The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has been standing with Ukraine and showing solidarity since the 2022 full-scale invasion of the country by Russia, featuring Ukrainian films, showcasing works-in-progress and organizing Ukraine-themed panels in its industry strand Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.
“We are obliged to do everything possible to help and support the Ukrainian film industry at this difficult time, but even more so the Ukrainian people,” PÖFF founder and CEO Tiina Lokk said in 2022. This year, for the 30th anniversary edition of the festival, its PÖFF Standing With Ukraine film showcase is back.
“Ukraine is fighting not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe and the democratic world,” Lokk tells THR. ”And so we are going to support Ukraine and stand with Ukraine as long as needed. It is important for Ukraine to remain very visible and to keep its culture. And it is very important for every country.”
Marge Liiske, head of the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, emphasizes that the industry strand of the Estonian festival also continues to put a spotlight on the war. “We have since the 2022 [full-scale invasion by Russia] very supportive of Ukraine and have always reflected that in our program, both for the festival and the industry events,” she tells THR.
She and Triin Tramberg, PÖFF’s new artistic director, highlight that they will always put a spotlight on Ukraine and other countries standing up for important democratic values. “Throughout our program, we’re supporting countries that are fighting for their rights and for their democracy,” Tramberg tells THR. “We also have to understand where we are located. Standing With Ukraine is really important for us as a region, and it speaks to our audiences and our communities, including Ukrainians who live here. It is important to have this moment where they see their own cinema.”
PÖFF’s Standing With Ukraine strand this year showcases nine features that are diverse and different. And many also screen in other Tallinn strands, as you can see below. Take a closer look at the films right here.
Slava: Shooting With Music
Director: Jacqui Morris, David Morris
Festival section: Special Screenings
‘Slava: Shooting With Music’
Courtesy of PÖFF
Silence the guns and let the music play! This world premiere is about the power of music and culture more broadly.
“Sviatoslav Vakarchuk is the lead singer of Okean Elzy, Ukraine’s most successful rock band. He is a former politician and activist who has a PhD in theoretical physics,” reads a synopsis of the film. “Slava has been compared to Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney, and his songs are an important part of Ukrainian identity, part of the country’s cultural DNA. He is now channeling his talents to liberate his country.”
After playing more than 200 concerts for the troops, he decided to take his band on a worldwide tour to bolster the morale of Ukrainian refugees living abroad. And an international coalition of artists, including Coldplay, stepped up to support the band. Highlights the Synopsis: “Another reason for the tour was to leave a lasting legacy in the minds of the rest of the world of Ukrainian culture – a unique culture Russia has been trying to eradicate for centuries.”
Vesna
Director: Rostislav Kirpicenko
Festival section: Baltic Film Competition
‘Vesna’
Courtesy of PÖFF
Honoring the dead becomes dangerous in times of war, as this film shows. In a town in southeastern Ukraine that is occupied by Russian forces, burying the dead has actually been forbidden. The church of a young priest has even been turned into a morgue for executed civilians. But the priest begins to quietly resist, secretly returning the bodies to their families at great personal risk. And in the process, he forms an unlikely bond with an 11-year-old boy who becomes a silent witness to his rebellion.
The drama adds a focus on the psychological and emotional warfare beyond the physical battles. “Lithuanian-born Ukrainian director Rostislav Kirpicenko uncovers cynicism, blackmail, and the brutal cruelty of the merciless attackers,” the PÖFF website says about the film.
What would you do if you were in the shoes of the locals who face horrible choices – fight back, obey and adapt to the brutal new reality, or even betray? Emphasizes the festival website: “The mightiest impact here is heartbreaking authenticity, showing how Ukrainians are surviving the ongoing occupation.”
I Rarely Wake up Dreaming
Director: Isabelle Stever
Section: Standing With Ukraine
‘I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming’
Courtesy of X Filme Creative Pool
War surely can affect love. But how does the transition from peace to warfare – yes, Russia’s full-scale invasion! – affect a queer couple in Ukraine, especially when the geopolitical change comes in parallel with a gender transition?
I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming made an impact when it world-premiered at Locarno, leading to conversations between viewers and beyond. You can read our chat with the creators right here.
But you really have to watch the film to see how the relationship between Olya and Oleh is put to the test when the gender transition allows the couple to get married, but also stirs up all sorts of personal and national identity struggles.
To Die to Live
Director: Yuliia Hontaruk
Festival section: Doc@PÖFF Baltic Competition
‘To Live to Die’
Courtesy of PÖFF
Yuliia Hontaruk’s doc introduces us to three men who have experienced huge change over the course of their lives.
In 2014, they had no military experience but volunteered to go to the front line. When they returned home after two years, they tried to find an ordinary life rhythm again. But they just can’t seem to succeed. After all, the war has left its mark on their bodies and minds, which affects their family lives.
“It is a brutal truth that is not always easy to capture on film,” the PÖFF summary of the film notes. “And then the men have to go back to war. Their previous experience was merely a preparation for what would happen in February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion. They are back on the front line, now fully aware of what this does to them.” The filmmaker followed the three men for 12 years, leading to a film whose fragmented feel mirrors the fragmented lives and trauma.
Wings
Director: Ana Rocha de Sousa
Section: Standing With Ukraine
‘Wings’
You can take people out of a war zone. But can you ever really take the war trauma out of their lives? Or in other words: Is living in peace the same as enjoying peace of mind?
Wings is a drama, shot in Ukraine and Portugal with creatives from both countries, but it was inspired by the real-life story of a Ukrainian family who fled the war and found refuge in Portugal.
If you are interested in a deep dive into the lasting impact and trauma of experiencing war and displacement, plus how there may be a path to finding hope, this one is for you.
Living On
Director: Nerijus Milerius
Festival section: Doc@PÖFF Baltic Competition
‘Living On’
Courtesy of PÖFF
Art therapy at a veterans’ theater, yoga sessions, hair salons, para-archery and mountain peaks and much more feature in another Ukraine-focused world premiere coming to PÖFF.
Standing with Ukraine is exactly what Lithuanian philosopher and director Nerijus Milerius did when he volunteered to drive cars with medical aid to Ukraine’s front lines. Between August 2024 and June 2026, he documented his experiences on 15 dangerous missions and used the filmed material for his fourth feature.
“He records daily life under attack and hears dark humor in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson and other bombed areas where he needed a fixer even to gain access,” reads a Tallinn festival tease for the film. And it highlights: “Milerius captures Ukrainians’ resilience and spirit.”
Slava
Director: Denis Sobolev
Section: Standing With Ukraine
‘Slava’
No, this one is not about the rock star Slava we met earlier but a woman. And the story is much more complex. The political thriller is based on a real-life story and shows Slava and Yaroslav Stetsko launching an information campaign, via media and protests, in the U.S. and Europe in the 1960s. Their message: the KGB and the USSR are the architects of political murder beyond Soviet borders.
That makes a trial in Karlsruhe, West Germany, take on a political dimension. Bohdan Stashynsky, a KGB agent, has confessed to killing Stepan Bandera, a controversial far-right Ukrainian politician. But while the case is being framed as a “routine” crime, the activists want to highlight that Moscow is exporting political violence via assassinations abroad.
The Kremlin responds with threats. And the activists’ friends become concerned, urging them to soften the rhetoric. To see how it all plays out, you’ll have to watch Slava.
Camouflage
Director: Mykyta Gibalenko
Section: Standing With Ukraine
‘Camouflage’
A clash of identity and war already played a key role in one of the films we discussed earlier. They are also in focus in this movie, which premiered at Venice, but in a different way.
Vitaly, 22, studies German and moves from Ukraine to Germany, leaving behind his mother, a teacher shaped by the Soviet era, and his sister. And once in Munich, Vitaly finally feels free to be himself and live the life he wants to lead.
But a year later, Russia invades Ukraine. And, as you may have expected, due to the war, his mother and sister have to flee their home and seek refuge with Vitaly in Munich. That’s where they learn about his new identity…
Traces
Directors: Alisa Kovalenko, Marysia Nikitiuk
Section: Best of Docs
‘Traces’
Last, but certainly not least, PÖFF Standing With Ukraine will screen a Ukrainian awards season contender. Silence isn’t always golden. Just listen to the six Ukrainian women who survived sexual violence and torture during the Russian war against Ukraine and speak out in Traces.
Iryna Dovhan, a former captive-turned-activist, documents testimonies of women affected by the trauma of war-related violence. And following her work, the film weaves together a portrait of collective trauma while opening space for hope.
The film premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival, winning the program’s best documentary award, and became Ukraine’s submission for the best international feature film Oscar.