Following the opening ceremony at 10 p.m. on Monday, Franz Malmsten's drama "Üle piiri" (Over the Border) will be aired for the first time in Tartuff's history.

"Üle piiri" is a 20-minute short the protagonist of which, Lake Peipsi fisherman Jakob, needs to decide whether money made from cheating people running from the authorities is worth compromising his conscience.

Among the best student films to come out of Estonia and the Tallinn University Baltic Film, Media and Arts School recently, "Üle piiri" is based on Martin Algus' novella "Põgenikud" and stars Estonian actor Jaan Rekkor.

"It is a movie that speaks louder in the current geopolitical situation than we thought it would when we came up with it," Malmsten said. He and producer Henri Laasalu will be in Tartu to present the film.

The Estonian student film will be followed by Michael Mann's classic crime thriller "Heat" at 11 p.m.

The festival, running from July 31 to August 5, will feature 20 films treating with all manner of manifestations of love. Five continents are represented, including such exotic countries like Mongolia, Chile and Morocco. The Tartu Town Hall Square will be fitted with over 1,000 chairs and a 128-square-meter screen for the festival's purposes.

All performances are free of charge and can also be caught at the Tartu Elektriteater art-house movie theater.

Tartuff is the Baltics' biggest open air film festival that is held for the 18th time this year.

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