Tallinn announces doc programmes

Baltic documentaries have dedicated competition for the first time

by Amber Wilkinson

Electing Ms Santa
Electing Ms Santa Photo: Courtesy of POFF

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has today announced its Doc@PÖFF 2025 International and Baltic Competition Programmes. It marks the first time that Baltic documentaries and fiction features have competed in separate programmes.

Curator Marianna Kaat said: “The films in Doc@PÖFF programme open a restless world where bold, author-driven works captivate with their search for balance and understanding — and demonstrate that documentaries can be even more engaging than fiction.”

The jury will feature French producer Tania El Khoury (The River), Estonian producer Marianne Ostrat (Smoke Sauna Sisterhood and German filmmaker and documentary director Daniel Abma (Transit Havana).

The Baltic documentary competition jury comprises UK-based Spanish documentary consultant Ana Fernández Saiz, US journalist Pamela Cohn and Dutch filmmaker Koen Suidgeest( Karla’s Arrival).

The full line-ups are below;

Doc@PÖFF International Competition Films

  • Days of Wonder (Finland), dir: Karin Pennanen
  • Edge of the Night (Estonia), dir: Vladimir Loginov
  • Electing Miss Santa (Moldova, Romania), dir: Raisa Răzmeriță
  • Far Away (Turkey), dir: Tayfur Aydın
  • The Feast of the Wolf (Croatia, Serbia), dir: Jadran Boban
  • Goodbye Sisters (France, Nepal), dir: Alexander Murphy
  • It’s Winter (Iran, France), dir: Sajad Imani
  • The Lunch: A Letter to America (Italy, US), dir: Gianluca Vassallo
  • Miss Jobson (Spain, Jamaica), dir: Amanda Sans Pantling
  • One Day I Wish to See You Happy (Ukraine, France), dir: Maryna Nikolcheva

Doc@PÖFF Baltic Competition Films

  • A Goodnight Kiss (Lithuania, Estonia), dir: Giedrė Žickytė
  • BIX Almost Nirvana (Lithuania), dir: Emilis Vėlyvis
  • Happiness Is Living in Our Land (Estonia), dir: Indrek Spungin
  • Holy Destructors (Lithuania, France), dir: Aistė Žegulytė
  • Laguna (France, Lithuania), dir: Sharunas Bartas
  • The Last Will (Lithuania), dir: Jānis Ābele
  • Lost Stars of the Horoscope (Estonia), dir: Katrina Lehismäe
  • My Family and Other Clowns (Estonia), dir: Heilika Pikkov, Liina Särkinen

The festival will run from November 7 to 23.

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