Camel Racing, a Sect and Workplace Democracy: Tallinn Fest Sets Docs Lineup, Special Screenings

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) unveiled the selection of documentaries in its Doc@PÖFF International and Baltic competitions on Wednesday, adding to the program for its 30th edition, taking place Nov. 6-2. For the second year in a row, Baltic documentaries and feature films will compete in separate programs.

The festival also revealed special screenings for its anniversary edition.

The docs lineup includes stories of self-discovery, family ties and the search for belonging. “From camel racing in the Sinai Peninsula to an experiment in workplace democracy inside a Michelin-starred restaurant, from queer cultural memory to the hidden mechanisms of control within a Danish Christian sect, the films reveal unexpected sides of human experience,” organizers said. “Fishermen, dancers and artists share the screen with people rebuilding their lives or defending their homeland.”

Marianna Kaat, the curator of the Doc@PÖFF International and Baltic competitions, said: “This year, I was particularly struck by filmmakers finding fresh ways to tell their stories, opening up new possibilities for documentary cinema and its role in defending our sense of reality. These films ask us to look more closely, question our assumptions and resist easy explanations. In a world where so much comes to us already interpreted, that feels especially necessary.”

One of the docs, Father’s House, uses actors, namely Trine Dyrholm, David Dencik and Emma Sehested Høeg, for reenactments of former members’ experiences inside the controlling Christian sect. Those who lived through them advise the performers, share their memories and watch as some of their most traumatic experiences unfold before them.

Meanwhile, the Special Screenings program presents seven films with a particular connection to Estonia or to festival guests. They include three world premieres, one international premiere, Stephen Frears’ Dangerous Liaisons and Tim Blake Nelson’s The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd.

“The seven films in the Special Screenings program range from intimate portraits of creative lives to romantic drama, classic intrigue and Christmas horror comedy,” PÖFF said. “Stories about Louis Kahn, Jüri Järvet and photographer Erlend Štaub explore the relationships and dedication behind their work, while the frontman of Ukraine rock band Okean Elzy, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, uses music to sustain morale and defend cultural identity. Elsewhere, an unexpected prison romance raises questions of redemption and second chances, aristocratic seduction becomes a dangerous power game, and a family Christmas takes a bloody turn.”

Check out the latest PÖFF 2026 lineup additions below.

Doc@PÖFF International Competition

Birthday Candles (Azerbaijan) – dir. Murad Allahverdi

Child of Sinaï (Egypt, France) – dir. Loup Bureau

Father’s House (Denmark) – dir. Adam Nielsen, Andreas Koefoed, Eva Mulvad

Fruitcakes: The Dawn of Drag (Finland, Denmark) – dir. Vesa Kuosmanen

Lost and Found: Thirty Years, Not Together (Romania) – dir. Laurentiu Garofeanu

Love Exposed (Czechia) – dir. Filip Remunda – International Premiere

Sentenced at Birth (Moldova) – dir. Daniela Miron, Diana Vlas

The Taste of Democracy (Hungary) – dir. Péter Akar, Ambrus Fatér

The War We Carry (Denmark) – dir. Kaspar Astrup Schröder

Three Comrades (France) – dir. Anastasiia Vedenskaia