TALLINN - Almost a million people in Estonia visit the cinema each year. For a tiny nation with a miniature film industry, that's an impressive slice of the population. Could it be the dreary winters, the oppressive cold and the long nights that drive folk indoors in search of entertainment? That's certainly the theory behind the Black Nights Film Festival, a three-week event that seeks to make the most of the oncoming extended evenings.
Black Nights is now entering its tenth year. What started as a method of combating winter dreariness has developed into a massive program of events, with sub-festivals, film competitions and a cult following of its own.
"We started with 25 movies from seven countries, mostly Nordic and Baltic and some from Germany and France," says festival director Tiina Lokk. "Now we have 220 full-length movies from 60 countries, plus documentary, animation and short films. In our first year, we sold 5,000 tickets, and now we are selling around 50,000 tickets."
In fact the festival isn't even confined to the black nights of winter anymore.
Back in March this year it offered Haapsalu Horror, a four-day event featuring scary flicks from across the globe, such as "Nosferatu," "Cube" and "Saw II." There were also three short screamers from Estonia.
Then there was the Student Spring and Student Autumn film nights, which were midnight screenings of classics like "Pulp Fiction" and "From Dusk til Dawn."
Black Nights also presented tARTtuFF, a series of open-air screenings that were held in August in Tartu.
Then there's a very healthy program of international films screened daily at the art house Cinema Soprus. In short, Estonians can't seem to get enough of their cinema.
Lokk calls the nation's appetite for film a "miracle."
"We are one of the smallest markets in the world," she says. "Still, there is a big need to see alternative films, rather than just Hollywood movies."
The most exciting part of the festival is the part for international distributors, Lokk says. The largest contingent of distributors will visit Tallinn this year, and Lokk hopes they'll leave with a few canisters of local productions in their luggage.
"We have around 200 distributors and producers and film industry people coming to look for new projects," she explains.
This year's festival program will feature several special collections devoted to set topics.
Focus on Italy will present "Agata and the Storm," "The Caiman," and "Crime Novel."
A Neil Jordan retrospective will include "The Company of Wolves," "Mona Lisa," "The Crying Game," "Interview With the Vampire," and "Breakfast on Pluto."
Cultural documentaries like "Fabulous!: The Story of Queer Cinema," and "When the Road Bends…Tales of a Gypsy Caravan" will take center stage.
There will also be some war movies and some Buddhist flicks as well.
Organizers are keeping tight-lipped about the festival's headline films, but will release the full program on Nov. 10.
The festival will use nearly every cinema and performance space in Tallinn 's with the notable exception of Coca-Cola Plaza, the massive 11-screen multiplex that caters to the blockbuster market.
The Vene (Russian) Theater, which has recently undergone a glorious renovation, is one of the more interesting venues.
"The Vene Theater is actually the oldest cinema in Tallinn," Lokk says. "Originally it was built as a cinema, not a live theater. We are bringing films back to it."
In the lead-up to the main program, Black Nights will offer several sub-festivals that are events within themselves.
The "Animated Dreams," which runs from Nov. 23 to 26, is a competition event that judges the best animation films from the past two years, as well as retrospective screenings of classics.
"Sleepwalkers" is a student film festival from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1, and is perhaps the most diverse and creative portion of the whole program. The first works of renowned directors will also be dusted off to show how far they have come.
Finally, there's the Children and Youth Film Festival "Just Film" from Nov. 25 to Dec. 9.
Black Nights Film Festival
More info: www.poff.ee
