The opening ceremony took place last Friday, 11 November, followed by a big party at NO99! Take a look at the party pictures! We now have our tuxedos at the ready for the closing ceremony…
Not to worry…PÖFF is still on until 27 November 2016. This means 5 more days of great-film-from-all-over-the-world binge-watching ahead of you!
Check programme: https://2016.poff.ee/eng/films
PÖFF festival has reached the world’s top 15 film showcases, and brings each year to Estonia, films and directors from over 75 countries. Last year’s edition attracted more than 80,000 spectators.
This year, PÖFF is celebrating its 20th anniversary with France as the focus country: COCORICO! as we say back home (“cock-a-doodle-doo” if you wish).
We are in for Eternity
The festival opened with the French Drama Eternity, by acclaimed award-winning director Anh Hung Tran.
And, make sure you don’t miss the franco-lebanese film “The traveller”‘s world premiere by director Hadi Ghandour! The 19 
November screening is sold out but you can still try your luck with the 22 and 24 November screenings. Click here to know more and buy tickets.
Click here to see all 43 films representing France, solo or associated with other countries.
French comedy films retrospective
Besides the regular festival programme, a special retrospective about French comedy films will be held.
- “Goat” (La chèvre) 17 and 20 Nov. in Tallinn. Details
- “The dinner game” (Le dîner de cons), Tallinn 15 and 26 Nov. Details
- “La grande vadrouille“, Tallinn, 16 and 27 Nov. Details
- “Monsieur Gangster” (Les Tontons flingueurs), Tallinn, 19 and 23 Nov. Details
- “Fantomas“, Tallinn, 19 and 26 Nov. Details
- “That man from Rio” (L’homme de Rio), Tallinn, 22 and 24 Nov. Details
- “OSS 117-Lost in Rio“, Tallinn, 21 and 27 Nov. Details
- “Amélie”, Tallinn, 23 and 25 Nov. Details
- “That tall blond man with one black shoe”, Tallinn, 26 Nov. Details
French directors are famous for their ability to tackle social issues in their films using humour. Most famous French comedy films’ main characters would find themselves thrown into a “foreign” environment, whether it be religious, ethnic or geographic…Past the initial cultural shock, the hero inevitably realises that despite our differences, we can actually live together in harmony.
The French also like to laugh about themselves (e.g film “OSS 117-lost in Rio”) and French comedy films often portray characters as self-important, dim-witted and politically incorrect oaves. French Comedy classics also illustrate the importance of dialogs (e.g “Les Tontons flingueurs”, literally Gun-toting uncles, also known as “Monsieur Gangster”).
At first, in the early 20th Century, comedy films were
considered a subgenre, until they grew over the years to cult status and classics, becoming part of popular culture.
Some French comedy films even became the showcase of French cinema abroad (e.g romantic comedy “Amelie”), receiving critical acclaim and winning awards, sometimes even adapted in the US. But most importantly they still cause serious laughter, to generations of spectators all over the world.
To know more about PÖFF 2016 edition’s programme (in english): https://2016.poff.ee/eng/films/schedule/