The 28th edition of Northern Europe’s only A-list accredited film festival takes place between November 8th and 24th in the dark and cosy Estonian capital. Yet there is no shortage of light inside the movie theatres. The event showcases hundreds of movies from literally every corner of the globe. In total, there are six competitive strands: The Main Competition, The First Feature Competition, Critics’ Picks, the Baltic Competition, Rebel with a Cause, and the brand new Doc@PÖFF. In addition, movies are shown in other sections, including short films, youth and children movies, Best of Fest (with special picks from other events), Midnight Shivers, and much more.

The Festival’s industry platform Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event runs from November 18th until the 22nd. We will be covering both events at the coalface and exclusively for you.

DMovies are PÖFF’s established partner. We have worked together for seven years, and last year we published a total of 117 Festival related pieces, amongst reviews, articles and interviews. This year, we once again have a large team of journalists on site, and intend to provide you with in-depth reviews of all competitive movies, as well as some firsthand insight into a festival that’s neither too big nor too small, and yet boasts a film selection on a par with its larger counterparts in Western Europe. PÖFF is a democratic event, with easy access to to films, easy access to talent, and a relaxed atmosphere perfect for digesting scrumptious cinema, and networking with professionals from all over the world.

As usual, I will personally be in charge of the event’s Main Competition, with a total of 18 films (down from 26 a few years ago, when our lovely Festival Director Tiina Lokk made me od on cinema. I have since woken up from my cinematic comatose, and I am fired up and ready to go!

While the focus on the main competitive strand remains on European cinema (particularly Italy, with five films including post-productions; perhaps a byproduct of last year’s big winner Misericordia, by Emma Dante), there is a significant number of entries from other continents. They include countries such Colombia, Turkey, India, Mongolia, and South Korea. In total there are seven international co-productions Two particular films pike my interest as I read their synopses: Sengedorj Janchivdorj’s Silent City Driver, about a solitary ex-inmate mingling with stray dogs, and Boris Guts’s Deaf Lovers, about a Russian man infatuated with a Ukrainian Woman in Istanbul. Murder mystery Shadows (Jaak Kilmi) seems to cater for genre fans. Can’t wait to seek my teeth into the whole selection and savour the complex worldly flavours.

Tiina explains: “Being a film theorist myself, and coming from a generation of great audiovisually-minded directors, I am very happy to find submitted films, in which the plot develops not only through causal narrative, but through images and symbols. However, the competition also includes dramas with a linear storyline that are psychologically complex”

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Here is the full list of the Main Competition movies:

• Buzzheart (Greece, Dennis Iliadis);
• Can I Get A Witness (Canada, Ann Marie Fleming);
• Deaf Lovers (Estonia and Serbia, Boris Guts);
• Empire Of The Rabbits (Turkey, Croatia, Mexico and Lebanon; Seyfettin Tokmak)
• Girl America (Czechia, Slovakia and Switzerland, Viktor Tauš)
• Out Of Control (France, Anne le Ny);
• Pink Lady (Israel and Italy, Nir Bergman);
• Pyre (India, Vinod Kapri);
• Seed Of The Desert (Colombia, Sebastian Parra; pictured at the top of this article);
• Silent City Driver (Mongolia, Sengedorj Janchivdorj);
• Some Nights I Feel Like Walking (Philippines, Singapore and Italy, Petersen Vargas)
• The Loop (South Korea, Sang Beom-koo);
• The Exalted (Latvia, Estonia and Greece, Juris Kursietis);
• The Mousetrap (Ukraine, Serhii Kastornykh);
• Reading Lolita in Tehran (Italy, Eran Riklis; pictured in the middle of this article);
• The Boy With Pink Pants (Italy, Margherita Ferri);
• 100 Litres Of Gold (Finland and Italy, Teemu Nikki); and
• Shadow (Estonia, Jaak Kilmi).