07/10/2025 - Thirteen debut films from across the globe will be competing at this year’s festival, bringing bold, unsettling and deeply human stories to the fore

The 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) – running from 7-23 November – has revealed the line-up for its First Feature Competition, dedicated to emerging filmmakers presenting their debut works. The 2025 edition includes 13 movies, with nine world and four international premieres, and all filmmakers are confirmed to attend the festival.

Programme curator Triin Tramberg described this year’s selection as one that “challenges audiences and pushes them out of their comfort zones”, adding that several titles were developed through the festival’s Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event programme. “It’s exciting to see that more and more [of our] works in progress are finding their way back to the festival. This year’s Interior is a great example: the film won the Audience Award in the Works in Progress section at last year’s Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event and now returns to PÖFF in the First Feature Competition.”

Among the European titles selected this year, Romanian helmer Cecilia Ştefănescu’s A Safe Place unfolds under the blinding summer sun, portraying a woman’s emotional turmoil and longing for lost freedom. In Smalltown Girl [+see also:
film review
film profile], German filmmaker Hille Norden blends sensuality and trauma through the story of two young women reclaiming agency over their bodies and desires. Elena’s Shift, directed by Greek filmmaker Stefanos Tsivopoulos, follows a Romanian single mother fighting for justice and dignity in Athens, balancing realism and hope.

Christian Bonke’s Hercules Falling, from Denmark, stars Dar Salim as a war veteran grappling with PTSD, combining documentary precision with fictional depth to explore the aftermath of conflict. Germany’s Pascal Schuh delivers the aforementioned Interior, a stylised psychological drama, and a voyeuristic journey into obsession and empathy.

The British entry Lady by Samuel Abrahams, featuring Fleabag’s Sian Clifford, is a sharp and eccentric satire of privilege and loneliness wrapped in absurdist humour. Hailing from Norway, Mari Storstein’s My First Love brings rare authenticity to a story of young love and independence, told from the perspective of a disabled protagonist (see the news). Belgian filmmaker Kat Steppe offers up Sunday Ninth, a melancholic and tender reflection on memory and reconciliation between estranged brothers in a nursing home (see the news).

Finally, Polish director Artur Wyrzykowski’s This Is Not Happening follows a father’s desperate attempt to protect his son after a tragic shooting, questioning guilt, masculinity and moral collapse.

Here is the complete list of the selected titles:

First Feature Competition

Lady – Samuel Abrahams (UK)
Backstage Madness – Amanbek Adžõmat (Kyrgyzstan)
Hercules Falling – Christian Bonke (Denmark)
Juana – Daniel Giménez Cacho (Mexico)
Admission – Quentin Hsu (Taiwan)
Dump of Untitled Pieces – Melik Kuru (Turkey)
Smalltown Girl [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Hille Norden (Germany)
Interior – Pascal Schuh (Germany)
A Safe Place – Cecilia Ştefănescu (Romania)
Sunday Ninth – Kat Steppe (Belgium)
My First Love – Mari Storstein (Norway)
Elena’s Shift – Stefanos Tsivopoulos (Greece)
This Is Not Happening – Artur Wyrzykowski (Poland)