Discoveries from Finland World Cinema

A sequel to the film Katrin ensimmäinen rakkaus. Katri and Kaitsu have two children and try cope with their situation while Kaitsu goes to the army.

The life of the main character goes off the rails when she realizes that she is being rewarded for her youth and beauty in ways that exceed her other achievements. While trying to find a time machine for her life, she drifts deeper into patriarchal beauty rituals, building her identity and happiness on her appearance.

Sipi the Clown learns that his childhood friend's beloved llama has been acquired by a selfish farm owner. Sipi tries to buy Llama for himself, but the farm owner asks for a ridiculously high price for Sipi's friend. Sipi decides to enter a children's TV show to raise enough money to save his friend. It turns out that Sipi's artistic skills are mediocre at best. Sipi's strong belief in himself - and a little bit of a pranks against others- help him get on the TV show, where Sipi of course causes a bit of trouble.

The story behind Finland's rock giants and their songs, and their love for performing, even from childhood, and also the story of two very different brothers trying to fit in the same band.

A middle-aged housewife is burnt out, but she'll soon find her flame again, when an unexpected nightly encounter takes her to a dance that will change her whole community.

Eliisa Raaska, who lives in the Soviet Union, wants to move to Finland to be with her beloved Mikko Vanhalan, but she does not want to leave her elderly and sick father in Ingria.

A Roma beggar on his knees raises many extreme emotions: guilt, rage, sympathy and frustration. Most people just walk on by, but there is always someone willing to help. In this film, the director follows the confrontations between the Roma beggars from Romania and Finnish people, and is forced to question, over and over again, her own ideas about helping.

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.

A short film about a boy, a man and a tree.

Documentary film about Hassisen Kone. A band that, despite its short age, is still remembered as one of the most iconic Finnish rock bands of all time. The film tells not only about the band's 40th anniversary concert and the preparations for it, but also about the history of the band and its members' growth from youth celebrities to adults.

Several films have been made about the lives of train hobos, but Aleksi Pohjavirta's A Good Day to Die is probably the first Finnish documentary on the subject. The film follows Billy, who travels in a pump on freight trains. In the way of life, the feeling of freedom and letting yourself be carried away by chance are attractive and they make the train bomb strive for a windy ride again and again.

Three perspectives on loneliness, how it feels and how it can be survived: “If I could just dance with somebody once more.”

Daddy’s Girl is a story about differences, but also about similarities, reunions and the difficulty to hate. Father and daughter know each other so well, that even the most tragic scenes start to seem comical. Melisa’s relationship to her father is so painful, because there’s so much love involved.

The Boys of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn is a story of fathers and sons in three generations, their life choices and the consequences that follow. Grandfather, an ex-mobster, father, an ex-gangsta wannabe - now a turban wearing Sikh, and a hot tempered boy who lives across the ocean with his mom. After noticing her son's lack on interest towards his father, mother and son travel to New York to face the situation. After blaming her ex-husband for years she finally discovers the hidden reason why he is incapable of being present in their son's everyday life.

Story of first love affair during summer school holidays, in a pastoral setting.

A 2015 Finnish short film.

A boy, whose mother used to prohibit his time travel games, has grown into an adult. He executes his everyday life like any man - exercising at the gym, working as a nightclub bouncer and spending his spare time with those who just happened to end up around him. An ordinary day comes to a halt when he runs into a familiar woman - with whom he hasn’t met before. The twosome develop an unprecedented sense of connection which makes them question everything they have believed in. As their self-evident future together starts to shine in the horizon, his repressed childhood enters from behind it. Encountering the past drives at stake both - the hopes for true love and his sense of reality.

In a hospice, every day is somebody's last day alive. The sheets are changed, and someone elsebrought in to die. Before the end, hands are held, and there is time for coffee. And for some of us, all this dying is just the usual everyday life.

Iron Danger is an action film inspired by the finnish folklore epic Kalevala.

By the year 2027 the shitters have conquered the earth. Humankind has one hope: the shitters are determined to stop her.

A documentary film about Suomen joutsen, the Finnish ship.

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.

The story of a man raised in a boy's home and prison who doesn't conform to the rules and discipline of the military.

The film follows the perspective of a primate researching life through books.

Ritni Pieski wishes it was easier for Sámi queer youth to grow up in their community. In this short film, Pieski addresses the lack of representation and information about queer people and rights within the Sámi people.

Minimalist documentary by Rax Rinnekangas about the wooden cottage "La Cabanon" designed and built in 1952 by Swiss architect and furniture designer Le Corbusier - a refuge intended for a single person with a living space of only 3.66 x 3.66 meters. The construction followed Corbusier's maxim that architecture must adapt to the human body and not vice versa.

Kurdish child bride Nasrin becomes independent in Finland against her husband’s will. The punishment is harsh. But Nasrin doesn’t give up. She wants to win the battle for her rights.

The screws are loose and the turbo is revved up for a wild ride! The madness begins when reporter Otto Miinalainen is conducting an interview with the dairy owner on his 50th birthday. However, the guest of honor is found dead in the butter churn. The dangerous birthday killer has struck again...

Rural comedy of the intrigues and stratagems involving a country wedding. From a comedy by Alexis Kivi.

Kallinen from Hervanta homicide, and his new partner, Kuokka, fight against the evil crimelord of Hervanta, known as Kunkku (The King), who has killed a teacher who stole drugs from him.

In René Clair’s classic 1924 short Entr’acte, Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray played a surreal game of chess until they were swept away by a jet of water. As 2024’s 100th anniversary of surrealism still lingers in the cultural air, it’s a good moment to drop in on renowned Finnish artist Mox Mäkelä as she engages the scientific researcher Mikael Fortelius in an even more bizarre and extended chess game – using teeth as the board pieces.

Jake Crusher is a cop from the 80's who gets sucked into a VCR where he becomes Video Cop.

Jenni Nyberg's documentary Siéva is an intimate and lyrical look at a gentle and poetic form of street dance. A deliberate rejection of the hyped-up cockiness of traditional b-boying, siéva dancing is soft and vulnerable. It's a style for exploring your shyness and doubts, your fears and hopes. Nyberg's film follows a group of young dancers and shows how they use siéva to express their insecurities and dreams.

A short documentary in which the Finnish juice brand icon Kari Grandi and his band perform at various venues.

Hidden in the French Pyrenees lays an esoteric spider web of myths and mysteries. The Golden Triangle consisting of the towns of Rennes-les-Château, Montsegur and Bugarach is a scene of magical battles, occult exploration and treasure hunting, where the lines of reality and fiction are constantly blurred. ZONE explores the esoteric underbelly of Old Occitania through the reminiscences and stories of local residents and spiritual seekers and exposes a hidden world where magic is a common currency.

A three-week vacation in the middle of a heatwave. Failed Emptiness is an existential thriller that describes the familiar experience of emptiness when responsibilities end.

It's 1970, and a dangerous new drug has entered the markets. When the Prime Minister's nephew enters the list of victims, George Whitebrooke is assigned with bringing down the ones responsible - Rogue Albion.

When progress meets nature, violence ensues.

One of the first skate films from El Rio Grind Productions.

A girl in a green suit tells us about herself.

Confessions of Undecided Women is an animated short documentary consisting of confessions from women in their thirties about childbearing in a society where women’s bodies have been instrumentalised for reproduction. The documentary gives space to the voices of those who are undecided, fearful, or do not want children. It creates room for reflection and discussion on women’s personal choices and societal expectations.

A fisherman's son accidentally ends up in a leper colony in 1742.

A film about the limits of the aging body and the boundless mind. Rauno's story takes us on a boat trip with his father. A journey of misadventures and his father's new Finnish record in cursing.

Violinist Eero Viida's wife Ruth has left her husband but wants to return. Eero no longer loves his spouse and rejects her advances. Ruth shoots her husband, who ends up in the hospital. Eero becomes attached to Marja, a student of his accompanist Pallas, which drives the jealous Ruth to take extreme measures.

Helsinki wakes up to the summer morning in Jörn Donner's first short film, which goes through the landscapes of Katajanokka, Pohjoisranta, Market Square, Kruununhaka and Kallio

This animated documentary takes us on a bittersweet journey into the lives of immigrants in the municipality of Odemira, Portugal. They share the experience of struggles, frustrations, and hopes as they try to find their place. Who is a local and who is an outsider in a world where borders are increasingly questioned?

Digging up the memory of the Finnish Civil War in 1918, Grey Wolf tells a historical story with a modern twist. When Viktor Stark, a peaceful writer of the conservative Whites, finds a wounded enemy soldier hiding for his life, Stark’s values and loyalty are measured against each other. Will he choose a higher moral or otherness? The answer is revealed in the final scene that turns the whole world around. Grey Wolf is set in history, but truly, it tells about us.

The candid adventures of a straight filmmaker in world of transvestites, trans-genders and other gender minorities. Documentary explores our traditional gender roles through the experiences of people who challenge them all. Interviews include various Burlesque - artists, female pastor and Europe's only transsexual pro-wrestler who body-slams traditional gender roles in a profession, where the norms of gender are narrowly defined.

Uplifting snapshots from Finnish summertime’s most beloved and thoroughly hated hobby: mowing the lawn.

Although the Turpeinen family’s heritage brew kettle has been scorched and her innards are ruined, Pirkko is determined to become a Sahti Master before her time is up. She can't manage it on her own, but fortunately Taina agrees to help with the brewing, provided that Pirkko stays off the bottle.

A silent Christmas night at a sorority house turns into an unexplainable crime scene for Nadia Jones and her friends, when a recently released conman claims to be the father of her supposedly mutated child.

The story presents the achievements of the Student Union Singers during the Rengasmatka revue, both on stage and off stage. The performance is organized to raise funds for the choir's trip to America, which is being organized by Risto and Kale. The evening is colored by travel tickets that have fallen into the wrong hands, which the travel agency girls Mirkku and Kikka are feverishly searching for behind the stage.

Unemployed Anna leaves her son Olavi to be raised by Antti, a shoemaker. When the shoemaker dies, Olavi is sent to an orphanage, from which he runs away with a cat and a violin under his arm. After many misfortunes, the talented Olavi becomes a student of a professor at a music academy and travels to London to compete in an international violin competition.

Linda is a rapper and a woman who after getting brutally assaulted by her boyfriend decided to leave the drug scene and started to pursue her dreams and build a new life.

Manjardo, a young Gypsy leader has spent a lively and joyful life with his young women, Glafira and very keen Akris. He will soon be married to the daughter of the master of another tribe, Esmeralda. From this, her mistresses are no more enthusiastic than Esmeralda and Manjardoka, so the parties of this future couple have never even met each other.