The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Pimedate Ööde filmifestival, PÖFF) first took place in 1997. Since 2014, PÖFF is one of the 15 A-list film festivals accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) alongside the Cannes, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastian, Locarno, Venice, Berlin, Cairo, Mar de Plata, Goa, Tokyo and other film festivals. The accreditation is renewed every year.

The aim of the festival is to present a comprehensive selection of world cinema from the last two years to a local and international audience, offering fresh film production with high artistic value.

Today, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival with IndustryTallinn & Baltic Event and with the two sub-festivals, Just Film and PÖFF Shorts, has grown into one of the biggest film festivals in Northern Europe and the busiest regional industry platforms. The festival is an important meeting point for a rapidly growing number of industry professionals from around the globe.

The 27th edition will take place from the 3th until the 19th of November, while the festival’s industry platform Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event will run from 13th until the 17th of November.

Official Selection Competition
Grand Prix for the Best Film (Grant of 20,000 Euros, shared by the Director and Producer)
Best Director (Grant of 5,000 Euros from Alexela)
Best Cinematography (Grant of 1,000 Euros)
Best Script
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Original Score
Best Production Design
First Feature Competition
Best Film Award (Grant of 5,000 Euros)
Two Special Jury Prizes
Rebels with a Cause Competition
The Award for Best Film (award for Director)
The Award for Best Director
Award for Best Rebel with a Cause Short Film
Critics' Picks Competition
The Award for Best Film (award for Director)
The Award for Best Director
Baltic Film Competition
The Award for Best Baltic Film (Grant of 5,000 Euros from Piletilevi, shared by the Director and Producer)
The Award for Best Baltic Producer for Co-production
The DDA Spotlight Award
Shining a Spotlight on a work that marks true diversity or inclusion, whether in subject matter; casting or its filmmakers. Presented by the DDA Group.
Additional Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award
Audience Award (Grant of 3,000 Euros, the award for the Director)* Award can be presented for either film from the main Festival and/or Just Film Festival programme
International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award
Bruno O'Ya Stipend for Internationally Acknowledged Estonian Talent (with a scholarship of 1,000 Euros)
Just Film
Just Film Grand Prix, International Youth Competition (Grant of 3,000 Euros)
Just Film Youth Jury Best Film Award
Just Film Children’s Jury Best Film Award
Just Film Juniors’ Jury Best Film Award
ECFA Award for the Best European Children’s Film
Just Film #youngfilmmaker's Jury Best Film Award
Up to two (2) Special Mentions per Competitive Programme
PÖFF Shorts
International Live-Action Competition

Jury prize for Best Film
Jury prize for Best Student Film (New Talents)
International Animation Competition
Jury prize for Best Film
Jury prize for Best Student Film (New Talents)
Jury prize for Best Children's Film
National Competition
Jury prize for Best Film
Juries will also decide upon one European film in eligible competitions with a candidacy in the short film category of the European Film Awards.*
European according to the rules of the European Film Academy, meaning both EU and non-EU and shall include Israeli and Palestinian.

Black Nights Film Festival (aka PÖFF – Pimedate Ööde FilmiFestival) takes place annually at the end of November in Tallinn, Estonia. It is the only FIAPF-accredited competitive feature film Festival in Northern Europe.

Black Nights Film Festival holds five competitive sections, as well as non-competitive sections, altogether more than 200 features and documentaries, showcasing new discoveries and a selection of the best picks from other film Festivals, with special programmes for various sub-genres. Due to the current situation in the world, the Festival also reserves the right to organize the Festival online.

The Festival consists of a cluster of events: the main Festival, sub-Festivals for youth and children’s films, short films and animations, along with an extensive industry programme, turning Tallinn and Tartu into a buzzing, yet relaxed celebration of film culture and attracting an attendance of more than 78 825, visited by 1950 film professionals and press from around the world in 2022.

27th Black Nights Film Festival
03.11 – 19.11 2023
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Submission is open at Filmfreeway

Just Film
Youth and Children’s Film Festival
03.11 – 19.11.2023
justfilm.ee
Submission is open within this section at Filmfreeway

PÖFF Shorts
Short Film and Animation Festival
07.11 – 15.11 2023
shorts.poff.ee
Submission is open within this section at Filmfreeway

Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event
10.11 – 17.11.2023
industry.poff.ee

An industry platform of the Black Nights Film Festival. It serves as a gateway for global audiovisual industries to the Baltic and CIS region, aiming to connect regional audiovisual talent and production with the rest of Europe, North and South America and Asia. It includes a drama series market and forum TV Beats, co-production market, Works in Progress showcases, an international script competition Script Pool, European Film Forum Tallinn and Creative Gate a creative industry development center that consist of different panels, workshop and masterclasses on new trends in film financing and distribution, film music scoring, acting and casting, as well as production design and much more.