Tallinn Black Nights raises the profile of the festival with year-round events

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is already recognized as one of the most influential industry showcases in the Baltic and Nordic regions. But the organizers of the festival, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, point out that the popular event is not a one-off affair. “What our year-round efforts bring are opportunities to appeal to more diverse audiences and ensure cinema audiences grow in the future,” says festival director Tiina Lokk.

In addition to its anchor event, which runs from November 11th to 27th this year, the Tallinn team hosts the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, which takes place in the coastal town of Haapsalu, as well as the PÖFF Love Film Festival, which takes place in the historic city of Tartu ( pictured), “while bringing in new viewers geographically, but also by offering more audience-friendly lineups of horror/fantasy and romance films,” says Lokk.

No less important is a web cinema initiative born out of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced organizers to host a hybrid event for the first time in 2020. “While it was terribly sad not to have as many personal festival experiences, we were able to reach new audiences in new corners of our native Estonia,” says the Tallinn topper. “We have reached a more diverse audience and can present them with a more diverse range of cinemas.”

It is one of the many ways in which the tradition-steeped festival has set its sights on the future. Under the umbrella of the Discovery Campus, the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event has launched a range of initiatives aimed at training the next generation of film talent, including established programs tailored for composers, actors and production designers.

The festival recently expanded its offerings with Future to Film, a program aimed at emerging screenwriters, directors and producers. “This spring, Discovery Campus launched for the first time a new training program for below-the-line film professionals,” adds Triin Tramberg, Discovery Campus executive director, calling it “the first of many such training courses that will bring film and creativity together connects industries in our home country and beyond.”

As the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival looks ahead to its next 25 years as an industry leader, with Israel selected as this year’s festival’s focus country, such programs reflect its ability to adapt to changing times and continue to grow. “Our web cinema, continuing education programs and other initiatives aim to give people more of what they want, when they need it,” says Lokk. “All of these projects reinforce and support each other.”