The opening ceremony of the 30th PÖFF and the opening film 'Ulya'

Festival
30th Black Nights Film Festival

Join us in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival!

Join us in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival!

The anniversary show ‘Round and Round’ looks back on the three decades that have brought us here. It is an evening where everything goes round, and everything comes in threes, though not necessarily to the rhythm of a waltz.

The ceremony will be followed by the festival’s opening film, “Ulya” – an emotionally stirring drama by Latvian director Viesturs Kairišs, inspired by the extraordinary life of the world’s tallest female basketball player, the legendary Uljana Semjonova.

The doors to the concert hall and black-carpet photo wall open to guests at 5:45 p.m.

Screenings

HallAlexela Concert Hall
Screening262626 / 30. PÖFFi avatseremoonia ja avafilm 'Ulja'
Screening duration
Tickets

Films

The opening ceremony of the 30th PÖFF

Local title
30. PÖFFi avatseremoonia
Festival
30th Black Nights Film Festival

The anniversary show ‘Round and Round’ looks back on the three decades that have brought us here. It is an evening where everything goes round, and everything comes in threes, though not necessarily to the rhythm of a waltz.

After all, don’t fairy tales often send three characters out on a journey? Don’t significant moments often repeat three times? In our own lives, too, we often go around in circles like Gothamites, circling an imaginary centre until we realise that our very movement has created a whirlwind. And once we are thrown out of that whirlwind, we find ourselves facing a world that has completely changed.

The musical world of the evening will be created by pianists from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Performing on three pianos, they will weave some of the finest gems of film music from the three Baltic countries into a single whole, creating a new musical whirlwind of their own.

The opening ceremony is brought to you by director Ingmar Jõela, dramaturge Laura Võigemast and musical director Hans Matthias Kari.

During the ceremony, the PÖFF Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Bruno O’Ya Young Actor Scholarship will be presented.

The doors to the concert hall and black-carpet photo wall open to guests at 5:45 p.m.

Ulya

Local title
Ulja
Original title
Uļa
Director
Viesturs Kairiss
Country
Latvia, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania
Year
2026
Festival
30th Black Nights Film Festival
Programme
Opening Ceremony and Opening Film
Genre
Drama, Biographical
Subject
individual vs society, belonging, historical personas, based on a true story

Soviet Union, Latvia, 1964. In a family of Old Believers, lives a teenage girl, Ulya, whose height is approaching two meters at an alarming rate. So far, she has found a safe haven in her village, where surrounded by her loving family she helps with farmwork. But a question gnaws at her parents (and Ulya also): is there really a place in the world for a giant-sized girl?

An opportunity to find such a place arises when her sister’s fiancé secretly sends Ulja’s class photo to Karbergs, the head-coach of the legendary Latvian women’s basketball team TTT. Karbergs sees huge potential in the giant girl and whisks her away to the capital. Ulya hopes that there will be taller houses and taller people in the big city. But her hopes are soon crushed, because on the basketball court her height sticks out even more. With the help of her ill-mannered, foul-mouthed coach, she realises the only way to avoid everyone’s derisive eyes is to start playing better.

The latest film by Latvian director Viesturs Kairišs (“The Sign Painter”, “January”) premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. Latvia has selected the feature as its entry for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.

Director
Viesturs Kairiss
Screenwriter
Karlis Arnolds Avots, Livia Ulman, Andris Feldmanis
Producer
Guntis Trekteris
Co-producer
Pille Rünk, Malgorzata Staron, Ieva Norviliene
Cast
Karlis Arnolds Avots, Chulpan Khamatova, Aleksas Kazanavičius, Shamil Khamatov
Cinematographer
Wojciech Staron
Editing
Armands Zacs
Production Design
Ieva Jurjane
Composer
Ramo Teder, Marko Veisson
Production
Ego Media
Co production
Allfilm, Staron Film, Tremora
Music
Juris Vaivods
Music
Puuluup
Sound
Siim Skepast
World sales
B-Rated
Runtime
Language
Latvian, Russian
Subtitles
Estonian, English