The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) opened on November 6 in Estonia with a ceremony at the Alexela Concert Hall, celebrating the festival’s 30th anniversary and marking the beginning of a programme featuring films from around the world. The opening ceremony placed Ulya (2026), by Latvian filmmaker Viesturs Kairišs, at its centre.

This year’s edition brings together 230 feature films and 259 short films from 87 countries, and will run until November 22. The ceremony also included lifetime achievement awards presented to three prominent figures in Baltic and European cinema: Estonian animator Priit Pärn, composer Sven Grünberg, and Icelandic filmmaker Hilmar Oddsson.

The opening film is a co-production between Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. Inspired by the life of Uljana Semjonova, the legendary Latvian basketball player, two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion, the story follows a young girl growing up in a rural community who discovers basketball as a way to make her way in the world. Directed by Viesturs Kairišs, the film has been selected by Latvia as its submission for the upcoming Academy Awards.

The festival’s 30th anniversary celebrations also placed the spotlight on cinema from the Baltic countries, the focus of one of this year’s special programmes. The opening ceremony featured Round and Round, a performance specially conceived for the anniversary, and honoured animator Priit Pärn, composer Sven Grünberg and director Hilmar Oddsson with lifetime achievement awards.

Taking place in Tallinn and Tartu, PÖFF will run until November 22 and expects to welcome around 2,000 guests from more than 70 countries.