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Festival coverage

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

6 November – 22 November 2026

The festival notches up its 30th edition this year. Running from November 6 to 22, it will open with a screening of Ulya, a co-production between Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania that premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes earlier this year.

Other years (9)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • The Spiral
    Review preview for The Spiral

    Up until the end laced with cheap pseudo-biblical references, this horror-drama serves as a fun and thrilling ride.

    Marko Stojiljkovic · 3 out of 5
    A woman unexpectedly shows up at her daughter’s home to reveal the truth about their family.
  • The Naughty Seat
    Review preview for The Naughty Seat

    There’s plenty going on but this story of naughtiness and friendship unfolds in a way that is easy to follow for even the youngest audiences.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Never trust a penguin with your soup.
  • Lucky Liam
    Review preview for Lucky Liam

    Well crafted, brilliantly delivered, and lots of fun to watch.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Taken to a forest to be killed, Lucky Liam sees a chance to survive when a rookie hitman awkwardly interrupts the execution.
  • Letters from the Silenced Country
    Review preview for Letters from the Silenced Country

    Fear... runs through Letters like a dangerous and unpredictable electric current, emphasised by the stark black and white animation, the black crosshatching and sharp strokes of which feel like distilled violence in themselves.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    A hybrid documentary portraying contemporary Belarus through the individuals who have endured imprisonment, repression, and exile — voices from a silenced country, suffocated by the regime.
  • Wild Horse Nine
    Review preview for Wild Horse Nine

    Malkovich and Rockwell are magnetic.

    Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
    Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris and Lee are dispatched from Santiago to Rapa Nui.
  • La Bola Negra
    Review preview for La Bola Negra

    La Bola Negra was an unfinished work in a life cut short but the film named (variously) for it is extension and tribute and triumph.

    Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
    Drama exploring the inter-connected lives of three gay men.
  • The Comet
    Review preview for The Comet

    The 2D artwork, which uses oil pastel, gives the animation a "shimmering" style that fills every frame with movement

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Eight-year-old Émile is enjoying the last of the warm summer evenings with his sister Françoise. While they are eagerly scanning the night sky for shooting stars, they are suddenly interrupted by a despicably cruel act.
  • What Belongs To Others
    Review preview for What Belongs To Others

    In his modern world of apartment blocks and estranged family members, even comfort is cold.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Kasia earns her living by breaking into other people's homes. One day on the job she finds a dead body of a man and decides to move into his apartment and find out who he was. As she starts to piece together his memories, relationships and secrets, it awakens in her a dream of another life and gives her strength to make changes in her own.
  • I Play Rocky
    Review preview for I Play Rocky

    Anchored by Anthony Ippolito’s performance – he not only bears a striking resemblance to Stallone, but his physical and verbal mimicry is uncanny.

    Paul Risker · 3 out of 5
    Sylvester Stallone, then a failing actor, writes the ultimate underdog story and must fight for his chance to play the role of a lifetime - Rocky Balboa.
  • Dice-Ching-O-Mat
    Review preview for Dice-Ching-O-Mat

    Although there are tonal inconsistencies, Dice-Ching-O-Mat radiates the personal touch and deep affection that drive Vildžiūnas’ storytelling.

    Boldizsar Forro · 3 out of 5
    A middle-aged sinologist from Latvia goes out to save his family through the doors of a charming Soviet elevator.

A–Z of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2026 reviews

Features

  • Serious about comedy
    Louis Paxton on grounding the humour of The Incomer in darker elements
  • The yearning
    Corrin Evans, Lily Cowles, Jeff Wahlberg and Michael Vlamis on Corpus
  • Heightened reality
    Louise Bagnall on bringing animation Julián to vibrant, colourful life
  • Bear necessities
    Jack Weisman and Gabriel Osio Vanden on working together and making naivety work for them in Nuisance Bear
  • Bearing witness
    Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman on balance and perspectives in Nuisance Bear
  • Perspective shift
    Beth de Araújo and Channing Tatum talk about a child's eye view of crime in Josephine
  • 'All of us can relate to being alone'
    Louis Paxton on isolation, animation and folklore in The Incomer

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