Discoveries from Finland World Cinema

Finnish animation film.

Matara is the story of boys who role-play their own kingdoms in the summer. The senators plot in a togas made of bed sheets and take puppets as wives, while the coal-moustached rascals go wild with the city's and circus fun. A stroke from a wooden sword means death, and once you die, there's no coming back. Other Nations are treated as they usually are, ruthlessly.

For the family members of murder victims mourning is often postponed indefinitely. To unlock the trauma and begin the grieving, a method called restorative dialogue brings two parents - and the audience - eye to eye with the murderers.

"The Old Man and the Hate” is about a conservative, lonely old man who suffers a heart attack and is dying. The son in the family soon realizes that it is only hatred that keeps the father alive.

Gorilla is a ten-minute children`s drama about a six-year-old Alli who tries to get into her big sister`s lovely princess room to play with her sister and her friend. The big girls won`t play with Alli but instead call her a gorilla because she is so scruffy. But Alli won`t give up and does everything to get into the big girls` game.

Mermaid is in a jar, and unless I loosen the top she's not coming out to kill me.

By means of a lifelike simulation, Nora meets an AI version of the child she could have.

The problems faced by a pensioner living on a low income in Finland in the late 1960s.

The dance film about burnout is based on the experiences of dance artist Hanna Heino as a COVID nurse in the spring of 2020. We are connected to other beings through touch and the air we breathe. How can one overcome and find physical and mental connection in the midst of a pandemic?

A couple’s romantic evening changes when a strange man gropes the woman.

The rap group from Hyvinkää performs its hugely popular songs.

A young student seeks direction in his life to counterbalance the studies through female adventures.

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.

The movie follows today’s beachcombers in Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Japan. The same endless piles of trash left by humans cover all the shores. Our shared ocean is loaded with time travelers made of plastic, the fruit of our throwaway culture and our indifference. They are the seeds of destruction, as they end up in the entrails of creatures living in the sea. Most of the beachcombers share the same worries about the environment. Beside the plastic trash, many travelers drift between continents, such as various plants’ seeds. Like all species, they look for new living environments where they could survive on a warming planet.

A boy dreams to become like his ski jumping idol Jari Puikkonen. However, his parents are worried because he neglects the school. One day while going on practice, he rescues a baby left in a car with no parking brake hooked back up. The baby happens to be Puikkonen's son.

A tragicomedy about a gambler, who is willing to walk through heaven and hell for his love.

When an accounting company moves, it’s CEO gets an opportunity to display her awesome management skills.

Radio reporter Toivo Teräsvuori gets an idea for an experimental report using a hidden microphone, but he is reported as a madman talking to himself and is taken to the Houruniemi mental hospital. At the hospital, the volatile Toivo is considered insane, and even his wife Eila's testimony does not help the matter. Instead, Professor Piukka orders Toivo to undergo brain surgery.

The relationship between a priest's wife and the renovator crackles with passion. While the rectory terrace is being restored, there is a triangular drama at the fore: a priest, a priest’s wife and a renovator.

Two young people face their own hardships on a Sunday.

Pekka Lipponen is trying to trace hidden diamonds before a group of bandits finds them. He enlists his friend Kalle-Kustaa Korkki to help him.

Vinski inherits a general store in Ihantala from his aunt, which he starts running with his friend Lapatossu. The friends face fierce competition from the greedy merchant Juhos. The resourceful Lapatossu solves the problems of the villagers and evacuees in between business transactions.

Utopian symbolic playgrounds from memories are interconnected through sharp, flickering lights.

The Sami people, mainly found in Russia and Lapland, continue their struggle against oppression and colonialism. For centuries, they have faced institutionalized racism, marginalization, and repression of their culture and language. Through activism, they have gained recognition and respect in recent years, but the struggle is not over. Through art and cultural resilience, the Sami assert their rights to exist and thrive in their ancestral lands.

Three generations of cows - Joy, Crumb and Sweetie - live in the forest. Joy and Crumb were rescued from the slaughterhouse truck. The cows are cared for by a group of three women-veterinary doctors-who call themselves the Fabulous Cow Ladies. As the film explores the cycle of life and the importance of community, this matriarchal team highlights the deep bond between humans, animals, and nature.

A film about two rival student groups making their own Olympics. The student chairman Pena recruits to a boxing match the insect researcher and bookworm Matti Kiviaho, mainly to embarrass him before his girlfriend Laila. During the summer young people preparing for the games practice both for sports and romance.

An educational film about women's sexuality, genitalia and their functions during sexual interaction.

Film inspired by the story of runner Martti Vainio.

Inspector Timo Harjunpää works on harassment and extortion campaign case against successful computer expert.

For one week in Gaborone, Botswana, a collection of aspiring lawyers gathers for the annual African Human Rights Moot Court Competition. Competitors represent the top law schools from their respective nations as they debate a new issue each year. This time around, the focus is on the rights of refugees. Developing arguments that will be judged by practicing lawyers, the next generation discovers what policy should look like in the African continent and where advancements can be made across the region. While you may come for the competition in African Moot, you stay for the rising stars learning on the ground what it means to fight for their cause, country and continent as one.

Leila is a recently divorced woman. She looks around the empty house and finds it difficult to understand that this is her life. The night before moving out, Leila wakes up to a knocking that seems to come from inside her living room wall. A man inside claims to be a time traveler from the future.

Documentary about the nurses' strike in Finland on autumn 2007.

Shot in English, spiced up with kinetic visuals and going straight down to the point, this brief look at the everyday life of the titular demon huntress takes the viewer to a refreshingly wild ride.

A squirrel interested in rock n' roll, skateboarding and American cars cannot continue their family's honorable legacy that also defends their home forest.

Educational short film about how young children in Finland have to face a lot of pressure both in school and home. School, exams, home work, tasks they have to do at home and hobbies cause stress.

The documentary Merikotkan paluu (Return of the white-tailed eagle), tells the tale of the past and the present of the white-tailed eagle. The second protagonist of the film is the human - the animal that can be blamed for the eagles’ distress but also credited for its rescue.

An elderly Nenets woman in teepee on northern Russia's Yamal Peninsula recounts her early life betrothed to a deity for the entertainment of a blind young girl. In the Nenets culture, a girl child can be married to holiest of holies, Num, before or after her birth. Lonely old Numd' Syarda (which means, literally, 'tied to Num') entertains the blind young Ilne ('giver of life') with stories of how she became one of these chosen few.

Documentary film of indigenous Mayan message of Unity and Hope for Humanity for these new times

The birthday of twin boys, Mökö and Luru, takes the family Kiljunen to Helsinki, where their dog gets accidentally switched with the president's dog. Mökö and Luru rush to save their dog, while mother and father Kiljunen take over the city from land, sea and air.

For the past 20 years, a cleaner Anna has been living an honest life. She takes charge of the life of her alcoholic lover, a retiree Harri. Chased by the loan sharks, Harri has one more heist to pull off. Like two old thieves.

Family Stories Untold is an animated documentary, in which seven different women’s stories about family are woven into one life-long piece. It begins with Iida, 9, who after her parents’ nasty divorce helps Mummy find a new man on Tinder, and ends with Lisbeth, who has been forced into a retirement home by her children. It’s a story about a life in which we don’t have the courage to voice our opinions, desires and expectations.

One morning, Rosa and her friends awake to find that all people over the age of 13 have disappeared. Rosa is due to turn 13 in a few days, and she and her friends spend their last days riotously.

Telling a story of young lovers separated by war, Tommi Rautio's independent documentary feature film focuses on how women were affected by World War II in Finland, the brutal battle of Kelja as well as how the war has affected the offspring of a warn-torn nation filled with veterans and evacuees.

Tanja Bulkova arrives in Finland under the name Toini Salonen and, with the help of spy chief Rosenberg, becomes the secretary of engineer Rautavuori and discovers the drawings of a secret invention.

Kid's sing along animation with songs by a somewhat popular kid rap duo Ella & Aleksi

In the 1910s, beautiful young Silja loses both parents and ends up working as a maid at wealthier farms around her village. She is courted by a number of bachelors, ranging from simple farmhand Väinö to sophisticated young student Armas whom she meets when working for a charming old professor. However, Silja's health starts to deteriorate, and when the Finnish Civil War breaks up in 1918, she is inadvertently involved in a small incident after which her loyalties are questioned by both the Reds and the Whites.

Fifty-year-old Seppo puts a contact ad in the newspaper. After many years, his son decides to look him up, just on the day that Seppo has a date. Sober and painful yet moving drama about loneliness and family bonds. - IFFR Duration: 12m Colour, Stereo Original format: Super 16mm film

Someone Somewhere tells five intertwining stories of hopeful but unsuccessful people in the City of dreams - Los Angeles. What happens when you realize that everything you ever wished for is something you will never have? That maybe you are just not good enough?

Piirainen's documentary on the last years of Peter von Bagh.

Väinö Kehkonen, the head of a Helsinki-based construction company, takes his wife and the Ärmälä couple to Dr. Puosu for a rejuvenating hormone injection, which causes them to behave like children. The director, previously known for his lack of drive, gains energy and enthusiasm from the injection, both in his business and personal life.

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.

Eero Luotola is a pilot operating in Kalliosaari, whose crush is Annikki, who lives in the same village. They have known each other since childhood and have promised to get married at some point.

In 17th century Finland young Arvid is forced to marry Brita but their ways soon part when their respective fathers move to different places. Years roll by and Arvid grows up into a handsome and respected Thirty Years' War veteran known for his excellent fencing skills. However, he has fallen madly in love with a local maiden who does not reciprocate his advances, not to mention that his forced marriage to Brita is still valid.

Uutisten aika is a found footage film, which discusses cultural differences, being an outsider, the Namibian independence struggle, and Finland’s long-term ties with the southern African country.

A short film about two siblings, Tuukka and Lili, who have been living separately in foster care. One night things escalate when Tuukka comes to take his little sister with him to their summer cottage.

In this short, shown in the student category at IDFA, the compelling, dramatised story of a pedophile is told. He hasn’t opened up about his orientation to even those closest to him, nor would he ever hurt a child.