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.
Every year the festival program includes approximately 250 full-length and 300 short films from all over the world - this is a real celebration of cinema, which attracts more than 1,500 foreign guests and has about 80,000 visits.
PÖFF is:
- The main competition program is fresh films from authors who have already proven themselves in the world of cinema, representing the geographical, thematic and stylistic diversity of cinema. Only world and international premieres.
- Competition program of debut films - the first films of emerging talents, personifying their youthful enthusiasm, search for ideas and bold views. Only world and international premieres.
- The “Critics’ Choice” competition program – the latest trends in film art through the prism of a critic. Only world and international premieres.
- The competition program “Rebels for a Cause” brings together filmmakers from all over the world who have chosen an experimental form or embedded a rebellious message in their film. Only world and international premieres.
- Competition program of films from the Baltic countries - the best feature films from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.