PÖFF Stands With Ukraine: A Look at Films Featured at Tallinn Made Despite, and Because of, the War

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) is renewing its “Standing With Ukraine” showcase for its 30th anniversary edition, continuing support it has offered since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Festival leaders say keeping Ukrainian culture visible matters to Ukrainians in Estonia and to wider democratic values across Europe.

The showcase features nine Ukrainian films, with works also appearing in other festival sections, while Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event continues to spotlight the war through its programme. The article describes films including *Slava: Shooting With Music*, about Okean Elzy frontman Sviatoslav Vakarchuk performing for troops and touring to support refugees, and *Vesna*, a drama about a priest secretly returning bodies to families in an occupied Ukrainian town.