Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

Black Nights Film Festival
Location Tallinn, Estonia
Founded 1997
Awards Golden Wolf/ Wolf
No. of films 250 features (2016)
Website www.poff.ee
2016 Black Nights Award Ceremony
2016 Industry@Tallinn Award Gala in Kultuurikatel

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, or PÖFF (Estonian: Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is the only festival in the Nordic and Baltic region with a FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Association) accreditation for holding an International Competitive Feature Film Program. Which places it alongside 14 other non-specialised world festivals including Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Karlovy Vary, Warsaw, and San Sebastian. With over 250 feature films from more than 70 different countries (2016) screened, and over 80,000 attendees (2016), PÖFF is one of the largest film festivals in Northern Europe, and cultural events in Estonia.

The Festival runs three competitive programs: International Competition, First Feature Competition, and Estonian Film Competition. The top prize of the festival is the Golden Wolf, given to the director and producer of the winning film of the International Competition. The festival also hosts several non-competitive programs including the Screen International Critics' Choice, various retrospectives, and a panorama of the best films of the year.

Running concurrently with the festival is Industry@Tallinn and the Baltic Event Co-Production Market, the biggest audiovisual industry meeting in the region. Industry@Tallinn consists of the International Sales and Distributors Meeting Point; the European Genre Forum, a creative camp for genre professionals promoting project and skills development; and two works in progress panels, the presentations of regional upcoming films from Baltic, Finnish and old CIS countries, and international screenings ranging from Asia to Latin America.

In addition, two sub-festivals take part concurrently with the main program: Children’s and Youth Film Festival Just Film, and PÖFF SHORTS, dedicated to short formats, and short films and animations .[1] BNFF also organises two smaller film festivals: Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, and Tartu Love Film Festival tARTuFF.

History

2015 Tallinn Black Nights Film festival Award Ceremony

Starting in 1997 with 4,500 attendances, PÖFF was originally primarily a showcase for Nordic films, but as the festival grew it dramatically expanded its overview. Today PÖFF is the largest film gathering in Northern Europe. During its 19th edition in 2015, the festival screened more than 600 films (including 250+ feature-length films from 80 different countries), bringing over 900 screenings to an audience of over 80,000 people, including over 700 accredited guests and journalists from 50 countries. In 2010 the festival hosted the European Film Awards ceremony in Tallinn, and in 2015 the European Film Forum conference was held in co-operation with the European Commission. PÖFF was recognized by FIAPF in 2011 and upgraded to an A-list festival in 2014, making it the first festival in Northern Europe to gain a Competitive Feature Film Festival accreditation, joining only 14 other major world festivals.[2]

Some notable filmmakers, actors, and industry professionals who have visited PÖFF include Aki Kaurismäki, Krzysztof Zanussi, Olga Kurylenko, Sergei Loznitsa, Lee Joon-ik, Jos Stelling, Jan Troell, Catherine Breillat, Roy Andersson, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Neil Jordan, Philip Glass, Lukas Moodysson, Michael Nyman, Jerzy Stuhr, Tom Schilling, Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Isaach de Bankole, Pavel Lungin, Fiona Shaw, Ross Partridge, Mikael Persbrandt, and Vassilis Mazomenos along with many others.

Awards

International Competition

The First Feature Competition

The Estonian Film Competition

Additional Awards for Feature-Length Films

Grand Prix winners

Year Film Original Title Director(s) Nationality of Director
2004 Shiza Shiza / Шиза Gulshat Omarova Kazakhstan
2005 Shanghai Dreams Qīng hóng / 青紅 Wang Xiaoshuai China
2006 Dark Blue Almost Black AzuloscurocasinegroDaniel Sánchez Arévalo Spain
2007 Takva: A Man's Fear of God TakvaÖzer Kızıltan Turkey
2008 Hunger Steve McQueen United Kingdom
2009 AjamiAjami / عجميScandar Copti Israel
Ajami / עג'מיYaron Shani Israel
2010 My Joy Schastye moyo / Счастье моёSergei Loznitsa Ukraine
2011 A Simple Life Táo Jiě / 桃姐Ann Hui China
2012 House with a TurretDom s bashenkoy / Дом с башенкойEva Neymann Ukraine
2013 The Great Beauty La grande bellezzaPaolo Sorrentino Italy
2014 Lucifer Gust Van den Berghe Belgium
2015 The Throne Sado / 사도Lee Joon-ik South Korea
2016 A Quiet Heart Lev shaket / לב שקט מאודEitan Anner Israel

Industry@Tallinn

Tallinn Black Nights' industry program, consisting of the Industry@Tallinn industry summit and the Baltic Event Regional Co-Production Film Market, is a platform aiming to connect Northern Europe with Asia, the US, and South America. It hosts 700+ industry guests annually. The 2017 edition of Industry@Tallinn will include screenings of works in progress, a Sales Agents and Distributors Meeting Point, a European Genre Forum, an acting talent showcase: Screen Stars Tallinn, the Estonian EU Presidency Conference, an Audiovisual Content, Technology, and Policy Conference, and much more.

Baltic Event Film and Co-Production Market

The Baltic Event Film and Co-Production Market is the largest film market in the region, and serves as a primary place to meet the Baltic film industry.

Sub-Festivals

Just Film is the largest children and youth film festival in the region. The festival includes a competitive program with a €3,000 grant for the best youth film (shared by the director and producer), a children's rights program, and a special program for documentaries. The festival is truly designed for its young audiences; the best films are selected by juries of local youth, and the festival blog is filled by young film critics posting their daily reviews of films.

21st Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival: November 17 - December 3

References

  1. ↑ "Film Festival". http://blacknightsfilmfestival.com/. External link in |website= (help);
  2. ↑ International Federation of Film Producers Association homepage http://www.fiapf.org/intfilmfestivals.asp. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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