Discoveries from Finland World Cinema

Two men steal a precious candelabra at a mansion they accidentally burn down. Two years later, one of the thieves is a wealthy property owner. But he is tormented by his memories and debt.

Two brothers from Häme discover that they are actually from Karelia. During the celebration of the newfound fact, one of the brothers is bitten by a bug. After seeking medical help from a doctor - who tries to tell the brothers that he is not a doctor of medicine - the doctor decides to trick the boys by convincing them that the insect in question is called Insectum propellatum, also known as the aviation bug, and unless the affected brother learns how to fly, the bite might turn fatal. During their shenanigans, they become acquainted with a robot that runs on booze, two scoundrels, and the beautiful Miss Universe!

Two estranged sisters journey into a world of memories to bring their missing mother back from a virtual past.

Cavalryman Kalle Kollola makes a fool of himself in order to get by with less service during his time in the army. Aunt Loviisa, who has come to see him, urges her witty but lazy cousin to straighten up. Aunt Loviisa also helps Miss Hilja Aro settle her differences with the horse master Kalpa.

Lasse Pöysti plays a young reporter named Esko Pekuri who thinks he's got a front-page story. But every article he writes goes in press as minor news. He gets a fantastic idea to impersonate a gangster and write an article about prison life.

Longtime couple Venla and Antero come to a serious impasse. After years with Antero, Venla wants to start a family, but her boyfriend, worried that parenthood will stifle his speed-skating career, secretly gets a vasectomy. Determined to have a child, Venla seeks help from a female fertility doctor, a decision that breeds new possibilities for the prospective mother when she falls in love with the doctor.

After the death of his friend Katrina, a teenaged detective is hunted down by his town's most infamous killer, Kevin. Once he discovers the truth, he finds Kevin knocking on his door.

See how Pirk got stranded in the past! Star Wreck V: Lost Contact was the first film to use live actors instead of cartoons. Real sets would have cost too much, so we decided to try bluescreen, just for fun. Our expectations weren't high, but it worked. So the movie was shot against a cheap blue bed-sheet and the blue background was replaced with spaceship bridges. The story was a parody of Star Trek: First Contact. The Korg send a ship back in time to 20th century Earth. The Kickstart, being the only functioning P-fleet ship around, has to follow. The Korg plan to assassinate rockstar Jeffrey Cochbrane (Played by Rudi Airisto and a pair of sunglasses) and his band Dethdestro before their concert attracts the attention of Vulgars. This would stop humanity's first contact aliens and change the future. If that wasn't bad enough, all Jeff wants to do is play loud and drink too much, but now Pirk and his crew must force him to save the world...

Timo plays a jealous husband who shoots his wife's lover on stage. The theater director urges the shy young man to gain experience with women and guns before the premiere. Both become familiar when Timo gets caught up in the schemes of his fellow actress Aili and a Russian spy ring.

The Kiljunen family wins a holiday trip to Helsinki and the city will never be the same again.

Country boy Oskari travels with his mother to the city. There he meets his superhero. However, all is not quite as seven-year-old Oskari imagined. He is faced with a difficult choice. Superhero is dark-skinned and doesn´t look like the action figure he owns.

Old friends Masa and Tapsa have very different life situations: Masa is happily married but Tapsa has recently lost his wife and is a single-parent. Masa tries to help Tapsa inviting him to a pottery class. However the whole pottery class begins to help Masa and soon all the lonely ones in the class open up to each other.

Poor high school students Toivo Päiviö and Unto Uramo solve their housing problems by enrolling in Sofia Andersson's boarding school. Toivo falls in love with Mrs. Andersson's deceased husband's niece, Aune, and begins to compete for her attention with opera singer Reino "Toreadoor" Kiljunen.

Teenager Olivia Oras has 20,000 Instagram followers. The documentary follows a year of her life.

The new steward of Siltala ends up falling in love with the beautiful widow of the house. Their romance is endangered by misunderstandings and the fact that the estate of Siltala is swimming in debt. And the new steward isn't quite what he seems to be.

University student Jaakko and master's degree holder Aarne arrive in a rural village, where they become involved in organizing a charity event and the relationship problems of farmhand Kaapro and maid Senni.

When romance develops between a driver at the racecourse and his pupil, he has to choose: her, or his wife? But decision-making is not his strong point.

Documentary film about Tony Halme, masculinity and populism. The film follows how Tony Halme created a mythical, highly masculine freestyle wrestling character, The Viking, who gained fame both in the ring and in the public eye and eventually became captivated by it. With his brash speeches, Halme fired the starting shot for the rise of the Finns Party. The voice of a forgotten section of the population, a protest against the ruling elite, were the building blocks of Halme's popularity. Halme's great popularity has served as a good example of a populist figure, admired within the deep ranks of the nation, who comes from outside the political elite and changes the direction of politics. Also, despite - or perhaps because of - his openly racist statements, he was part of changing the political climate in Finland to a more acrimonious one.

A couple who have moved from the city manage a collapsing farm. The man Alfred is an alcoholic, therefore the responsible to solve the situation is his wife Katriina. Help is provided by the former owner Hermann.

Pete loses his consciousness while playing in a pop band. The diagnosis is harsh and the doctor cannot say for sure whether Pete will celebrate his 18th birthday. One night, encouraged by the vodka on Jusa's 18th birthday, Pete confesses his love to Kata, his dream girl. Together with Jusa, they go to Lapland where Kata has her summer job. In Jusa's wild company, Pete experiences something which he never felt before as they decide to take a trip to Mombasa via Lapland.

Pete and Runt misinterpret the messages of a career choice machine and try to create a career as African dancers.

How did Turku become Finland’s oldest city? An eager reporter sets out to find out why and on what grounds the city of Turku will celebrate its 800th anniversary in 2029.

Peyangki is a dreamy and solitary eight-year-old monk living in Laya, a Bhutanese village perched high in the Himalayas. Soon the world will come to him: the village is about to be connected to electricity, and the first television will flicker on before Peyangki's eyes.

Aila is looking for a lost cat when she meets Simo, a young man of few words.

Marzia, My Friend is the story of an Afghan woman in her twenties, who like all young people dreams of love, freedom and an interesting job. She dreams of peace and independence, but because she lives in Afghanistan, her dreams are revolutionary. Ultimately Marzia’s story becomes a symbol of the wider struggle of Afghan women: it is about the right to make decisions about your own life. The film follows Marzia’s life from spring 2011 to the end of 2014, when international troops were due to leave Afghanistan.

Captain Kaarnoja finds himself caught up in intrigues and a dispute between the noblewoman Elisabeth and her cousin, Captain Gyllenskiöld. Kaarnoja comes into possession of a mysterious letter, which leads him and his loyal companion Sergeant Erkinpoika into battles, ambushes, and sword fights.

Deadbeat's Diary tells a story of Teemu, a well-educated man in his 30s who had a burnout a few years ago. Now he is jobless and his days are filled with idleness, beer and music. To regain a direction, Teemu begins to keep a diary.

Nisse’s wife Leila has just died but he feels he’s done enough mourning. Friends and family are overrun by Nisse who just wants the funeral to be over and done with. No fuss and no mourning here! Nisse demands to be left alone. So, there he is, with the only thing remaining – the sorrow. Nisse grows to understand that even a deep loss is no excuse to eliminate everyone and everything.

Raimo’s comfortable, middle-class bubble is burst when a Satan-worshipping sex cult moves in next door.

Laura is a Skolt Sámi woman who grew up outside the Sámi region. Through the quadrille dance, she reaches out to her unknown cultural heritage.

A story about the conflicting emotions of love and hate, duty and selfishness in the human mind.

They Go Gentle Into That Night Work is a dreamlike essay revolving around a train driver, a metalworker, and a mailman’s average night. The nightfalls’s meditative and repetitive routines create a monotonous, yet simultaneously poetic atmosphere in this hypnotic experience. The slow-paced storytelling combined with the experimental soundscape paints a harsh, yet romantic, picture of the ever-revolving night lives of the trio.

Society has collapsed and individual survivors are fighting for their existence against viruses, acid rains and swarms of cannibals. Grave diggers Lars and Donald spend their nights in their base, safe from the acid rain, and during the day, when the rains stop, they dispose of the bodies of the infected. A menacing cannibal mob forces the survivors to ally with other survivors and prepare for the battle ahead.

​​American Vagabond is a documentary film about runaway queer youth living in the shadows of the promised city.

Tar Steam Princess Armada travels along Lake Saimaa to St. Petersburg and back during the years of Russian rule over Finland. The ship's crew gets tired of their sophisticated coffee maker and replaces her with Roma girl Veera, who has escaped from an arranged marriage. On the way back, mysterious passengers appear on the ship.

Pekko has a crush on Pipsa, a beautiful archeologist.

Summer vacation has just begun. In honor of it, Serena Rapper and Lennart Lindberg decide to go on holiday. Ricky gets a new bicycle as a consolation, but it disappears mysteriously. Ricky and Nelly Noodlehead go looking for it which turns into a thrilling adventure.

Ilmari is escaping snowy Finland to go skateboarding in Barcelona, but a quiet evening at a house party escalades into misunderstandings, arguments and too many “second opinions”.

The romantic musical comedy Kaikki rakastavat is a key work in Finnish film history since it was the first feature film of Valentin Vaala as the house director of Suomi-Filmi and the film which launched the most beloved screen couple of Finland, Tauno Palo and Ansa Ikonen.

In 1993, Sam Fuller takes Jim Jarmusch on a trip into Brazil's Mato Grosso, up the River Araguaia to the village of Santa Isabel Do Morro, where 40 years before, Zanuck had sent Fuller to scout a location and write a script for a movie based on a tigrero, a jaguar hunter. Sam hopes to find people who remember him, and he takes film he shot in 1954. He's Rip Van Winkle, and, indeed, a great deal changed in the village. There are televisions, watches, and brick houses. But, the same Karajá culture awaits as well. He gathers the villagers to show his old film footage, and people recognize friends and relatives, thanking Fuller for momentarily bringing them back to life.

Young Helena is reluctantly about to marry Brynolf, the chamberlain, when her cousin and beloved Paul arrives to stop the wedding and takes Helena to her grandmother's house. The grandmother thinks that the wedding has already taken place and that Paul is Brynolf, the chamberlain.

Lazy but resourceful storyteller Lapatossu solves problems at the railway construction site with his seemingly simple friend Vinski.

The S/S Vellamo heads to Alexandria with Kaarina, the daughter of the ship's owner Hallerman, on board. As Kaarina trades places with the family's housekeeper Marja, first mate Yrjö takes a liking to Marja whom he believes to be miss Hallerman. Meanwhile Kaarina, pretending to be a member of the cleaning staff, starts getting close with lower ranking officer Kalle Aaltonen.

After her mother's death, Irja, an evacuee girl, finds herself in a poor financial situation. Working as a housekeeper for her former teacher on a starvation wage, her situation improves when she is hired as a janitor at a secondary school. Despite the opposition of Principal Kuusi, she decides to take the matriculation examination and, in order to improve her writing skills, responds to a correspondence advertisement placed by the mysterious Master Ahtojää.

Pera wants to try something kinky in the bathroom, so he asks his mate to help him. However, Pera’s wife comes home a bit too soon…

Have you ever wondered how your old schoolmates are? Perhaps the guy next to you, who is doing time in jail at the moment, still thinks you are his best and only friend. Perhaps your first crush might've been interested in you all these years but was too afraid to tell you that. Perhaps, if it were not too late already, the bullied one would've done everything differently.

Triangle comedy about a movie crew shooting a no-budget artsy film. Director Pohja is a clumsy beginner, cinematographer Törrönen an old pro, and the leading actors Igor and Merju first detest each other although the script is supposed to make them lovers. The two gradually grow closer even in real life, but the director too has set his eyepiece on Merju.

A documentary about the period between 1987 and 2000 in Finland, during which there were strict laws concerning violent movies.

A farce about a wealthy young man who attempts to keep up his lifestyle even in the army.

5 short films on the theme of European identity.

A caring mother turns into a powerful world-saving superhero within seconds and leaves on a rescue mission and the little boy is alone - once again.

A finnish short film about immigrant people coming to Finland to pick berries.

Pertti works as telegraph operator on a ship. The ship arrives in Helsinki and Pertti looks forward to meet his mother and the neighbor girl, who he is in love. But his plans change, when he steps into a restaurant with the first officer of the ship on the first ashore.

Painful childhood memories make the brothers Armas’ and Yrjö’s already sore relationship volatile. A minor misunderstanding sends them into an uncontrollable spiral of vengeance with comic twists yet tragic consequences.

In 1938, Finland is slowly coming out of a recession. Large amounts of nickel have been found from Petsamo in Lapland and a mine is underway. Dreaming of a new life, metal worker Eino Forsell and his family head there for a new beginning.

Distracted by life, Mr. Makkonen misses his engagement party by decades. From the cradle to the grave, life keeps interrupting, not only him, but a tired mother, a doomed superhero and the rest of the comrades in this uncontrollable world. Mixing comedy and fantasy with dark stories, Distractions will deliver the laughs with strings attached.

A behind the scenes look at the making of Sami Hedberg's show "Alive" at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.

The Helsinki-based teenagers Ippe, Papu and Mia have become entangled in drug circles. Their problems get even worse when violent dealer Kalle starts blackmailing the indebted Ippe.

Photos of Hanko and the evacuation of Hanko in 1940. Some were taken in the 1930s.