Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (BNFF) , or PÖFF ( Estonian : Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival ), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn , the capital city of Estonia . PÖFF is one of the largest film festivals in Northern Europe. In 2014 it was upgraded to an A-list festival by FIAPF .
47-606: PÖFF includes two sub-festivals that take part concurrently with the main program: Children’s and Youth Film Festival Just Film , and PÖFF Shorts . Running concurrently with the festival is Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event Co-Production Market, the biggest audiovisual industry meeting in the region. PÖFF also manages two off-season events: the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival taking place every April and Tartu Love Film Festival Tartuff, taking place in August. The festival
94-573: A FIAPF guideline that said: "All film festivals should contribute to better understanding between nations". Stevens claimed that the film, which includes a gang rape of a Vietnamese woman by American soldiers during the Vietnam War , was anti-American . One jury member, Dušan Makavejev , protested against this measure, stood up for the film and supported Verhoeven and producer Rob Houwer . Verhoeven defended his film by stating in these terms: "I have not made an anti-American film... The biggest part of
141-560: A Bronze Berlin Bear, determined by audience vote, were also awarded from 1952 to 1955. After the FIAPF ruled to allow it, an official international jury determined the prizes from 1956 onwards, and in the same year a second Golden Bear was added, for best short film , as well as a second category of award, the Silver Bear, for individual achievements in acting or directing. In 1965, a runner-up prize to
188-456: A Silver Bear International Prize. As of 2022 , the Golden Bear for Best Film is awarded to the producers of the best feature film . As of 2022 , the categories of Silver Bear awards are: The Honorary Golden Bear has been awarded for lifetime achievement since 1982, when it was awarded to James Stewart . It is presented to someone with an exceptional artistic career, and is given to
235-778: A film officer of the Information Service Branch of the American High Commissioner for Germany stationed in Berlin, proposed the idea of a film festival in Berlin. The proposal was put through a committee, which included members of the Senate of Berlin and people from the German film industry , on 9 October 1950. Through his efforts and influence, the American military administration was persuaded to assist and to give loans for
282-524: A film trade fair held simultaneously to the Berlinale, is a major industry meeting for the international film circuit. The trade fair serves distributors, film buyers, producers, financiers and co-production agents. The Berlinale Talents , a week-long series of lectures and workshops, is a gathering of young filmmakers held in partnership with the festival. During the peak of the Cold War in 1950, Oscar Martay ,
329-567: A particular country or region whose cinema becomes the central theme of the season. For example, in 2012 the focus country was Greece, in 2014 – Poland, in 2017 – Flanders, Belgium, in 2021 – Hungary, in 2022 – Germany, in 2023 – Serbia, etc. The film festival consists of a main programme, 16 special programmes, three sub-festivals and a film market. Main Programme : PÖFF's programme also includes screenings of documentaries and retrospectives dedicated to specific genres and filmmakers. In addition to
376-723: A partner of the Belarusian film festival in exile Northern Lights , whose programme is partly held at the PÖFF venues in Tallinn. The PÖFF-2024 programme included 185 films from 73 countries, the Children's and Youth Film sub-festival with 51 films and the Short Film sub-festival with 240 films. In 2024, the Festival launched the sixth competition – Doc@PÖFF for documentaries. Each year the festival chooses
423-577: A separate section on sports cinema (in cooperation with the Estonian Olympic Committee). The festival also organizes two smaller off-season events: the only genre film event in the Baltic countries Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival taking place in April every year and Tartu Love Film Festival Tartuff , taking place in August. The sections are judged by several international juries. Apart from
470-502: A specific film. The three Spanish films which were screened at the festival and won it were short film Ascensor directed by Tomás Muñoz and feature films La palabras de Max by Emilio Martínez Lázaro and Las truchas by José Luis García Sánchez . The 1978 festival also saw the start of the European Film Market as well as a new section, "Cinema for People Six and up" (which later became "Kinderfilmfest"). Just before
517-983: Is an annual film festival held in Berlin , Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europe's " Big Three " film festivals alongside the Venice Film Festival held in Italy and the Cannes Film Festival held in France. Furthermore, it is one of the " Big Five ", the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The festival regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. About 400 films are shown at multiple venues across Berlin, mostly in and around Potsdamer Platz . They are screened in nine sections across cinematic genres, with around twenty films competing for
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#1733085559530564-630: Is independently awarded by European Film Promotion at Berlinale Palast. There are also many other prizes given by independent juries (not connected to the Berlinale) at the event. These include, among others: Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival ( Estonian : Haapsalu Õudus- ja Fantaasiafilmide Festival , abbreviated HÕFF) is an international film festival which takes place annually in Haapsalu , Estonia. HÕFF focuses on horror and fantasy films . HÕFF
611-841: Is organized by the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival , the Haapsalu Culture Center, and the town of Haapsalu. The first HÕFF took place in 2005, after being created by Marek Reinaas . Since 2012, HÕFF is a member of Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF). The Audience Award has been given out every year since 2012. The winners of the award will later be nominated for the Méliès d'Or : 2024 - Wander to Wonder directed by Nina Gantz 2023 - Shut directed by Niels Bourgonje 2022 - Eyes on You directed by Raoul Kirsima 2021 - Hospital Dumpster Divers directed by Anders Elsrud Hultgreen 2020 - Downs of
658-744: Is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. In its first year in 1951, it was awarded to the best film in each of five categories, by an all-German jury. From 1952 to 1955, the Golden and Silver Bears were awarded by audience voting, as the FIAPF had determined after the first festival that only the Cannes and the Venice film festivals were allowed to appoint official juries. A Silver Bear ( Silberner Bär ) and
705-654: The European Film Awards . The programme of the XVI season of PÖFF in 2012 already included 270 feature films from 66 countries. As a result of its rapid growth, PÖFF was recognized by FIAPF 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 including Berlin , Cannes , Venice , Karlovy Vary , Warsaw , and San Sebastian . In 2015,
752-523: The Noack Foundry . The main prizes in the festival are those awarded by the international jury since 1956, which today include the Golden Bear and various Silver Bears. In 1956, apart from the Golden Bear, there were also Silver Bears awarded by the new international feature film jury for best director, best actress, best actor, best outstanding single achievement, outstanding artistic contribution, and
799-550: The festival was re-formed and a new International Forum for New Cinema was created. 1975 saw the first East German film to be entered into the festival, Jacob the Liar . At the premiere of In the Realm of the Senses in 1976, the film was confiscated in the projection room by Berlin police and the "Forum" management criminally accused of the public screening a pornographic film. Bauer
846-534: The 1979 Polish-Soviet film Inquest of Pilot Pirx : 2013 - Hideo Nakata 2014 - Tobe Hooper 2015 - Sven Grünberg 2016 - Karel Zeman (posthumous) 2018 - The television show Jupiter 2019 - Vladimir Tarasov and Priit Vaher 2020 - Mari Lill - For her work on the Estonian children series The Little Witch 2022 - Gülnar Murumägi - For her work as director of the Haapsalu Cultural Centre,
893-548: The 1979 festival, Donner announced that he was resigning. The festival also saw further controversy that year when the Soviet Union and other socialist states withdrew their films and delegates in protest at the selection of The Deer Hunter and their solidarity with "the heroic people of Vietnam". Donner was followed by Moritz de Hadeln , who held the position from 1980 until director Dieter Kosslick took over in 2001. In 1981, de Hadeln only nominated one German film for
940-594: The 2022 event, still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic , 156,472 tickets were sold. About 400 films are shown in several sections across cinematic genres, with around twenty films competing for the festival's top awards, the Golden Bear and Silver Bears. In 2022, festival was receiving €10.3 million from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. There was consideration given by
987-450: The American people today is against the war in Vietnam". Other directors taking part in the festival withdrew their films in protest, and the jury was accused of censorship and eventually disbanded, so no prizes were awarded and the competition was suspended. This scandal had such a big effect that it was unclear if the festival would continue to take place the next year. The following year,
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#17330855595301034-545: The Dead directed by Even Husby Grødahl 2019 - Bad Hair directed by Oskar Lehemaa 2018 - The Dark Room directed by Morgane Segaert 2017 - Fucking Bunnies directed by Teemu Niukkanen 2016 - The Black Bear directed by Mèryl Fortunat-Rossi and Xavier Seron 2015 - The Salf of the Earth directed by Jonathan Desoindre 2014 - Canis directed by Marc Riba and Anna Solanas 2013 - The Trap directed by Alberto Lopez Named after
1081-463: The Golden Bear was added. The statuettes awarded as trophies are based on the Bär first created by sculptor Renée Sintenis (1888–1965) in 1932. The bear, based on the coat of arms of Berlin and depicting a bear standing on its hind legs with its arms raised, became popular in the 1930s, bringing wealth to Sintenis. Since the 3rd edition of the festival in 1953, replicas of the bear have been produced by
1128-759: The Grand Prix – the Bronze Wolf statuette – and a cash prize of 5,000 euros. In the Best Estonian Film competition, the winner receives a prize grant of 3,200 euros. Two Special Jury Prizes are also awarded each season. Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival ( German : Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin ), usually called the Berlinale ( German pronunciation: [bɛʁliˈnaːlə] ),
1175-609: The Zoo Palast became the main venue for the festival, and remained so until the move to Potsdamer Platz in 2000 (see Venues below). In 1963, two years after the Berlin Wall had been erected, a daily show of the Berlinale was shown on television in East Germany, with five films in competition broadcast. Controversy arose in 1964 with the rejection by Bauer, on insistence from the church, of Vilgot Sjöman 's second film, 491 , from
1222-526: The competition, Der Neger Erwin , and other German producers and directors called for his resignation and proposed a boycott although no boycott took place. In 1986, Gina Lollobrigida was invited to head the jury at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival , which awarded the Golden Bear to Reinhard Hauff 's film Stammheim . She said the majority decision was "prefabricated", and opposed it. Kosslick started making some changes to
1269-446: The competition. Werner Herzog 's first feature film, Lebenszeichen , premiered at the festival in 1968. The 20th edition of the festival in 1970 was cut short and awards not issued following controversy over the showing of Michael Verhoeven 's anti-war film o.k. . The jury, headed by American film director George Stevens , decided after a 7–2 vote to remove the film from the competition, justifying their decision by citing
1316-488: The federal government to help compensate for revenue lost and additional expenditure owing to the pandemic, with funds drawn from the Neustart Kultur programme. Since 2019, Mariette Rissenbeek has been the festival's executive director; Carlo Chatrian is its artistic director . In September 2023, it was reported that artistic director Carlo Chatrian will relinquish his post after 2024 Berlinale. On 12 December 2023 it
1363-579: The festival reached an audience of 80,000, the 19th edition featured 289 films from 80 different countries; the events spanned two cities – Tallinn and Tartu . In addition to the main programmes, the festival included the Animated Dreams animation film festival, the Just Film festival for children and young people, and the Sleepwalkers international short film festival. In the same year, PÖFF also launched
1410-400: The festival's director Tiina Lokk in its list of the 50 most influential women in the global film industry, highlighting the way she managed to lead PÖFF amidst the COVID-19 pandemic . In 2022, the programme of the 26th Festival featured 550 films from 75 countries, including 78 world premieres. In the same year, PÖFF added a fifth competition programme, Critics' Choice. Also since 2022, it is
1457-477: The festival's top awards in the Competition section. The major awards, called the Golden Bear and Silver Bears , are decided on by the international jury, chaired by an internationally recognisable cinema personality. This jury and other specialised Berlinale juries also give many other awards, and in addition there are other awards given by independent juries and organisations. The European Film Market ( EFM ),
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1504-505: The festival, moving the emphasis from Hollywood in order to focus more on German and international cinema. He introduced various events to assist the development of emerging talent in German cinema. In 2010, for the 60th edition of the festival , Werner Herzog was appointed president of the jury. Also in that year, the city of Berlin unveiled its Boulevard of the Stars [ de ] , with
1551-615: The first Tridens First Features , a competition programme dedicated to feature-length debuts by young directors. PÖFF film school, an online film education platform for Estonian public school students, was launched in 2021. Other initiatives launched during the Covid-19 pandemic include the Discovery Campus for young filmmakers, and the Creative Gate , a database for professionals from the regions. That same year, Variety magazine included
1598-544: The first of 40 stars devoted to actors and filmmakers of the German-speaking film and TV industry. First to be honoured in the Boulevard was German-American actress Marlene Dietrich . In 2012 the 100th anniversary of the historic Studio Babelsberg was celebrated at the 62nd edition of the festival , with the screening of 10 classic films made at the studios. A new Series section, devoted to longform television series ,
1645-518: The first years of the Berlin International Film Festival, which commenced in June 1951. Film historian Dr. Alfred Bauer was the festival's first director, a position he would hold until 1976. Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca opened the first festival at the Titania-Palast in Steglitz on 6 June 1951. The festival ran from 6 to 17 June, with Waldbühne being another festival venue. The winners of
1692-594: The guest of honour of the Homage section which has been run since 1977 by the Berlinale and the Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen . Awards for short films are awarded by a separate international short film jury consisting of three filmmakers and artists. As of 2022 , the short film award are: There are also awards given by separate juries or via other routes at the Berlinale. These include: The Shooting Stars Award for young European acting talent
1739-406: The inaugural awards in 1951 were determined by a West German panel, and there were five winners of the Golden Bear , divided by categories and genres. Cinderella , which won the Golden Bear for a Music Film, also won the audience award. The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films) banned the awarding of jury prizes at the festival, so between 1952 and 1955,
1786-695: The main competition programme, PÖFF includes: 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 filmmakers and their projects with producers and sales agents. PÖFF's non-competitive programme includes Fashion Cinema , the Gourmet Cinema , the Midnight Shivers , experimental cinema section, and
1833-642: The main competition, separate jury panels are nominated by the FIPRESCI , NETPAC, and the International Federation of Film Clubs (FICC). In 2014, the festival introduced an ecumenical jury, which brings together representatives of different Estonian churches and selects a film from the main competition programme that ‘most clearly represents human dignity and agape’. The winner of the Black Nights Film Festival's main competition programme receives
1880-548: The preceding year. As of 2024 the festival is composed of eight different sections: "Perspektive Deutsches Kino" (Perspectives on German Cinema) was created in 2002 by incoming director Dieter Kosslick with Alfred Holighaus. This was dropped from 2024 Berlinale due to budget cuts. A section called "Culinary Cinema" had also been introduced by Kosslick in 2007, as well as a series called "NATIVe" (for indigenous filmmakers) in 2013; however, these were dropped after his departure in 2019. The Golden Bear ( Goldener Bär )
1927-545: The winners of the Golden Bear were determined by the audience members. In 1956, FIAPF formally accredited the festival and since then the Golden Bear has been awarded by an international jury. Prior to the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961, a selection of the films were also screened in East Berlin . The fifth edition in 1955 saw the first German film to win the Golden Bear, Robert Siodmak 's Die Ratten . In 1957,
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1974-539: Was announced by the German culture ministry that Tricia Tuttle, formerly director of the BFI London Film Festival , will be the sole director of the Berlinale from April 2024. The festival is open to films of every length and genre, but there is priority given to international and European premieres, and the films need to have been completed within the year preceding the festival. Submissions open in September of
2021-568: Was founded in 1997 on the initiative of Tiina Lokk. Lokk graduated from the Russian State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow, worked for many years as a journalist for various publications, and since 1992 was a special correspondent at the Berlin and Cannes Film Festival . Using her experience in the film industry, she decided to try to make a festival in Estonia, although in her own words she
2068-557: Was introduced in 2015. In June 2018, it was announced that Mariette Rissenbeek would serve as the new executive director alongside artistic director Carlo Chatrian. They assumed their posts after Kosslick's final edition in 2019. Rissenbeek became the first woman to lead the Berlinale. A shortened 71st festival took place virtually in March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . 73rd Berlin International Film Festival held in February 2023,
2115-468: Was not sure of success. Starting with 4,500 attendances and a 25-films program in 1997, PÖFF was originally primarily a showcase for Nordic films. By the FIAPF classification, it was a Eurasian festival and didn’t have the right to put together competitions without any borders, neither geographical nor by topic. However, the festival was growing fast and attracted bigger audience, already in its 5th season it launched an industry section. In 2010, PÖFF hosted
2162-418: Was succeeded by film journalist Wolf Donner in 1976, who gave German films higher priority. After his first Berlinale in June 1977, Donner successfully negotiated the shift of the festival from the June to February (22 February – 5 March 1978), a change which has remained ever since. That festival, the 28th edition , saw the jury award the Golden Bear to Spain for its contribution to the festival rather than
2209-467: Was the first completely in-person Berlinale since the 70th in 2020. The Berlinale is considered one of the five major film festivals in the world, alongside Venice , Cannes , Sundance and Toronto , and is the largest based on attendance. As of 2020, around 325,000 tickets were sold, and nearly 16,000 film industry professionals from 130 countries attended the festival. It is held in Berlin. It attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. For
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