The partnership between the Estonian Olympic Committee and The Black Nights Film Festival has been ongoing for years uniting sports and culture in an unique way. Sports films have provided a new way of looking at sports – through emotions, stories and human moments that connect viewers and athletes on the same wavelength.
How has the partnership with PÖFF influenced your team and the motivation of your employees?
The partnership between the Estonian Olympic Committee and The Black Nights Film Festival though the sportsfilm programme offers a lot to our team and the sports community in general. Together we have created an opportunity for different fields of sport to bring their target audience to cinemas for a chance to see their respective sports from new points of view. From the broader standpoint of sports in general, we feel honoured to be part of a really powerful film festival with our sportsfilms programme. When talking specifically about the office of the Estonian Olympic Committee then yes, the office fills with a nice excitement when this year’s programme is revealed.
What kind of values unite your organisation with PÖFF?
We would firstly point out long-term partnership. The real value of partnership is in long-term agreements, objectives and their accomplishment. It is difficult to achieve your goals in a partnership of one or two years, especially if we seek out to create habits and change behavioural patterns. This is EOC’s message to our members and by practicing it ourselves we can be a role model for them. We feel that PÖFF stands for the same value. Secondly, both PÖFF and EOC wish to be the leaders in our respective fields. Not just in Estonia but internationally as well, be it our athletes’ scores in championships or PÖFF’s high grade and reputation in the world.
What has the partnership with PÖFF offered to your brand?
Dare I say that PÖFF and the sportsfilms programme has given extra oxygen to sportsfilms produced in Estonia. When we first got started it wasn’t usual that there was at least one sportsfilms being produced every year. Now every year we can celebrate Estonian sportsfilms with their high quality. Because PÖFF has high standards and it is nice to see how filmmakers have rediscovered sports as an exceptionally emotional field. Sport offers everything you need for a good movie – unexpected plot twists, happiness, sadness, disappointment and unfortunately cheating. The partnership with PÖFF gives us an opportunity to show all this to the viewers in an artistic or documentary way.
Do you personally or as an organisation recall any special moments or sentimental experiences with PÖFF?
PÖFF’s films, and I’m not just talking about sportsfilms, always make you think. Whether while watching or later on. If I had to name one experience, it would be the 2022 film “Lõvide vennaskond” in the sportsfilms’ programme. I am part of the generation that remembers this legendary football team whose members have had huge roles in Estonian football. It was amazing to see these guys a little awkwardly but extremely proudly standing on the stage during the world premiere. This was a film that really touched the hearts of both the participants and the public.
What role do you see cultural partnerships playing in future entrepreneurship and why is it important for you?
More and more we hear value-based partnerships being discussed also in Estonia. Supporting culture, and sports as a part of it, is and will probably remain a patronage in Estonia for a long time. Considering this, it is extremely important that these relationships are long-term. This creates stronger bonds and the development is mutual. Estonia is not an old country compared to other European countries. Our values have changed over the years and it is more and more understood that culture and sports play a big role in our national identity and sense of belonging. I find that we as a society have begun to realise that it is normal to invest in it both as an individual and an enterprise.
Also read the PÖFF28 sponsor story.