PÖFF 2024 unveils main competition lineup of films

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Can I get a Witness?

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has revealed its main competition lineup for 2024, which will feature 18 films. These films from all over the world come from as far afield as Mongolia, Colombia, and South Korea.

The festival, which will run from November 8 to 24, offers films from a mix of emerging and established filmmakers. According to festival director Tiina Lokk, this year’s selection reflects the current state of the global film industry, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in fewer productions over the past few years. Despite this, PÖFF managed to curate a program full of strong films addressing timely issues.

One of the notable themes is the wide generational range of directors, from the youngest, 32-year-old Petersen Vargas from the Philippines, to the most experienced, 70-year-old Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis. Riklis, known for his acclaimed films such as Lemon Tree and Dancing Arabs, returns to PÖFF with Reading Lolita in Tehran.

Other significant films in the main competition include Greek filmmaker Dennis Iliadis’ psychological thriller Buzzheart, Ukrainian director Serhi Kastornykh’s war drama The Mousetrap, and Can I get a Witness?, a Canadian sci-fi by Ann Marie Fleming that imagines a future where people are forced to die at 50 for the sake of Earth’s sustainability.

Additionally, Baltic cinema is strongly represented, with works like The Exalted by Latvian director Juris Kursietis, co-produced in Estonia, and Deaf Lovers by Boris Guts, a film dealing with the impact of war, partly shot in Estonia.

The competition also features 11 world premieres, and the films will be presented in Tallinn by their directors. The jury for the main competition includes leading figures from the international film community, such as German director Christoph Hochhäusler and Filipino producer Bianca Balbuena. The prize for the main competition, which is sponsored by the City of Tallinn, is 20,000 euros.

The full festival program will be available on November 1, and another set of films, dubbed the “Critics’ Picks,” will be announced on October 22.

You can see the full main programme here. 

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Cinema in Tallinn Estonian Cinema European films Events in Tallinn International Film Festival Tallinn PÖFF 2024 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival World cinema