an intimate insight into the joys and worries of teenage girls’ lives.

Extraordinary

The search for her missing parents leads Alisa and three young detectives onto the trail of a stolen diamond.

Falling House

A tense, yet moving story from Iran about a society trying to survive the current political conditions.

Father's House

They escaped a controlling Christian sect. Now acclaimed actors bring the horrors of their past back to life.

Fatherland

Thomas Mann returns to Germany after years of exile. Is he a traitor to his homeland, or a saviour of its culture?

Fruitcakes: Dawn of Drag

The freedom that the young take for granted has been achieved at someone else’s expense.

Furies

Set in sweaty Beirut, Rami Kodeih’s impressive thriller follows two sisters in need of money for an important surgery.

Garuda: Dare to Dream

A mythical creature helps a boy unlock his potential on the football pitch.

Goodbye Cruel World

Defeated by bullying, Otto lets himself be considered dead until Léna comes into his life.

Growing Gains

Growing up involves a few defining moments in every young person's life. There are joys, such as discovering your true passion or falling in love for the first time, but also sorrows—falling victim to bullying or realizing you don't feel comfortable in your own body. The collection "Growing Gainsains" brings these moments to viewers through six international short films.

Happy Ending

They heal, dance, sing, drink, love, and film their lives in Tehran as an attack on Iran draws near.

Henry's Ebb

Henry runs away from his unstable mother, while his best friend Ebb becomes increasingly dangerous.

Heysel 85

Violence erupts at a football final, leading to an international crisis in this superbly tense drama.

Hold Onto Me

A great father-daughter duo in one of the most celebrated films of this year’s Just programme.

Holy Light

The Holy Fire guides a lost boy on his path.

How to Divorce During the War

This year’s Lithuanian Oscar submission holds up a wry mirror to how we live, love, fear, separate and react.

I am Not a Tourist, I Live Here' and 'Tallinn Market'

I Just Want to Talk to My Mom

Her mother is in Tehran. War has cut the line. In Istanbul, every unanswered call feels like a verdict.

I Play Rocky

Sylvester Stallone writes the ultimate underdog story and must fight for his chance to play the role of a lifetime.

I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming

Caught between war and societal prejudices, a queer couple is fighting to remain true to themselves.

i want to be human

Behind iron bars and stone walls, men stripped of freedom search for dignity and redemption.

Ice, Men and a Starling

While most pensioners are slowing down, one 87-year-old is preparing for a final high-speed race across the ice.

In Cod We Trust

A portrait of a remote Arctic community and its diverse inhabitants.

In Starland

A bold exploration of a middle aged man becoming involved with online influencers.

In the Shadow of Death

One of the most outstanding Latvian films based on a short story by Rudolfs Blaumanis.

IOU

One grumpy debt collector, two unstoppable kids, and a Chinese New Year miracle nobody saw coming, full of heart.

IRREPARABLE

Anger, love, frenzy, vengeance, and adrenaline. What might a woman do to save her relationship?

Jasmine & Jambo

Music brings us together.

Jason's Box

What happens when an experienced climate scientist becomes an activist?

Jim Queen

A gay influencer’s life crumbles when a virus turns gay men in Paris straight.

Jimoto Loop

A hilarious Japanese time-loop mystery where escaping home may be the hardest and most wonderful journey of all.

JJ: Every Inch a King

A new documentary about Jüri Järvet, Estonia’s most internationally successful and best-known actor.

Joe Speedboat

A life-affirming comedy about friendship, love and finding purpose in a seemingly impossible situation.

Josephine

After 8-year-old Josephine witnesses a brutal assault in Golden Gate Park, she begins to experience fear and paranoia.

Joy Will Prevail

Louis Kahn is an architectural icon. This is the story of his final building.

Julian

A sincere story of family, imagination, and the power of self-expression.

Just Call me Frida

Discovering the joys of life with a friendly Death.

Just Film Grand Prix Winner

Just Film’s most prestigious award winner

Kidney

A minor family dispute spirals into deadly revenge. A breathtaking, fiercely independent drama from India.

King of the Wanderers

A heart-warming children’s film about accepting our differences.

Kingpins

Run Paula Run! A heist comedy fuelled by adrenaline, romance, film references, and killer tunes.

Koschka

A warm-hearted story of friendship, responsibility, and an adorable cat.

La Gradiva

A melancholy but stirring coming-of-age story about young love and sexual tension against the backdrop of Vesuvius.

La Pietà

These seven siblings saw the glaciers disappear long before anyone else noticed.

LAMB

Want to enter the world of contemporary dance? Join Sol and her army! Decide if you want to dance forever.

Late Night Love

Late Night Sci-Fi

Learning to Breathe Under Water

The metal shark on the roof of the house can’t be Leo’s best friend forever.

Let Our Mountains Live

Sámi reindeer herders win in the Supreme Court revealing a crisis of justice and trust.

Letters from the Silenced Country

A portrait of contemporary Belarus told through the voices silenced by an autocratic regime.

Lex Julia

A one-night stand or rape? Victim or coward? Three people on an island confront a shared past.

Lionheart

Kui maffiabossil tekib paanikahäire, saab allilmast lahkumisest üks õige ohtlik ülesanne.

Liquid States

Nina spends the summer in the countryside, where she has to face her changing family and her own transformation.

Living On

Art therapy, para-archery and summiting peaks: life on the front line against an enemy five times larger.

Lost and Found: Thirty Years, Not Together

Canadian Jessi’s search for her Romanian birth mother reveals a sister adopted under the same name and a web of lies.

Love Exposed

He’s spent a lifetime photographing naked women. Now his daughter wants him to reveal himself.

Love, After All

A stagnant 40-year marriage is shaken when their daughter announces her engagement to an older industrialist.

Low Expectations

A successful young artist’s career derails, forcing her back to her hometown.

Ludwig

For the first time in Estonia, one of cinema history’s most grandiose works reaches the screen.

Mamma

A woman fights to be both an artist and a mother as Europe descends into war.

Memory from the Sea

Amber washes up on the shore after a storm. Just like everything else worth collecting.

Midnight Madness

Minotaur

A brave, taut and explosive thriller from Andrey Zvyagintsev that brilliantly melds the personal and the political.

Mo Amor

A tender Estonian fairy tale about love in all its strange and beautiful forms.

Mouse

Following the unexpected death of her best friend, Minnie finds new connections and hope amidst her grief.

Mumbo Jumbo

Mumbo Jumbo sets off to find a witch to help him get his old life back.

Nervous

A woman loses her ability to hear men’s voices.

Night Cinema

Night Vision

Be careful what you look for in technology!

Nino - A Film about Nino Rota

The life, music and influence of a composer whose scores shaped the sound of modern cinema.

No Me Without You

One fatal event reunites two estranged sisters.

No Paradise If You Are Killed By a Woman

A female sniper returns to the battlefield to rescue her younger sister from ISIS captivity.

Nuclear Boy

What will a lonely boy do for attention?

Nuisance Bear

A polar bear is forced to navigate a human world as its ancient migration collides with modern life.

Oasis

Three outsiders take refuge in the forest, where innocent games turn into a dangerous ritual.

Oblivion

Maria enters her father’s life as a stranger, seeking traces of herself.

On Top of the Cliff

Fervour, control, sin and guilt in an oppressive setting that compels us to ask: what might an impulsive body do?

One Month

A bittersweet, darkly funny tale of breaking free, finding yourself, and discovering that life won’t wait forever.

One of Them

Do you really know your friends?

One Sweet Hour

A bittersweet comedy about two estranged brothers travelling through magical central Ireland.

Papaya

A papaya seed with dreams of flying discovers the true power of its roots.

Peegel

The history of Estonian sport through the photographs of Lembit Peegel.

Perfect Road

For ten years, his bicycle has been his only home.

Pikkuli and Starlight Reindeer

A super cute Christmas adventure for the whole family.

PLASTIC LOVE!

Is a single strawberry in five layers of plastic a sign of care? At what cost?

Poetry Shorts

Pop Pop

A creatively fearless parable of contemporary concerns amid the queasy atmospherics of an online space falling apart at the seams.

Princess

Every girl deserves to be a princess, even if she was born in the body of a boy.

Queer Embraces

Rahma

A childless couple’s life changes when a Syrian refugee arrives, carrying a secret that alters everything.

Rebels With Their Shorts 1

Rebels With Their Shorts 2

Red Snow

A Finnish black comedy with a Christmas feel, filmed in Estonia and served up with a twist.

Riga my Love

A punk-infused shot in the arm for documentary cinema – welcome to the world of artist Kara Popicon.

River

This melancholic drama dissects the grieving process from a young girl’s perspective.

River

Three siblings who, after being stranded in a boat on a country river, are stalked by a faceless killer.

Running Wild

She wanted a life of her own. What she got was a gun, a queer love triangle, and one shot at freedom.

Sad Girlz

What happened to Paula at the party?

Sandra: The Drift Queen

A thousand horsepower, sideways and at full throttle.

Sentenced at Birth

A young mother leaves prison with her daughter, only to discover that freedom may be the hardest sentence of all.

Sh*t Happens

When science fails, trust your gut. Just don’t ask what the “miracle cure” is made of.

Shorts Animation Competition 1

Shorts Animation Competition 2

Shorts Animation Competition 3

Shorts Animation Competition 4

Shorts Animation Competition 5

Shorts Kids Animation Competition 1

Shorts Kids Animation Competition 2

Shorts Kids Animation Competition 3

Shorts Live-Action Competition 1

Shorts Live-Action Competition 2

Shorts Live-Action Competition 3

Shorts Live-Action Competition 4

Shorts Live-Action Competition 5

Shorts National Competition 1

Shorts National Competition 2

Shorts National Competition 3

Shorts National Competition 4

Shorts National Competition 5

Shorts New Talents Competition: Animation 1

Shorts New Talents Competition: Animation 2

Shorts New Talents Competition: Live-action 1

Shorts New Talents Competition: Live-action 2

Shorts New Talents Competition: Live-action 3

Shorts New Talents Competition: Live-action 4

Shorts Winners-National

Sinless

One lavish dinner. Generations of buried crimes. Henrik came to expose them – but who is hunting whom?

Slava

Story about the Trial of Stepan Bandera’s Assassin and the power of truth.

Slava: Shooting With Music

Silence the guns and let the music play!

Sounds of the Desert

The roots of cosmic music, following the interplanetary sounds of Sun Ra’s Arkestra. What a trip!

Status : Rejected

Log in, apply your filters, and open your heart – for love and a US visa.

Such a Vivid Imagination

A missing body makes Celia question her imagination that has protected her until now.

SUMO: Spirit Weighs Nothing

A rare inside look at Japan’s hidden world of Sumo.

Supporting Role

Awarded in Rotterdam, Beijing and Sarajevo, this surreal drama shows how a supporting role can outshine the lead.

Tangles

An emotionally charged animation about the gradual loss of a loved one.

Tanit

Tanit befriends a mysterious woman in the forest and begins to see the world differently.

Tears of Stone

Thanks to this film, the forgotten Icelandic composer Jón Leifs was rediscovered.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

A queer meta-horror film, part homage, part deconstruction, starring Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder.

The Assignment

A thought-provoking story of becoming a man, where the scars of the recent Second World War are felt at every step.

The Beauty of Errors

The evolving bond between a father and son.

The Beloved

Sorogoyen returns with his unique mastery of emotional tension with a powerful family drama starring Javier Bardem.

The Bitch Pack

Luna finds strength in music, friendship and dreams to move forward in a harsh reality.

The Black Ball

“Three existences” that are connected through themes of sexuality, desire, pain, and inheritance.

The Bog

This detective thriller invites you to solve the mystery of a body whose eerie face seems untouched by time.

The Bryce Lee Story

Bryce lies to make his dream film, but soon has to decide how far he is willing to go.

The Bully Club

Two victims of bullying decide to take revenge, but have to face unexpected consequences.

The Child

An intense relationship drama about a couple pushed to their limits on their quest to have a child.

The Crossroad Street

A small street of just 800 metres on the outskirts of the Latvian capital, Riga.

The Damned

There are few taboos that Luchino Visconti does not break here.

The Daughters

A psychological thriller with a gothic atmosphere about a girl whose fate is to be an obedient daughter to her captor.

The Debut

When an unassuming housewife is cast in a community theater production, she loses herself in the role.

The Devil's Bride

A Lithuanian cult musical where a devilish marriage arrangement explodes into a wild and camp spectacle.

The Double Life of Véronique

What if, somewhere, someone else’s life echoes through your own?

The Echo Chamber

A love story where the boundaries between presence and absence, care and dependence, desire and control blur until they dissolve.

The Eternal Light

One of the most original Lithuanian films in film history.

The Flaw

One little song breaks through authoritarian censorship built on propaganda, manipulation, isolation and fear.

The Great Family

A tough yet deeply moving Mexican genre film, based on a true story: a gripping journey into a world you won’t forget.

The History of Concrete

Can concrete be funny or romantic?

The Idiot(s)

The story of a woman who saved Fyodor Dostoevsky and became the first woman to set up her own publishing house.

The Incomer

On a remote Scottish isle, the lives of two siblings change when an awkward official arrives to relocate them.

The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd

An unexpected romance between a prison teacher and a man on death row changes their outlook on life.

The Lonely Wife

The most elegant of all Ray’s films and also one of his best-known and most appreciated.

The Match

A football classic: two goals in four minutes that are still the subject of debate to this day..

The Matriarch

A 17-year-old enters her mother’s trafficking business, pushing the limits of family loyalty in search of her love.

The Mystery Package

Who sends our family Christmas presents every year?

The opening ceremony of the 30th PÖFF and the opening film 'Ulya'

Join us in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival!

The Perfect

A lyrical, insightful psychological portrait of female dancers across generations and the sacrifices ballet demands.

The Promised Land

An epic period drama, which is interpreted as criticism of industrialisation and capitalist greed.

The Regulars - Live Action Documentaries 2

The Road Never Ends

The mountains gave him everything he longed for. In the end, they took even more.

The Shrew of Destiny

Don’t judge a shrew by its cover!

The Siege of Paradise

TikTokers and influencers descend on “the most beautiful place in the world,” clashing with local residents.

The Smell of Apples

In the white utopia of Apartheid South Africa, a boy’s summer holiday becomes a test of his love for his father.

The Spiral

A mother arrives at her daughter’s apartment to confess a lie that undermines their family’s foundation.

The Sweetness of Bitter Things

A forbidden love awakens a woman who has spent a lifetime living for others.

The Taste of Democracy

In pursuit of two Michelin stars, the kitchen team is consumed by a bitter conflict from within.

The Two Hornets

Diverse, vibrant, chic, and quirky love and revenge thriller.

The Violinist

A powerfully beautiful story of love and passion during the biggest war in Singapore’s history.

The War We Carry

In search of life and freedom, growing food on sand. It’s as if it were an endless cycle.

Things We Try to Save - Live Action Documentaries 1

Three Comrades

Two Ukrainian teenagers and one Russian begin adult lives in France, where war divides and loneliness connects them.

Three Weeks Under the Sea

A prodigal son among thieves, bandits, lovers, and ghosts, in a world where honour and morals blur.

Time and Water

An Icelandic writer preserves vanishing glaciers and departed grandparents, transforming loss into a time capsule.

Tin Castle

A visually powerful film between fairytale and reality of a Traveller family on the edge of society.

Tingatinga Between Two Homes

An orphaned painter returns from China to his native Tanzania for a wedding, with warmth and gentle humour.

To Die To Live

Only the dead have seen the end of the war.

Toddler Screenings

Dialogue-free movie adventures for toddlers and their families.

Toomas Leius. Life On the Line

The contrasting extremes in the life of Toomas Leius, Estonia’s greatest male tennis player of all time.

Traces

Six Ukrainian women are turning their testimonies of sexual violence into a voice of resistance.

Until Dawn

A visually stunning Moroccan drama where a 16-year-old boy faces love, violence and tradition and the price of manhood.

Up Again

What remains of a young athlete when the results fall short?

Vesna

A profoundly humanist drama of dignified Ukrainians against fascist occupiers.

Villeneuve: Rise of A Champion

The early years of Gilles Villeneuve.

Violette

The peaceful life of Violette is disrupted when a local police chief’s arrival uncovers long-buried secrets.

Vitamins

Warsaw Bridge

Portabella turns cinema’s creative freedom into a symphony – both sensual and provocative.

What Belongs to Others

A burglar finds a dead man in a flat and, as she traces the man’s life, begins to imagine a new future for herself.

When I Existed

Hilarious black comedy about a retiree declared dead who must fight bureaucracy to reclaim his life.

When I Was a Child

French New Wave meets Lithuanian youth in a stylish coming-of-age story about love, freedom and finding yourself.

When She Hears the Bells

Golshifteh Farahani in a nerve-shredding thriller, as a woman who risks her life fighting against an untouchable elite.

Where Is My Son?

A wedding shimmers in the summer heat. Then a son vanishes, and one family’s secrets begin to surface.

Whispers in May

In the remote Liangshan Mountains, 14-year-old Qihuo and her friends set out to find a skirt for her rite of passage.

White as Salt

A modern-day Robin Hood defies a tyrannical system on a spectacular salt lake closed to locals.

Wicker

An audacious comedic fable about sex, marriage, and the absurdities of social convention.

Wild Horse Nine

CIA agents Chris and Lee face a trust-testing mission from Santiago to Easter Island during 1973 in Chile.

Will You Care If I Die?

A youth worker gives everything to save a young basketball talent from the slums of Malmö.

Wings

ENG - Sõja eest Portugali põgenenud Ukraina pere püüab uut elu alustada, kuid sõda ei jää kunagi päriselt selja taha.

Yesterday the Eye Didn't Sleep

Two sisters must sacrifice themselves to prevent further bloodshed and ensure peace amongst two Bedouin tribes.

YO (Love is a Rebellious Bird)

Anna creates a small replica of her late friend Yo's house just big enough to enter, with a puppet of Yo inside.

Youri

An emotional story of friendship between two outsiders who find in each other the courage to become who they truly are.