Schedule

Saturday 14.06

    22:00

    Autumn Ball

    It’s autumn. We see a huge sprawling conurbation of tower blocks built in the Soviet era – the neighbourhood called Lasnamäe. Mati is a young writer who lives alone in a two-bedroom apartment after his wife left him for his friend.

    Estonia - 2007
    123 minute
    FOCUS Estonia
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Sunday 15.06

    12:00
    Q&A with director Moonika Siimets
    Pornit

    The Black Hole

    Q&A with director Moonika Siimets

    When the aliens land on Earth, they will change the lives of everyone they meet. Sirje and Maret, dreaming of finding work abroad, end up in an extraterrestrial science experiment. Jüri, still living with his mother, falls in love with his lustful neighbour, Gertrud.

    Estonia, Finland - 2024
    115 minute
    FOCUS Estonia
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Monday 16.06

    17:00
    Q&A with director Helen Takkin and actor Ursel Tilk
    Pornit

    Life & Love

    Q&A with director Helen Takkin and actor Ursel Tilk

    In 1933, in times of hardship when nothing is certain and love only seems to exist in films, optimistic cinephile Irma believes in the possibility of true love. The country girl catches the eye of the lonely, handsome older publisher Rudolf, but he is surrounded by unsettling rumors.

    Estonia - 2024
    119 minute
    FOCUS Estonia
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Wednesday 18.06

    10:00
    Preceded by the short film Sauna Day (dir. Anna Hints, Tushar Prakash)

    A Woman Heats the Sauna

    Preceded by the short film Sauna Day (dir. Anna Hints, Tushar Prakash)

    On a snowy winter day, Anu comes from town to the summerhouse belonging to the company she works for to clean up the place and heat the sauna for bosses and foreign guests. The farmhouse in the neighbourhood was once the home for a happy family - Anu, her husband Tõnis and their little daughter.

    Estonia - 1979
    69 minute
    FOCUS Estonia
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    23:00
    TIFF.24

    Sleep #2

    TIFF.24

    A fallen flower/Returning to the branch?/It was a butterfly. (Arakida Moritake). Sleep #2 means: life, death, nature, poetry, fragility, impressionism, selfies, Andy Warhol, love and kisses.

    România - 2024
    61 minute
    Romanian Days
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Thursday 19.06

    17:15
    Q&A with director Bogdan Pușlenghea and protagonist Doru Chirodea
    Pornit

    A Rebel Edge

    Q&A with director Bogdan Pușlenghea and protagonist Doru Chirodea

    Doru Chirodea fled to America in the 1980s and started writing poetry in English without actually knowing the language. Back in Romania, he prints books of poetry at his own expense, for an increasingly narrow audience. A serene meditation on the end of a bohemian, rebellious lifestyle.

    România - 2024
    87 minute
    Romanian Days
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Friday 20.06

    10:00
    Q&A with director David Endre
    +18
    Pornit

    Beyond the River

    Q&A with director David Endre

    Beyond the river lies a world where suffering, poverty, and violence define everyday life. The film doesn’t explain or judge - it listens. With no external narration, the community tells its own story - with pain, with humor, with dignity.

    România, Hungary - 2024
    60 minute
    Romanian Days
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    19:30
    Q&A with director Alexandru Mavrodineanu, editor Eugen Kelemen, executive producer Cristiana Mitea
    Pornit

    Love Hurts

    Q&A with director Alexandru Mavrodineanu, editor Eugen Kelemen, executive producer Cristiana Mitea

    Love Hurts is an intimate documentary about the fragility and power of love, which tells the true stories of two couples over two years of suffering, separations and reconciliations. The film explores the sinuous dynamics of relationships and the difficult process of emotional healing.

    România - 2025
    94 minute
    Romanian Days
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    22:00
    Q&A with director Andra MacMasters, editor Andrei Gorgan, producer Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan and sound designer Matei Vasilache
    Pornit

    Bright Future

    Q&A with director Andra MacMasters, editor Andrei Gorgan, producer Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan and sound designer Matei Vasilache

    In the summer of 1989, thousands of people from various nations and beliefs gathered in North Korea for a grand student festival that championed peace, friendship, and anti-imperialism. Here is a documentary about the festival that took place at a pivotal moment in history.

    România, Korea, Republic of - 2024
    89 minute
    Romanian Days
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Saturday 21.06

    12:00
    Q&A with distributors Iriana Adnana and Alex Sîrbu
    Pornit

    Merman

    Q&A with distributors Iriana Adnana and Alex Sîrbu

    A female voice is haunting a male gaze.

    România - 2024
    86 minute
    Romanian Days
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    14:30
    Q&A with actress Monika Raide
    Pornit

    Smile at Last

    Q&A with actress Monika Raide

    16-year-old Mari, raised without a mother by a drunkard father, is put in an orphanage which she immediately, though unsuccessfully, tries to flee from. The sensitive Mari finds it hard to adapt to the coarse manners and brutal games amongst the children.

    Estonia - 1985
    86 minute
    FOCUS Estonia
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    19:30
    Q&A with director and producer Mădălina Roșca, producer Paul Arne Wagner, sound designer Mihnea Ciulei
    Pornit

    Little Syria

    Q&A with director and producer Mădălina Roșca, producer Paul Arne Wagner, sound designer Mihnea Ciulei

    Shot over 20 years, Little Syria follows the quest of a brother, his sister and her boyfriend trapped between Syria, from where they ran for their lives, and Europe, which seems at times to embrace them and and then to push them back where they came from.

    Germany, Romania, Portugal - 2025
    90 minute
    Romanian Days
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    22:00
    Q&A with directors Andres Maimik and Rain Tolk
    Pornit

    Aurora

    Q&A with directors Andres Maimik and Rain Tolk

    Aurora, the daughter of a religious leader, travels with her husband Joonas to celebrate their wedding anniversary with her parents and the congregation.

    Estonia - 2025
    111 minute
    FOCUS Estonia
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