The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) will open its 30th edition on November 6 with Ulya, a Baltic co-production presented at Cannes. The celebrations will include a special performance marking the festival’s three decades, while two-time Oscar-winning British screenwriter Christopher Hampton will preside over the Official Competition jury.
The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) celebrates three decades of cinema this year with an edition that honours its origins while reaffirming its position as one of northern Europe’s leading international film events.
From November 6 to 22, 2026, Tallinn and Tartu will host a programme in which cinema from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will take centre stage through the special Focus: Baltics programme. The choice of opening film, the composition of the international jury and the anniversary celebrations reflect the festival’s dual ambition: to strengthen regional cinematic identity while encouraging its international reach.
Ulya: A Story of Determination to Open the Festival
The opening ceremony will take place on November 6 at the Alexela Concert Hall, with a screening of Ulya, directed by Latvian filmmaker Viesturs Kairišs, whose previous works include The Sign Painter and January.
The film, a co-production between Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania, had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and has been selected as Latvia’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2027 Academy Awards.
Inspired by the life of Uljana Semjonova, the legendary Latvian basketball player who won two Olympic gold medals and three world championships, Ulya follows its protagonist from an isolated rural Old Believer community into the demanding world of professional basketball.
The story explores the challenges faced by a young woman whose extraordinary height constantly attracts attention, while she must contend with the physical, psychological and competitive pressures of elite sport.
The story explores the challenges faced by a young woman whose extraordinary height constantly attracts attention, while she must contend with the physical, psychological and competitive pressures of elite sport.
The project originated from an idea by actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots, who also plays the leading role. The production brings together Ego Media, Allfilm, Staron Film and Tremora.
For Triin Tramberg, PÖFF’s Artistic Director, the film exemplifies the possibilities offered by collaboration between the Baltic film industries. Although these countries have relatively small domestic markets, co-productions make it possible to pool resources, stories and creative talent, while helping ambitious projects reach wider international audiences.
Thirty Years of History and a Musical Celebration
The opening ceremony will not be limited to the film screening. The festival has prepared a performance specially conceived for its thirtieth anniversary, entitled Round and Round, which will revisit the first three decades of Black Nights.
Film music will also play a central role, with three pianists taking part, one from each Baltic country: Hans Matthias Kari from Estonia, Kārlis Gusts Zariņš from Latvia and Gabriele Agile Bajoraite from Lithuania.
The musicians will perform a selection of compositions associated with cinema from their respective countries, turning the ceremony into a joint celebration of the region’s audiovisual heritage.
The evening will also include the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Bruno O’Ya Young Actor Scholarship, before the screening of Ulya.
The celebrations coincide with Focus: Baltics, a section that places Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian cinema at the heart of this year’s programme.
Christopher Hampton to Preside Over the International Jury
Another major announcement for the thirtieth anniversary is the appointment of British playwright, screenwriter and director Sir Christopher Hampton as president of the Official Competition jury.
A two-time Academy Award winner for Best Adapted Screenplay for Dangerous Liaisons and The Father, Hampton has enjoyed an extensive career spanning cinema and theatre.
His film credits include Atonement, The Quiet American and A Dangerous Method, while his stage work includes Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Sunset Boulevard. Hampton has also directed three feature films: Carrington, The Secret Agent and Imagining Argentina.
His appointment brings to the jury a perspective particularly rooted in dramatic writing and literary adaptation, two disciplines that have played a central role throughout his career.
Sir Christopher Hampton. photo by Gerard Philippe Mabillard.
A Jury Spanning Europe, the Middle East and the United States
Joining Hampton on the Official Competition jury are four professionals with very different backgrounds.
Lebanese producer Myriam Sassine has worked on films including Costa Brava, Lebanon, 1982, Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano and Diaries from Lebanon. In 2016, she co-founded the Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival, dedicated to genre cinema in the Arab world. In 2025, she received the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize at the Locarno Film Festival alongside Abbout Productions.
Representing the United States is David Stump, a cinematographer and visual effects specialist whose career includes productions such as Breaking Bad, The Morning Show, Quantum of Solace and the first two X-Men films. His honours include an Emmy Award and an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement. He is also the author of Digital Cinematography: Fundamentals, Techniques and Workflows.
French producer Julie Billy founded June Films in 2020 after collaborating with filmmakers including Jonas Carpignano, Nadav Lapid and Yorgos Lanthimos. Her recent productions include The Little Sister (La petite dernière), directed by Hafsia Herzi, which competed at Cannes in 2025 and won the Queer Palm and Best Actress award, and Animale, directed by Emma Benestan, which premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2024. Billy is also a co-founder of Collectif 50/50, an organisation advocating equality in the film industry.
Completing the jury is Estonian actress Tiina Tauraite, who has an extensive career in theatre and cinema. A former member of Tallinn’s Von Krahl Theatre, she has appeared in films including Autumn Ball, The Temptation of St. Tony and The Spy and the Poet. Her performance in 8 Views of Lake Biwa earned her Estonia’s Best Actress award in 2025. She has also received three national theatre awards and teaches at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
The jury thus brings together complementary perspectives on filmmaking, encompassing screenwriting, production, acting, cinematography and audiovisual technology.
Tiina Tauraite.
An Anniversary Looking Towards the Future
The thirtieth edition of Black Nights also coincides with the 25th anniversary of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, its professional industry platform, which will hold its activities from November 9 to 20.
This industry dimension is essential to understanding the evolution of a festival that has grown from an initiative focused on film exhibition into a meeting point for filmmakers, producers and industry professionals from different countries.
The choice of Ulya as the opening film encapsulates much of that evolution. A story deeply rooted in Latvia, developed through an international co-production and presented at Cannes, now returns to the Baltic region to inaugurate one of its most important cinematic events.
Thirty years after its foundation, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival thus reaffirms its commitment to a cinema open to international collaboration while remaining conscious of its own cultural roots.
PÖFF will celebrate its 30th edition from November 6 to 22, 2026, in Tallinn and Tartu.
Nadie ha publicado ningún comentario aún. ¡Se tú la primera persona!