Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has appointed Triin Tramberg as artistic director, taking over from longtime director and festival founder Tiina Lokk.
Lokk, who is Tramberg’s mother, will remain as PÖFF CEO, shifting her focus to the festival’s strategic and developmental direction as the event celebrates its 30th edition from November 6-22 this year.
Tramberg has worked at PÖFF for over 15 years, starting as a programme assistant. She has shaped the event’s international profile through initiatives including the Script Pool – which she founded – Industry@Tallinn’s Discovery Campus, the First Feature Competition, and PÖFF Goes To Cannes.
In a year of change for the Baltic event, Tramberg has appointed Dhanushka Gunathilake as head of Discovery Campus, PÖFF’s talent and industry platform.
Sri Lankan cinematographer and festival executive Gunathilake has shot films including Anuruddha Jayasingha’s The Frozen Fire, and has worked as a TV host, Q&A moderator, and Discovery Campus project manager at PÖFF.
Former Raindance Film Festival artistic director Malaika Bova takes over as First Feature Competition curator, having worked as a curator and programmer for over 20 years across European and UK film institutions, including the Venice Film Festival’s From Venice to London programme.
Just Film, PÖFF’s youth-focused festival, also has a new programme director, Jan-Joonas Pevkur, who has worked on the strand’s programming for several years. Former Just Film leader Mikk Granstrom will continue as administrative manager for the full PÖFF festival.
Held annually since 1997, PÖFF has become the leading film festival in the Baltic region, showcasing independent cinema from around the world. Its 2025 edition recorded almost 100,000 audience visits and welcomed over 2,000 industry guests from 84 countries.
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