The 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), running from 7-23 November, has revealed the line-ups for its Doc@PÖFF International and Baltic Competitions. For the first time, Baltic documentaries and fiction films will compete in separate programmes, highlighting both global perspectives and regional storytelling. Many of the movies focus on women negotiating challenging circumstances, family dynamics, and communities striving to preserve their cultural heritage.

Programme curator Marianna Kaat described the selection as “works that open up a restless world where bold, auteur-driven films captivate with their search for balance and understanding – and demonstrate that documentaries can be even more engaging than fiction”.

Starting with the International Competition, featuring nothing but world premieres, Finnish director Karin Pennanen’s Days of Wonder offers a cinematic journey into the hidden world of her late uncle, whose archive reveals an unusual collaboration between the living and the dead. Estonia’s Vladimir Loginov contributes Edge of the Night, a nocturnal love letter to Tallinn that explores the city’s hidden subcultures and secret rhythms.

Raisa Răzmeriță’s Electing Miss Santa follows a determined woman in a Moldovan village as she balances tradition and ambition while campaigning to become mayor. The Feast of the Wolf by Jadran Boban delves into folklore, fear and neglect in the Dalmatian hills. Alexander Murphy’s Goodbye Sisters chronicles a pair of siblings embarking on a perilous Himalayan journey to harvest yarsagumba, a rare fungus-insect.

From Iran, Sajad Imani’s It’s Winter tells the story of a young nomad woman dreaming of a brighter future in the remote Zagros Mountains, while Gianluca Vassallo’s The Lunch: A Letter to America paints a fragmented portrait of life and politics in the USA during the last week of the presidential campaign. Amanda Sans Pantling’s Miss Jobson celebrates the life of Bob Marley’s legendary lawyer, Diane Jobson, a defiant figure devoted to the rights of the marginalised in Jamaica. Finally, Maryna Nikolcheva’s One Day I Wish to See You Happy observes a couple separated by the war in Ukraine, capturing love, resilience and the redemptive power of filmmaking.

The Doc@PÖFF International Competition jury comprises producer Tania El Khoury, Estonian producer Marianne Ostrat and German filmmaker Daniel Abma.

Logically, the Baltic Competition presents a strong regional focus. Lithuanian director Giedrė Žickytė offers A Goodnight Kiss, a portrait of Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Irena Veisaitė. Emilis Vėlyvis presents BIX Almost Nirvana, a politically charged story of the legendary Lithuanian rock band BIX. Meanwhile, Indrek Spungin’s Happiness Is Living in Our Land chronicles the formation of the Estonian punk band Velikiye Luki. Aistė Žegulytė and Vytautas Katkus’ Holy Destructors observes a universe of microorganisms, fresco restorations and historical rituals, connecting nature, art and mortality. Šarūnas Bartas’ Laguna [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Šarūnas Bartas
fiche film] transforms personal tragedy – the death of his daughter – into a meditation on grief and fragile resurrection along Mexico’s Pacific coast.

Jānis Ābele’s The Last Will follows the search for a missing urn, intertwining it with the life of Latvian poet Anatols Imermanis. Katrina Lehismäe’s Lost Stars of the Horoscope explores the integration of Ukrainian refugee children into Estonian schools. My Family and Other Clowns by Heilika Pikkov and Liina Särkinen portrays the lives of the children of world-famous Estonian clowns Piip and Tuut.

Volia Chaikouskaya’s Not Made For Politics follows Belarusian women leading the fight for freedom. Laila Pakalniņa’s Scarecrows takes audiences behind the scenes of Riga International Airport. Finally, Vitaly Mansky’s Time to the Target [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] observes life in Lviv, Ukraine, under the shadow of war.

The Doc@PÖFF Baltic Competition jury comprises documentary consultant Ana Fernández Saiz, journalist and curator Pamela Cohn, and filmmaker Koen Suidgeest.

Here is the complete selection of Doc@PÖFF titles:

Doc@PÖFF International Competition

Far Away – Tayfur Aydın (Turkey)
The Feast of the Wolf – Jadran Boban (Croatia/Serbia)
It’s Winter – Sajad Imani (Iran/France)
Edge of the Night – Vladimir Loginov (Estonia)
Goodbye Sisters – Alexander Murphy (France/Nepal)
One Day I Wish to See You Happy – Maryna Nikolcheva (Ukraine/France)
Days of Wonder – Karin Pennanen (Finland)
Electing Miss Santa – Raisa Răzmeriță (Moldova/Romania)
Miss Jobson – Amanda Sans Pantling (Spain/Jamaica)
The Lunch: A Letter to America – Gianluca Vassallo (Italy/USA)

Doc@PÖFF Baltic Competition

The Last Will – Jānis Ābele (Lithuania)
Laguna [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Šarūnas Bartas
fiche film] – Šarūnas Bartas (France/Lithuania)
Not Made For Politics – Volia Chajkouskaya (Belarus)
Lost Stars of the Horoscope – Katrina Lehismäe (Estonia)
Time to the Target [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] – Vitaly Mansky (Latvia/Czech Republic/Ukraine)
Scarecrows – Laila Pakalniņa (Latvia/Lithuania)
My Family and Other Clowns – Heilika Pikkov, Liina Särkinen (Estonia)
Happiness Is Living in Our Land – Indrek Spungin (Estonia)
BIX Almost Nirvana – Emilis Vėlyvis (Lithuania)
Holy Destructors – Aistė Žegulytė (Lithuania/France)
A Goodnight Kiss – Giedrė Žickytė (Lithuania/Estonia)