Discoveries from Finland World Cinema

Director Timo Koivusalo point of view about life of classical music composer Jean Sibelius, who is a national composer of Finland.

The Echoes of the Universe – The Music of Kaija Saariaho follows the completion and performances of Saariaho’s works in different parts of the world, but also highlights the mutual cooperation of her family.

Before her death, Anu's mother promises her daughter to the wealthy Junu of Ukonmäki. Anu loves the carpenter Mikko, who, upon hearing of Junu's engagement, leaves for Helsinki. However, Mikko misses Anu and his homeland, to which he returns with modern ideas of factory work and efficiency.

Helen suffers from a rare fear of chalk. One day she feels encroached by several chalk figures in Helsinki and decides to confront her fear. In the Amos Rex museum, she discovers the works of Keith Haring in a catalogue and adapts his style to her needs for catharsis.

A young woman drifts between reality and imagination as her daily routines blur with surreal visions. When her mind grows overwhelmingly restless, she must confront her urge to escape and learn to stay present in her life.

The dance film When the Night Falls tells the story of a woman fleeing the horrors of a collapsing society in the near future. Along the way, she encounters people on whose trust her entire future depends on.

Tarmo, a failed student, tries to win over his uncle, Consul Ö, in the hope of receiving an advance on his inheritance. His stingy uncle threatens to donate his entire fortune to the Antiquities Preservation Society if Tarmo does not earn a million marks within a month. Tarmo's friend Hannu begins to motivate Tarmo to get rich by feeding him placebo "energy pills." The situation is complicated by a criminal gang getting involved in the inheritance hunt.

In mid-19th century Finland, Klaus von Rapp marries young Anette Erling. The marriage is full of happiness until Klaus’s deception is exposed and changes everything with catastrophic consequences.

Fashion Designer Anne must decide between Toivo, an architect ten years her senior, and French businessman, Jacques, with whom she's been living for three years.

Justiina gives lessons to friends who are avoiding work and sends them to work. Pekka and Pätkä end up in a woodworking factory, where their job is to nail together the legs of a Christmas tree. The men think they will get rich this way, but through misadventures they end up in many different jobs and being chased by a crowd of admiring women.

After loosing his family in the war Paavo does not adapt to life in the city, but escapes to his homeland to the north and gets to work on a log site.

The documentary is a true story of four real intellectual Europeans from different cultures who are worried about the decline of literature’s life and the destiny of the street level bookshops in every country. That is why they have a mission to save symbolically “the world's last quality books”.

A documentary about a convent of Russian Orthodox nuns in Estonia who have dedicated their lives to serving God.

Reindeerspotting is a documentary film of a group of young guys living in Rovaniemi, Arctic Circle, dabbling in petty crime and hard drugs. One of them, Jani, has lost five years of his life and two fingers to his debotators. He wants to leave Lapland and his old life behind. Robbing a supermarket is a start for his getaway. A few years back a documentarist, Joonas Neuvonen, was a young men living on social welfare, using drugs on daily basis. He started to film his friends and their life. This is the story of Jani.

Inspector Puosu investigates the murder of smuggler Nelly with journalist Harn. Doubts are directed at wholesaler Antti Rajapalo, whose innocence is believed only by Rajapalo's secretary Ane Arvila.

This charming and casually reverent work is an authorized single-screen version of an installation by celebrated video artist Ahtila. Amid stunning snow-draped forests, a women’s theatrical group rehearses a stage version of the Annunciation (the director is played by Aki Kaurismäki’s signature actress Kati Outinen), in the process discovering the parallel worlds of humans and animals, and the proximity of the ordinary to the miraculous.

Bank manager wants to hire younger employees. Fired cashier decides to teach him a lesson.

A praised war hero leaves his wife and finds a new love from Ural.

The director of the Vaudeville Theater is looking for new performers after the former star was forced to give up her singing career. Out of numerous auditionees, singer P. Waltteri Vitikka is hired. At the same time, the janitor tries to maintain order in the theater.

A story of an escaped convict and some funny side stories during the Finnish summer, some stolen clothes and some summer romance thrown in.

Emilia is a teenager and a good girl, who never forgets her homework or her little sister, Elsa. Siiri is just one year older than Emilia but not at all like her. When Emilia and Siiri become friends, Emilia's life changes. Siiri encourages her to take a leap, shake the rules and leave princess dreams behind. These two will have fun together, but not only good times

Drama set in Stockholm and Helsinki and a village whose existence is threatened by a power plant. A group of young people return to their roots and are disappointed by what they find.

A newly graduated nurse Tuulikki starts a job in a closed ward of a psychiatric hospital. Her innocence is being challenged by both her colleagues and patients. A new patient Katariina has a fire burning deep inside of her.

An experimental short film based on Don Quixote by Cervantes.

Two Finnish naval captains face spies in Gothenburg harbor during the second world war.

A story of an escaped convict and some funny side stories during the Finnish summer, some stolen clothes and some summer romance thrown in.

In this thrilling new chapter of the BunnyKill saga, Snowball is sent on a mission to eliminate the leader of a deadly ninja clan. As he battles waves of skilled assassins, a mysterious figure named Ruby emerges, blurring the line between friend and foe. With danger at every turn, Snowball must push his limits to survive.

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.

The children transform into adults before our eyes. Yet they remain in limbo, haunted by memories of the war in Kosovo. Combining raw realism and staged performance, Afterwar is a meditation on the long-term repercussions of war.

A Finnish adaptation of Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

A story about money, power, exploitation, and many possible ends of the world. Some long for Mars, others for heaven. Some dance the humppa on the moon. In this short and tragicomic play, every one of us has our own small part to play.

Tale of the Sleeping Giants is a movie filmed entirely in Lapland in the most mythical wilderness: the mountains, lakes and rivers of Lapland. It is a journey into the rich mythology of ancient Scandinavians and Lapps told in the form of a nature movie.

1790 Turku. After Katarina Thorwöst becomes a widow, there are many suitors, but her heart belongs to the fencing teacher lieutenant Carl-Magnus Schildt.

Three brothers, all with their own problems that could be solved by money, try to come up with a plan to get they share of their uncle's fortune. Then a murder takes place and it is the job of a detective to find out which one of the brothers did it.

Reindeerspotting is a documentary film of a group of young guys living in Rovaniemi, Arctic Circle, dabbling in petty crime and hard drugs. One of them, Jani, has lost five years of his life and two fingers to his debotators. He wants to leave Lapland and his old life behind. Robbing a supermarket is a start for his getaway. A few years back a documentarist, Joonas Neuvonen, was a young men living on social welfare, using drugs on daily basis. He started to film his friends and their life. This is the story of Jani.

Drug dealer Aki is taken to hospital after a violent attack where he loses his merchandise and money. One of the paramedics, old Eino, befriends Aki later in the hospital and offers him a summer job after hearing that he has training in first aid. Eino even offers Aki a place to stay next to his ambulance garage. This provides Aki a perfect hiding place from his former employers who are after him. At the garage, Aki learns about life and the art of archery from peaceful Eino, and falls in love with Eino's daughter Lena who works at the ambulance switchboard. But no hiding place is good enough to last forever.

Inspector Puosu investigates the murder of smuggler Nelly with journalist Harn. Doubts are directed at wholesaler Antti Rajapalo, whose innocence is believed only by Rajapalo's secretary Ane Arvila.

A Russian reconnaissance aircraft collides with a Finnish passenger plane over the Gulf of Finland. At the same time unexplained sabotage and cyberattacks cut off electricity and communications across the country. The Finns are left in the dark without news, electricity or heating, while freezing cold turns their dwellings into death traps.

Tomi finds himself in love with two women and his wife Maria finds herself in a situation where she has to deal with the fact that Tomi is the love of her life.

A nuanced documentary that follows a year in the life of legendary Helsinki all-boys choir Cantores Minores, from rehearsals to performances and behind the scenes.

A film about Finnish skateboarding and its history.

A dramatized documentary film about singer-songwriter and lyricist Juha "Junnu" Vainio from Kotka.

A portrait of a small-town that is the unlikely site of a 'renaissance' of 'safe' nuclear energy started in 2004, a project that soon spiraled out of control.

A journey through time to our futuristic recent past. A documentary film about the rise and fall of a Finnish plastic house. A story about the utopia of the "space age" that almost came true. The Futuro house was completed in 1968. It was believed that humanity was on the threshold of a new era, when technology would be able to solve all conceivable problems. Made entirely of plastic, Futuro was both a reflection of its time and a utopian vision of the "future state of affairs."

Operation Alaska is a fictional documentary and extensive web series based on real American plans and proposals to evacuate Finns to Alaska between 1940 and 1944 in the event of a Soviet invasion of Finland.

Sammeli from Näljängä and Einari from Haataja, who were hunting bears, encounter Natalia, a cow that has crossed the eastern border. In the name of friendship between neighboring countries, Natalia is asked to return to the Soviet Union.

Peter von Bagh's documentary about Juhani Aho and people around him.

Four children have received an invitation to meet Santa Claus. They end up in a mystical Christmasland, where they find out that Santa Claus has disappeared! Will the children manage to find Santa in time and will Christmas be saved?

Matti and Liisa are two farmers who become curious to see the first railroads in Lapinlahti, Finland.

A utopia about Finland in the year 2000, when man is finally the master of himself and his world. In the imaginary year 2000, a historical documentary series is created to provide a look at the irrational history of man in the 20th century, with all the wars and all that. The setting is an ascetic futuristic home, outside of which people move around in personal helicopters. The optimism about the future culminates in a school presentation shown simultaneously on giant screens in living rooms across the country, in which rational thinking is shown to have finally reached its fulfillment. On the other hand, faith in the development of humanity and a peaceful future is reflected in this post-war, escapist and dogmatic vision of the future.

Maria Toikka is called to testify in a trial in which her husband Ville is charged. The assurances show the events that led to the trial from the previous fall, when Patron Oppman begins to approach Maria, offering her money in return for services.

The Living Room of the Nation is a documentary film that portrays a number of Finnish living rooms. The film is a story of changes, the inevitable passing of time, and the human desire to be needed, visible.

Documentary about Finnish film theaters - about their past, disappearance and future. And at the same time universal story how cinema is undeniably connected with life.

A first part of a documentary on the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki.

Miss Paradise Beach is the most prestigious beauty competition, a ticket to a dream life. You just have to find a way to win.

A week-long glimpse into the wretched existence of Ripa, a long-haired, hard-drinking lug. He is also a filmmaker-wannabee, whose last two projects were condemned for their sex and violence. A Parasite Deluxe, who barely recalls his previous night, Ripa cruises the bars and meets bank-teller Tiina.

Calling Mother is about the moments when you just have to call your mum. It is a compilation of phone calls made by different people to their mothers. Film follows the lifespan of a human being from youth to adulthood, a child changing from a dependent to a caretaker. Phone calls are connected by images of an old telephone center and a story of a young mother who doesn’t have a mother to call.

Everything is just perfect, and then, boom!

Nine Ways to Approach Helsinki, shot by Pirjo Honkasalo and Eero Salmenhaara, is a documentary on the capital of Finland.