Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

Black Nights Film Festival
Location Tallinn, Estonia
Founded 1997
Awards Golden Wolf/ Wolf
No. of films 250 features (2016)
Website www.poff.ee


Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, or PÖFF (Estonian: Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is the only festival in Northern Europe or the Baltic region with a FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Association) accreditation for holding an International Competitive Feature Film Program, which places it alongside 14 other non-specialised competitive world festivals including Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Karlovy Vary, Warsaw, and San Sebastian. With over 250 feature films from more than 70 different countries (2016) screened, and an attendance of over 80,000 (2016), PÖFF is the largest film festival in Northern Europe and the biggest annual cultural event in Estonia. The festival hosts nearly 300 festival guests and 700 industry delegates each year.

The Festival runs three competitive programs: Official Selection, First Feature Competition, and Estonian Film Competition. The top prize of the festival is the Golden Wolf, given to the director and producer of the winning film of the Official Selection. The festival also hosts several non-competitive programs including the Screen International Critics' Choice, various retrospectives, and a panorama of the best films of the year.

Running concurrently with the festival is Industry@Tallinn and the Baltic Event Co-Production Market, the biggest audiovisual industry meeting in the region. Industry@Tallinn consists of the International Sales and Distributors Meeting Point; the European Genre Forum, a creative camp for genre professionals promoting project and skills development; and two works in progress panels, the presentations of regional upcoming films from Baltic, Finnish and old CIS countries, and international screenings ranging from Asia to Latin America. For 2017 the festival has teamed up with the Culture Ministry of Estonia to co-host and co-curate the Estonia’s European Union Presidency Conference Pictured Futures: Connecting Content, Tech & Policy In Audiovisual Europe.

In addition, two sub-festivals take part concurrently with the main program: Children’s and Youth Film Festival Just Film, and PÖFF SHORTS, dedicated to short films and animations .[1] BNFF also organises two smaller film festivals: Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, and Tartu Love Film Festival tARTuFF.

History

2015 Tallinn Black Nights Film festival Award Ceremony


Starting in 1997 with 4,500 attendances, PÖFF was originally primarily a showcase for Nordic films, but as the festival grew it dramatically expanded its overview. Today PÖFF is the largest film gathering in Northern Europe. During its 19th edition in 2015, the festival screened more than 600 films (including 250+ feature-length films from 80 different countries), bringing over 900 screenings to an audience of over 80,000 people, including over 700 accredited guests and journalists from 50 countries. In 2010 the festival hosted the European Film Awards ceremony in Tallinn, and in 2015 the European Film Forum conference was held in co-operation with the European Commission. PÖFF was recognized by FIAPF in 2011 and upgraded to an A-list festival in 2014, making it the first festival in Northern Europe to gain a Competitive Feature Film Festival accreditation, joining only 14 other major world festivals.[2]

Some notable filmmakers, actors, and industry professionals who have visited PÖFF include Aki Kaurismäki, Krzysztof Zanussi, Olga Kurylenko, Sergei Loznitsa, Lee Joon-ik, Jos Stelling, Jan Troell, Catherine Breillat, Roy Andersson, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Neil Jordan, Philip Glass, Lukas Moodysson, Michael Nyman, Jerzy Stuhr, Tom Schilling, Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Isaach de Bankole, Pavel Lungin, Fiona Shaw, Ross Partridge, Mikael Persbrandt, and Vassilis Mazomenos along with many others.

Awards

Official Selection

  • Grand Prix (Golden Wolf) for Best Film, shared by the film's director and producer
  • Wolf for Best Director
  • Wolf for Best Cinematography
  • Wolf for Special Jury Prize
  • Wolf for Best Actor
  • Wolf for Best Actress

The First Feature Competition

  • The Tridens Award for the Best First Feature, shared by the director and producer
  • Two Special Jury Prizes

The Estonian Film Competition

  • The Award for Best Estonian Feature Film, shared by the director and producer

Additional Awards for Feature-Length Films

  • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Audience Award
  • International Federation of Film Societies (FICC) Award
  • Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award
  • International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award
  • Ecumenical Jury award, presented by Spiritual leaders of the largest congregations in Estonia

Grand Prix winners

YearFilmOriginal TitleDirector(s)Nationality of Director
2004ShizaShiza / ШизаGulshat Omarova Kazakhstan
2005Shanghai DreamsQīng hóng / 青紅Wang Xiaoshuai China
2006Dark Blue Almost BlackAzuloscurocasinegroDaniel Sánchez Arévalo Spain
2007Takva: A Man's Fear of GodTakvaÖzer Kızıltan Turkey
2008HungerSteve McQueen United Kingdom
2009AjamiAjami / عجميScandar Copti Israel
Ajami / עג'מיYaron Shani Israel
2010My JoySchastye moyo / Счастье моёSergei Loznitsa Ukraine
2011A Simple LifeTáo Jiě / 桃姐Ann Hui China
2012House with a TurretDom s bashenkoy / Дом с башенкойEva Neymann Ukraine
2013The Great BeautyLa grande bellezzaPaolo Sorrentino Italy
2014LuciferGust Van den Berghe Belgium
2015The ThroneSado / 사도Lee Joon-ik South Korea
2016A Quiet HeartLev shaket / לב שקט מאודEitan Anner Israel
2017Night AccidentTunku KyrsykTemirbek Birnazarov Kyrgyzstan

Industry@Tallinn

Tallinn Black Nights' industry program, consisting of the Industry@Tallinn industry summit and the Baltic Event Regional Co-Production Film Market, is a platform aiming to connect Northern Europe with Asia, the US, and South America. It hosts 700+ industry guests annually. The 2017 edition of Industry@Tallinn will include screenings of works in progress, a Sales Agents and Distributors Meeting Point, a European Genre Forum, an acting talent showcase: Screen Stars Tallinn, the Estonian EU Presidency Conference, an Audiovisual Content, Technology, and Policy Conference, and much more.

Baltic Event Film and Co-Production Market

The Baltic Event Film and Co-Production Market is the largest film market in the region, and serves as a primary place to meet the Baltic film industry.

Sub-Festivals

  • Just Film – Children and Youth Film Festival. Official website www.justfilm.ee

Just Film is the largest children and youth film festival in the region. The festival includes a competitive program with a €3,000 grant for the best youth film (shared by the director and producer), a children's rights program, and a special program for documentaries. The festival is truly designed for its young audiences; the best films are selected by juries of local youth, and the festival blog is filled by young film critics posting their daily reviews of films.

  • PÖFF SHORTS - A shorts and animation film festival that includes several competition programs judged by international juries.

21st Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival: November 17 - December 3, 2017

  • Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival main program, November 17 - December 3
  • PÖFF SHORTS, November 18-26
  • Children and Youth Film Festival, Just Film, November 17-26
  • Industry@Tallinn, November 26 - December 1

References

  1. ↑ "Film Festival".
  2. ↑ "International Federation of Film Producers Association homepage". Retrieved 6 September 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.