Night Cinema

Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema

At Night Cinema screening we are showing films from 3 cassettes:

Vitamins
‘Love Is The Drug’ sang Roxy Music. Now love Is lots of drugs (well, vitamins) as this year’s Vitamin Pills all revolve around love and – on occasion – loneliness. They show a world where relationships are hard and isolation can prove crippling. But they also show how togetherness works, and how – just once a while – we can better people.
And don’t fear because the Vitamin doses will still provide you with plenty of silliness, quirkiness and general insanity that many have got used to from this selection and it will be a trip to talk about. Just maybe this time you can find someone’s hand to hold at the same time.

After Hours Ani Coctail
Indie animation shorts invariably offer an exciting mixup of things, in which familiarity toys with unpredictability. Our AniCocktail films do nothing but confirm this. Balkan troubles are looked upon from the viewpoint of a small kid; flies travel for a long-distance trip, and Ian McKellen's voice enters the stage in drag. Our characters get their turbulences; the passing of time, identity, sex, and relationships, but also our overall natural environment are here depicted in a manner both enticing and true to experience. And with a good bit of music.

HÕFF@Shorts
Every year in April, the quaint Estonian seaside town of Haapsalu becomes a playground for genre film lovers with HÕFF – the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival.

At PÖFF Shorts, audiences will get the chance to see a selection of some of the finest – and shortest – scary films screened in Haapsalu, an opportunity that is scary and thrilling in equal measure.

HÕFF is a member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation, an organisation dedicated to celebrating and supporting genre film of European origin. The Federation annually awards a Méliès d'or prize for the best European fantastic feature film and short film.

Screenings

Bar Terminal Records & Bar
Screening075201 / ÖÖKINO
Q&A duration
Screening duration
Kai Hall Kai Keskus
Screening093301 / ÖÖKINO
Screening duration

Films

World premiere

Third Wheel

Local title
Kolmas ratas
Original title
Kolmas ratas
Director
Rauno Laikjõe
Country
Estonia
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Shorts Alternatives, Night Cinema

Jaagup is on a date. Everything’s going quite smoothly and it’s about time to gear up.
But how exactly?
The rain and wind are picking up and making the date companion shiver. Now, it looks to be the time to advance some moves, but before Jaagup gets to it, a loud and blue car pulls over beside them. It’s their mutual friend, but more like an enemy for Jaagup, who has to man up, to secure a spot in the girl's heart.

Director
Rauno Laikjõe
Runtime
Language
Estonian, Esperanto
Subtitles
English

Baltic premiere

Green Light

Local title
Roheline tuli
Original title
Green Light
Director
Bérenger Barry
Country
France
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema, Shorts Alternatives

Hazel & Ben have been pals forever. But today is not forever.

Director
Bérenger Barry
Runtime
Language
French
Subtitles
English

Baltic premiere

Nervous Ellie

Local title
Ärev Ellie
Director
David Yorke
Country
United Kingdom
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Shorts Alternatives, Night Cinema

Ellie, new to dating and painfully shy, struggles to control her nerves during a date with Danni, resulting in some unexpecting and shocking results.

Director
David Yorke
Runtime
Language
English

International premiere

Crab Claw

Local title
Vähisõrg
Original title
Crab Claw
Director
Steve Sanders
Country
USA
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema, Shorts Alternatives

In "Crab Claw", Dale and Cathy's relationship hits rock bottom, leading them to therapy. But as they navigate their issues, it becomes clear that Cathy's recent "hand" problem isn't just a physical ailment—it's a shell of a situation that leaves everyone clawing for solutions. Can they claw their way back to marital bliss, or will their crustacean calamity keep them in a pinch?

Director
Steve Sanders
Runtime
Language
English

World premiere

I'm Expecting

Local title
Ma olen rase
Original title
I'm Expecting
Director
Kadri Koop
Country
Estonia
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Shorts Alternatives, Night Cinema

A woman living in anticipation of her dream coming true.

Director
Kadri Koop
Runtime
Language
English

Baltic premiere

PleasureDora

Local title
Mõnu-Dora
Original title
PleasureDora
Director
Mark Prebble
Country
New Zealand
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Shorts Alternatives, Night Cinema

A glitchy AI love companion from the 'semi-mature' range and her lonely final customer confront mortality, second chances, and life on the scrap heap.

Director
Mark Prebble
Runtime
Language
English

World premiere

Min's Day Off

Local title
Mini vaba päev
Original title
Min's Day Off
Director
João Londres
Country
Brazil
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema, Shorts Alternatives

After an embarrassing night of karaoke, Min decides to take a day off.

Director
João Londres
Runtime
Language
Chinese
Subtitles
English

Baltic premiere

Kumar Kumar

Local title
Kumar Kumar
Original title
Kumar Kumar
Director
Kiran Koshy
Country
USA
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Shorts Alternatives, Night Cinema

Kumar Kumar is all alone on his birthday. His social media feed is dead. Maybe he should be too? But then, the computer dings.

Director
Kiran Koshy
Runtime
Language
English

Baltic premiere

Sorry I'm late (But I Brought a Choir)

Local title
Vabandust, et ma hiljaks jäin (aga ma võtsin koori kaasa)
Original title
Dette er ikke en fest (det er en vinkveld)
Director
Håkon Anton Olavsen
Country
Norway
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema, Shorts Alternatives

The night is still young as a drunken choir awaits in a hallway, eagerly in need of an answer: Will Nina let them into her party or not? And is it even a party?

Director
Håkon Anton Olavsen
Runtime
Subtitles
English

Baltic premiere

Zarko, You Will Spoil the Child!

Local title
Zarko, sa hellitad lapse ära!
Original title
Žarko, razmazit ces dite!
Director
Veljko Popovic, Milivoj Popovic
Country
Croatia, France
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema

The film recounts the memories of a childhood in Split in the 1980s. These are stories retold after Sunday lunch when everyone is in a good mood, stories filled with emotions we can easily relate to. But above all, the film is a moving tribute to the love of a grandpa and grandma who did their best to keep their granddaughter smiling.

Director
Veljko Popovic, Milivoj Popovic
Runtime
Language
Croatian
Subtitles
English

Estonian premiere

Plica polonica

Local title
Plica polonica
Original title
Plica polonica
Director
Agata Tracevič
Country
Lithuania
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema

Plica polonica is a disease people used to believe in. It makes human hair uncombable. The main character of the film- a young girl- feels tangled and stuck. Therefore, she goes on a search for answers to the most matted of them all - the infamous Baba Yaga.

Director
Agata Tracevič
Runtime
Language
Lithuanian
Subtitles
English

World premiere

And Then There Was Silence

Local title
Ja siis saabus vaikus
Original title
And Then There Was Silence
Director
Dante Rustav
Country
Uzbekistan
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema

Water like a memory contains the many processes – our emotions, feelings, mood - it all has its own sound. This short experiment shows the power of water, unpredictability and unique of sound. In which sound is associated as the "presence of life", and silence as its absence.

Director
Dante Rustav
Runtime
Language
no dialogue

Baltic premiere

To Know How to Fall is a Science

Local title
Kukkumisoskus on omaette teadus
Original title
Saber cair é uma ciencia
Director
Katalin Egely
Country
Portugal
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema

Matches and mismatches of souls on their paths.

Director
Katalin Egely
Runtime
Language
Portuguese
Subtitles
English

European premiere

The Death Of James

Local title
Jamesi surm
Original title
The Death Of James
Director
Sam Chou
Country
Canada
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema

Based on a true story, "The Death of James" tells the unique journey of two young friends grappling with mortality as they are confronted with the impending loss of a cherished pet ferret. Humorous, awkward, and deeply heartbreaking, the film takes an unflinching look at death, loss, euthanasia, and the uncertainties that may or may not follow, viewed through the eyes of two characters navigating these challenges for the first time.

Director
Sam Chou
Runtime
Language
English

Baltic premiere

Long Distance

Local title
Kaugsuhe
Original title
Long Distance
Director
Michael Frei
Country
Switzerland
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema

A fly takes flight to meet a close friend.

Director
Michael Frei
Runtime
Language
no dialogue

World premiere

Mambo No.2

Local title
Mambo No. 2
Original title
Müssen müssen
Director
Anne Feldmeier
Country
Germany
Year
2024
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema

The last text message sent, a quick dressing up in the elevator and Betti's date with Tom can begin.
As planned, he is smitten by her and the two perform an impeccable courtship dance. But suddenly an unforeseen little something forms in Betti's bowels. And wants to get out. Of course, that's not possible, not here and now. And so Betti embarks on a relentless battle against her own body, which ultimately leads her closer to herself.

Director
Anne Feldmeier
Runtime
Language
no dialogue

Baltic premiere

Dragfox

Local title
Drag-rebane
Original title
Dragfox
Director
Lisa Ott
Country
United Kingdom
Year
2924
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2024
Programme
Night Cinema

Sam's search for identity gets interrupted by a mysterious neighbourhood fox. Together they embark on a magical journey to the attic to discover the surprising things they might have in common, and how to celebrate the ways in which they differ.

Director
Lisa Ott
Runtime
Language
English

Wander to Wonder

Local title
Wander to Wonder
Director
Nina Gantz
Country
Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom
Year
2023
Programme
Méliès D'Argent Short Film Competition
Genre
dark comedy
Subject
coming of age

Mary, Billybud and Fumbleton are three miniature, human actors who perform in an eighties kids TV series called “Wander to Wonder”. After the creator of the series has died, they are left alone in the studio. With their slowly decaying costumes and growing hunger, they continue to make increasingly strange episodes for their fans.

Director
Nina Gantz
Runtime
Language
English

Demons in the Closet

Local title
Kapideemonid
Director
James Smith
Country
Germany
Year
2023
Programme
Little Nightmares. Best International Short Films
Genre
horror
Subject
humour, absurd

A resident is challenged by demons from another realm in his closet.

Director
James Smith
Runtime
Language
English

Escape Attempt

Local title
Põgenemiskatse
Director
Alex Topaller, Daniel Shapiro
Country
USA, Poland
Year
2023
Programme
Little Nightmares. Best International Short Films
Genre
science fiction
Subject
war, history, retro

A soldier escaping a WWII concentration camp finds himself on an unknown planet in a distant future only to discover a frozen gulag controlled by a brutal alien race.

Based on the science fiction novella “Escape Attempt” by the iconic science fiction writers, the Strugatsky Brothers (1925-1991)

Director
Alex Topaller, Daniel Shapiro
Runtime
Language
English

The Cost of Flesh

Local title
Ihu hind
Original title
Au Prix de la Chair
Director
Tomas Palombi
Country
France
Year
2023
Programme
Méliès D'Argent Short Film Competition
Genre
horror
Subject
familial relationships, disease, tragedy

Alice is a totally paralyzed teenager who can only communicate through the movements of her eyes. Her brother and sister try an obscure method to free her from the evil that hinders her…

Director
Tomas Palombi
Runtime
Language
French

We Joined a Cult

Local title
Me liitusime kultusega
Director
Chris McInroy
Country
USA
Year
2023
Programme
Little Nightmares. Best International Short Films
Genre
horror, dark comedy
Subject
friendship, absurd

The story of two friends who just wanted to play kickball.

Director
Chris McInroy
Runtime
Language
English
Contact email successfully changed
The wanted email is in use in your profile
The wanted email is in use by another user
New alias added successfully
New alias is already in your list
New alias connection failed