Record number of Estonian entries received in first year PÖFF Shorts becomes an Academy Award qualifier.

24 fiction, animation and documentary shorts from Estonia over four programmes will make up the 2020 PÖFF Shorts National Competition. The four programmes mark the largest number of Estonian shorts ever screened in competition at PÖFF Shorts as well as, with 79 entries, the largest amount of short films ever submitted to the sub-festival of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. PÖFF Shorts will take place between 17th and 25th November 2020

The films in the National Competition represent both young filmmakers in the country looking to make their mark on the cinema scene as well as more established directors telling new and exciting stories in the short form. The selection also showcases a number of non-Estonian filmmakers – many of whom are students at the Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School (BFM) – who are honing their skills within the country.

The competition will be host to 12 world premieres. Amongst these will be KEVIN, NO! (Estonia, Dir. Leslie Laasner) a satire on millennial attitudes which is the directorial debut of Leslie Laasner, AKA Leslie Da Bank, renowned Estonian DJ and musician. Audiences will also be the first to see the delicate fiction film JULIUS (Estonia, Dir. Rebeka Rummel), a film about lone meteorologist Julius who receives sudden news of his weather station’s closing as he storms into battle for his home and lifestyle.

German Golub’s film BLACK AND WHITE COLOURS will receive its international premiere. The film follows a newsreader coming to terms with aging with the arrival of colour TV and stars Gert Raudsep and Tiina Tauraite. Golub has recently won a Student Academy Award for My Dear Corpses (which screens in the PÖFF Shorts New Talents Competition).

The world premiere of LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO (Estonia, Dir. Carlos E Lesmes) sees toxic masculinity laid bare in a film with a powerful central performance from Pääru Oja. Director Lesmes, originally from Colombia but now residing in Tallinn, also directed the recent feature documentary A Loss of Something Ever Felt due for a release in Estonia in 2021.

The Estonian animation films on offer balance between the seasoned and the newcomers, as Kaspar Jancis crafts an affective film in COSMONAUT while Pablo M. Ballarín, from the Estonian Academy of Arts, makes a cosmos trip look very relatable, in THE PIECE OF TAIL IN THE MOUTH OF THE SNAKE THAT BITES ITS OWN TAIL.

All films in the National Competition will vie for the Grand Prix which, should the winner fit the eligibility requirements, will also come with Academy Award qualification. All films in the National Competition are also eligible for consideration for being PÖFF Shorts Candidate for possible nomination in the 2021 European Film Awards.

Laurence Boyce, Head of the PÖFF Shorts Live Action Programme said:

“It’s wonderful that we’re able to have a record number of films in this year’s competition. It shows the world what brilliant talent resides within Estonia and shows an eclectic selection of filmmakers who are all working in different – yet equally compelling ways.”

PÖFF Shorts will run from 17th-25th November and takes place both live and online.

PÖFF SHORTS NATIONAL COMPETITION

12 (Dir. Jyri Pitkänen, Estonia 2020
A FAVOUR (Dir. Bojana Babić, Estonia 2020) WP
BLACK AND WHITE COLOURS (Dir. German Golub, Estonia 2019) IP
BLUE (Dir. Tõnis Pill, Estonia 2020)
COSMONAUT (Dir. Kaspar Jancis, Estonia 2019)
DAYSTEPS (Dir. Anita Kremm, Estonia 2020) BP
HIATUS (Dir. Nele Aunap, Estonia 2020)
HOME(SICK)NESS (Dir. Daria Litvichenko, Estonia 2020)
IT'S ABOUT A WEDDING (Dir. Vivian Säde, Estonia 2020) WP
JULIUS (Dir. Rebeka Rummel, Estonia 2020)
KEVIN, NO! (Dir. Leslie Laasner, Estonia 2020) WP
LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO (Dir. Carlos E. Lesmes, Estonia 2020) WP
PENSION DAY (Dir. Liis Lepik, Estonia 2020)
ROOM WITH A SEA VIEW (Dir. Leonid Shmelkov, Estonia 2020)
SIN (Dir. John Strandberg, Estonia 2020) WP
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING (Dir. Romet Esko, Estonia 2020) BP
TAKE (Dir. Oliver Remma, Estonia 2020) WP
THE OTHER SIDE OF FEAR (Dir. Ahmed Fouad Ragab, Estonia 2020) WP
THE PIECE OF TAIL IN THE MOUTH OF THE SNAKE THAT BITES ITS OWN TAIL (Dir. Pablo M. Ballarín, Estonia 2020) BP
THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE (Dir. Ülo Pikkov, Estonia 2020)
TIME CAPSULE (Dir. Eric Romero, Estonia 2020)
VICTIM (Dir. Natalja Matšenene, Estonia 2020) WP
WEDDING OFFICIANT (Dir. Hõbe Ilus, Mihkel Oksmann, Estonia 2020) WP
WOMBSTONE (Dir. Kersti Uibo, Estonia 2020)