The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has announced the five-member jury for its 30th edition’s Official Competition. Led by two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Sir Christopher Hampton, the jury brings together filmmakers and artists from the UK, Lebanon, the United States, France and Estonia.

Hampton will be joined by Lebanese producer Myriam Sassine, American cinematographer and visual effects specialist David Stump, French producer Julie Billy and Estonian actress Tiina Tauraite.

The Official Competition films will be announced on 7 October.

Sir Christopher Hampton has won Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay for Dangerous Liaisons and The Father. His other film credits include Atonement, The Quiet American and A Dangerous Method, while his work for the stage includes Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Sunset Boulevard. Sir Christopher Hampton has also written and directed three feature films: Carrington, The Secret Agent and Imagining Argentina.

Myriam Sassine is a Lebanese producer whose credits include Costa Brava, Lebanon, 1982, Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano and Diaries from Lebanon. In 2016, Myriam Sassine co-founded Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival, dedicated to genre cinema in the Arab region. She also curates AFLAMUNA Connection and leads Tatino Films’ Full Circle Lab Nouvelle-Aquitaine Hessen. In 2025, Myriam Sassine received the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize at the Locarno Film Festival with Abbout Productions.

David Stump has worked as a director of photography, visual effects cinematographer and visual effects supervisor across film and television. His credits include Breaking Bad, The Morning Show, Quantum of Solace and the first two X-Men films. David Stump’s honours include an Emmy Award and an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement. He is also the author of Digital Cinematography: Fundamentals, Techniques and Workflows and teaches cinematography in Lisbon.

Julie Billy is a Paris-based producer who founded June Films in 2020 after working with filmmakers including Jonas Carpignano, Nadav Lapid and Yorgos Lanthimos. Her recent productions include Hafsia Herzi’s The Little Sister, which premiered in competition at Cannes in 2025 and won the Queer Palm and Best Actress award, and Emma Benestan’s Animale, presented at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2024. Julie Billy is also a co-founder of Collectif 50/50, which advocates for equality in the film industry.

Tiina Tauraite is an Estonian actress with an extensive career on stage and screen. A former member of Tallinn’s Von Krahl Theatre, Tiina Tauraite has appeared in films including Autumn Ball, The Temptation of St. Tony and The Spy and the Poet. Her performance in 8 Views of Lake Biwa earned her Estonia’s Best Actress award in 2025. A three-time Estonian Theatre Award winner, Tiina Tauraite also teaches at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

The 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival will take place from 6 to 22 November 2026.