Doc@PÖFF International Competition

A window into untold stories, unfiltered truths, and intimate glimpses of the world around us. Powerful, real-life tales that captivate and inspire – more gripping than fiction. Only world and international premieres.

Birthday Candles

Birthday Candles

Make a wish and blow out the candles. What did you wish for?

Local title
Sünnipäevaküünlad
Director
Murad Allahverdi
Country
Azerbaijan
Child of Sinaï

Child of Sinaï

Nine-year-old Bedouin boy Jarah trains for a legendary camel race, carrying his family’s hopes on his small shoulders.

Local title
Siinai laps
Director
Loup Bureau
Country
Egypt, France
Father's House

Father's House

They escaped a controlling Christian sect. Now acclaimed actors bring the horrors of their past back to life.

Local title
Isakodu
Title in Russian
Isakodu
Director
Adam Nielsen, Andreas Koefoed, Eva Mulvad
Country
Denmark
Fruitcakes: The Dawn of Drag

Fruitcakes: The Dawn of Drag

The freedom that the young take for granted has been achieved at someone else’s expense.

Local title
Kaltsukuningannad
Director
Vesa Kuosmanen
Country
Finland, Denmark
Lost and Found: Thirty Years, Not Together

Lost and Found: Thirty Years, Not Together

Canadian Jessi’s search for her Romanian birth mother reveals a sister adopted under the same name and a web of lies.

Local title
Taaskohtumine
Director
Laurentiu Garofeanu
Country
Romania
Love Exposed

Love Exposed

He’s spent a lifetime photographing naked women. Now his daughter wants him to reveal himself.

Local title
Alasti kistud armastus
Director
Filip Remunda
Country
Czechia
Sentenced at Birth

Sentenced at Birth

A young mother leaves prison with her daughter, only to discover that freedom may be the hardest sentence of all.

Local title
Sünnist saati süüdi
Director
Daniela Miron, Diana Vlas
Country
Moldova
The Taste of Democracy

The Taste of Democracy

In pursuit of two Michelin stars, the kitchen team is consumed by a bitter conflict from within.

Local title
Demokraatia maitse
Director
Péter Akar, Ambrus Fatér
Country
Hungary
The War We Carry

The War We Carry

In search of life and freedom, growing food on sand. It’s as if it were an endless cycle.

Local title
Kaasas kantud sõda
Title in Russian
Kaasas kantud sõda
Director
Kaspar Astrup Schröder
Country
Denmark
Three Comrades

Three Comrades

Two Ukrainian teenagers and one Russian begin adult lives in France, where war divides and loneliness connects them.

Local title
Kolm kamraadi
Director
Anastasiia Vedenskaia
Country
France
Tingatinga Between Two Homes

Tingatinga Between Two Homes

An orphaned painter returns from China to his native Tanzania for a wedding, with warmth and gentle humour.

Local title
Tingatinga kahe kodu vahel
Director
Yong Zhang
Country
China