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Film Festivals in Tallinn
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
Estonia's capital on the Gulf of Finland, pairing a UNESCO-listed medieval Hanseatic old town with the creative Kalamaja waterfront, the parkland palaces of Kadriorg, and a lively food, film and museum scene.
Run by Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why here
The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, POFF, turns the dark of the northern November into one of Europe's most serious film events. It is the only A-list festival in the Baltics and Nordics, one of around fifteen worldwide accredited by FIAPF alongside Cannes, Venice and Berlin, and across sixteen days it screens some 250 features and 300 shorts to about 90,000 admissions. The pull is the combination of scale and setting: a genuine industry festival with competitions and premieres, held in a compact medieval city where snow is likely and the whole thing feels intimate rather than red-carpet distant. Sub-festivals for shorts, children's films and animation run alongside the main programme.
Best months
The festival runs for about sixteen days in November, when Tallinn is cold, often snowy and dark by mid-afternoon, which is part of the Black Nights atmosphere. Screenings are spread across cinemas in and around the centre. Buy tickets and any passes through the official site once the programme is announced in autumn, as popular premieres sell out.
Getting there & around
Screenings cluster in Tallinn's central cinemas, all reachable on foot or by short tram rides, with old town and Kalamaja hotels within easy reach. November is deep off-season for tourism, so accommodation is easier than in summer, but pack for cold and snow. Check the official schedule for venues, English subtitling and pass options.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
OrganizerThe Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, known by its Estonian acronym POFF, is one of the largest film festivals in Northern Europe, first held in 1997 and run by the nonprofit MTU Pimedate Oode Filmifestival. Since 2014 it has been one of only about fifteen A-list festivals accredited by FIAPF, alongside Cannes, Venice and Berlin. Its November programme runs to roughly 250 feature films and 300 shorts and draws around 90,000 admissions across sixteen days in Tallinn.