PÖFF seeks its own cinema for its next leap

The Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) hopes to establish its own cinema at Linnahall in the coming decade, founder and director Tiina Lokk told ERR’s Ringvaade. The festival is marking its 30th year.

Triin Tramberg, Lokk’s daughter, has been involved with PÖFF since it began. She started as an assistant programme coordinator while at university, then worked on the festival’s film industry activities and coordinated its competition programmes. This year, she took over as artistic director, a role Lokk previously held alongside her director’s duties.

Lokk said Tramberg needed little persuading to take on the position and described her calmness as a strength when working with the festival team. She also expects Tramberg to bring a fresh generational perspective to the programme and a stronger sense of what audiences want.

Tramberg said her mother had taught her to think in five-year terms rather than focus only on the next year, and to avoid dismantling what has already been built. Under their new division of responsibilities, Tramberg handles the programme, while Lokk continues to oversee finances, strategy and the organisation as a whole.

Lokk said PÖFF would remain in Tallinn’s Rotermanni quarter, and that Apollo Plaza would continue to be part of the festival because of its location. But she said the festival needed to keep its current arrangements in the venue’s lobby under close watch, citing the prospect of taking actor James McAvoy to meet the audience via the toilet stairs. Having its own cinema, she said, would give the festival a chance to make a much bigger leap forward.