Tallinn POFF at 30 Preview: Baltics Focus, Oscars, “No Sinking Ship”

Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) is kicking off its 30th edition on Friday, the first under the creative leadership of artistic director Triin Tramberg. The lineup promises a mix of new discoveries and gems, envelope-pushing films and the best of the year’s festival circuit.

The film curator, whose profile has grown alongside PÖFF’s over more than 15 years, began her work at the fest as a program assistant before becoming a program coordinator and playing a key role in shaping Tallinn’s international profile. PÖFF founder and longtime fest director Tiina Lokk, who remains CEO, has shifted her focus to overall strategic and developmental direction.

The 30th anniversary edition of PÖFF, running Nov. 6-22, will screen 230 feature films and 259 shorts from 87 countries. PÖFF, its youth and children’s film festival Just Film and PÖFF Shorts, which is dedicated to short films, together will present 107 world premieres and 47 international premieres.

The programming lineup of the Tallinn fest has increasingly showcased movies from around the globe, with Latin America having a particularly strong presence this year. But the 30th PÖFF will also proudly put a spotlight on Baltic cinema, covering the fest’s home of Estonia, along with Lithuania and Latvia, which has always been “an essential part of PÖFF,” Tramberg says. Since 2008, the festival has presented the Baltic Film Competition, to which it added a Baltic documentary competition last year.

“In our 30th-anniversary year, we want to give it an even stronger international platform and draw attention not only to our films, but also to the remarkable talent behind them,” emphasizes Tramberg. “Giving Baltic cinema a central place in this anniversary programme feels especially meaningful. We want international audiences to discover the diversity of filmmaking in our region, and local audiences to see familiar places and experiences through fresh eyes.”

Beyond that, “this year’s program reflects very different lives and experiences, yet tells stories we can connect with,” she says.

In a chat with THR, Tramberg previewed what to expect from Tallinn 2026, how the Baltics are the new Nordics and why she is keeping a close eye on what works and what doesn’t in her first year.

“I made the decision that this year is really observational for me,” Tramberg tells THR. “This is my 16th year with the festival, and I have seen it in different ways. But this has really been the first year where I was seeing the whole big picture, along with the details. So I really need to see what works and what doesn’t. There have also been ideas throughout this year that I am trying to test and see what decision to take for the years to come and what will make sense or not. So, right now, I’m very much observing.”

She also emphasizes that PÖFF isn’t in need of rescuing or turning around: “What I’ve always been saying is that I didn’t come to save a sinking ship. I came to a ship that is totally fine and running smoothly. I just want to see what works with a fresh set of eyes to understand how we can move forward and make it even better.”

Has she noticed any themes and topics that keep showing up in movies across the 2026 program? “We noticed that motherhood is a theme,” Tramberg notes. Indeed, she said last month: “Strong mother figures recur throughout the selection, revealing tensions between love, responsibility, loyalty and independence.”

“I’ve also discovered that there’s a new genre,” she adds. “There used to be the coming-of-age of teenagers; then it was the coming-of-age of 20-year-olds. And now my favorite is the coming-of-age of 35-plus women who are finding themselves.”

New genre or not, the fundamentals haven’t changed. “It’s funny to see this new genre,” the artistic director concludes. “But in general, the common themes of films are always going to be people living their regular lives, family relationships, family relationships during difficult times — simple stories in a niche.”

Hot discoveries from warm Latin American countries can this year provide a welcome change during the cold, dark Estonian November period when the Tallinn festival takes place. “This year we have quite an interesting representation of South America,” Tramberg mentions. Among the represented countries are Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

But her team didn’t pick them based on far-flung geographic considerations. “These stories stood out,” she explains. “For me, it’s always about finding films that are accessible and interesting. It always comes down to the film itself.”

Closer to home, the anniversary is also a celebration of Baltic cinema. “Our festival has really helped, and helped to shape, Baltic cinema, and vice versa,” the festival programmer highlights. “These days, thanks to all these co-productions, we’re really creating momentum. So, why not celebrate these 30 years and see where we’ve come.”

And she is bullish on what lies ahead. “By now, we have an Oscar in the region [Latvia’s Flow], and I’m sure that this is not going to be the last one,” she says. “It’s just the first of many.”

Tramberg’s optimism rests on what’s in the pipeline: “We have so many interesting co-productions and films in the market. The industry is booming. I would say, truth be told, that we’re the new Scandinavia to come to. We are thriving with productions, but with independent stories. So it just felt really natural. Celebrating 30 years is quite a beautiful momentum to really highlight what we’re doing here.”