After being brought into life by festival director Tiina Lokk in 1997as a small Nordic film showcase. Presenting 25 films in the programme and selling a total of 4,500 tickets, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has seen a dramatic rise in numbers over the course of the last 20 years. The 2015 edition saw more than 80,000 admissions, 289 feature films from 80 different countries and more than 700 film professionals attending the festival and industry events. In 2014, the festival was given A-Category status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF)

The 2016 edition (11-27 November) will see three competition programmes – the International Main Competition, the International First Features Competition and the Estonian Film Competition – compiled by the festival’s international programme team, all of which will be evaluated by international juries. The films in both of the international competitions will all be world or international premieres.

As in the previous years, PÖFF will offer a wide range of special screenings and non-competitive line-ups in addition its main programme. These sections include the Fashion Cinema, Doc@PÖFF, the Gourmet Cinema, the Midnight Shivers, a line-up dedicated to sports movies run in cooperation with the Estonian Olympic Committee, the Panorama programme, which gives an overview of the masterpieces of the previous year and the trends in the world of cinema, and a selection of the most experimental and unique movies in the Forum programme. Altogether, PÖFF will present about 250 full-length films from more than 70 countries.