Discoveries from Finland World Cinema

A commissioned film about the Finnish Navy

Haunted by recurring nightmares, a man is drawn to a mysterious place from his dreams and uncovers something left to be forgotten.

Two lovers find themselves in a love triangle.... With a living planet from beyond the stars.

An old couple doesn’t talk to each other anymore. They express their hatred through dance.

Irmeli worships the memory of her deceased composer father, but falls in love with her mother Ruuti's new fiancé, Dr. Hallamaa. Unhappy love depresses Irmeli, and she tries to run away to Sweden. Antti, an engineering student who lives as a tenant in the family's home, sets off after Irmeli to bring her back home.

Borrowing performance idea from Yoko Ono: the figure entertains her guests by presenting her laundry and explaining how each item became journey.

A short film of less than half an hour, which has never been shown in public, and there is no written information about it. The film was shot in the winter of 1929 and is guaranteed to be a Tampere production. It is perhaps the third film by the Tampere theatre company Oy Kinosto. It is a Finnish national chase story.

Shawn Huff and Ervin Latimer Jr. are the children of African-American basketball players Leon Huff and Ervin Latimer Sr. who arrived in Finland in the 1970s. They have grown up to become Finnish social and political influencers through their fathers' perseverance, ambition and the societal racism that has been passed down through the generations to their sons. The sons channel the experiences of their silent fathers into action and both generations fight for a more equal world.

A short film about the close-minded but hopeful couple called Koistinen, who should just stay home instead of travelling.

A bassist experiences the worst day of his life.

A comedy of an amateur puppet theater, eviction and modern women with their old-fashioned methods.

Poet Mirkka Repola ponders on her life and how she's about to move house soon.

Just when everything was going right, she gets a love letter from the past.

Every day in Finland alone, two people commit suicide. Thousands of people are affected by suicide yearly. Once I Dreamt of Life is a feature length documentary film about suicide. It’s an account about one’s personal relation to suicide, but also studies suicide as social phenomena: The motives, warning signs & consequences. The film follows the journey of a young man, an animated character based on a real person, on his path towards suicide. The journey is described by people who’ve had encounters with suicide – parents who lost their child, young adults who considered or even tried committing suicide. When linked together, these experiences offer a collage of our perception of suicide. They tell about how people cope with the past and find a reason to go on with their lives. The intention is not to romanticize suicide or judge. It encourages people to talk about painful and difficult experiences and reminds us how important it is to be heard.

A promotional film for Sisu buses and trucks. Pictures of the vehicle assembly and how the vehicles are used in different tasks.

Short film.

Documentary film about beavers in Finland.

A strikingly realized puppet tale, based on an old folk ballad of a maiden who sets out to search for her lost fiancé in the turmoils of war. The beloved is found in a stationary hospital where the Grim Reaper is preparing for his gloomy task. It was inspired by the poem The Legend of the Dead Soldier by Bertolt Brecht.

Laikan Otto falls in love with a fair-haired beauty at the market, who later turns out to be Elina, daughter of the wealthy Orttenmaa family. The girl falls in love with Otto, but does not want to marry someone poorer than herself. The hurt man returns to his home village, where the sweet Anna Kervilä awaits him.

A tragedy told by an American visiting Lapland about Aila, daughter of a reindeer herder, who falls in love with Reino, a reindeer thief.

A documentary about the 90s Eurodance music scene.

A lonely woman, yearning to be caressed, allows a man to transform her into a puppet. The Puppet Master is a fantasy drama that combines actors and puppets in a poetic story about longing for love, living in an objectifying relationship and clinging to another person.

A woman is taking pictures of cages in a zoo. The viewer and the object change places.

A documentary about the forestry work in Lapland during the war reparations years. Finland's expensive green gold is being harvested in a snowy winter. Finland is the most forested country in Europe, there is an ever-increasing workforce, the work is hard, the food is delicious, sweat comes off the muscles. The horse is a tough colleague, but there are both "fighters" and "bombers" in the convoy. Kämp has a sharp head for the management and a dull head for the crew, and there is guaranteed to be a sauna in every one.

"The film is based on the diaries and photos of C. G. Mannerheim, a colonel in the Czar's army at the time. It takes the viewer to a spying expedition masked as a scientific trip to Central Asia and China."

The film will explore the few positives, and many negative aspects of the warming. Film will be viewed through the eyes of a passionate fisherman, fishing tourism entrepreneur, reindeer herder and children’s perspective who have only lived in the era of warming. Film will compare 50–100 years old film and picture footage with modern footage taken from the same places as the old footage. This will show the speed of the change in the arctic nature to viewers in a concrete way, and the footage will be commented on by old people who have lived through this period of time.

Two distinct interpretations of Chopin’s notable repertory prelude, immortalized in Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata, now receive an updated treatment, with a shifting focal gaze and staging that implicates the performer as the listener and listener as the performer.

What is it like to grow up under the rigid control of a strict and meticulous – if not downright puritantical – father? A funny, yet heartbreaking, snapshot of a childhood, overshadowed by disapproval and discipline.

A movie to honor Juice Leskinen, a Finnish songwriter.

TV-documentary follows Finland's most popular hip hop artist Cheek song-making and stadium gig planning. What kind of person is Jare Henrik Tiihonen, when the Cheek is taking a break?

ME/WE, OKAY, and GRAY consists of a short three-episode film and a 3-monitor installation. The installation is intended for showing in museums and galleries, and the episodes of the film version in cinemas among trailers and between the adverts on television. OKAY uses a single on-screen persona and various voices to consider the shifts, desires, and inhibitions of the self in a sexual relationship. Only one actor appears on screen, but her voice changes as the story progresses. The different voices are both male and female. The story is told in the first person. The new voice carries on the story and implants a new persona into the picture. The ‘individuality’ of the main character on screen dissolves and the physical self-evidentness of gender is cast into doubt through the collision of visual and aural information.

Tourists traveling on a cargo ship.

A documentary about Helsinki's nightlife, soundtracked by rock band Sielun Veljet, theater troupe Ryhmäteatteri, and radio DJ Teppo Turkki.

A short film about two brothers, a girl next door and a dog called Peto.

“Where on earth is the snow this year?” wonder Riitta and the teddy bear family in the middle of Hirsimetsä. What if there is no snow – if the teddy bears’ sledding hill and ski trail are not covered with a white blanket of snow like in previous winters? Will Santa Claus and his reindeer be able to reach the teddy bear family this Christmas? Come along on an adventure to see what happens in the forest – Ti-Ti Bear needs your help on his adventure in the snowy landscape... Let the joyful journey begin!

Documentary film about Finnish museum of modern art which doesn't exist at the time of filming.

The multicoloured dotted record is on the turntable and spins, the handheld stroboscope emits its flashes of light. The mesmerising rain of confetti begins to the beat of the psychedelic organ krautrock celebrated by the Finnish Shogun Kunitoki quartet. A manual for home use that demonstrates how the picture disc, when used correctly, can sweep us off our feet acoustically and optically.

"the blood of horses never dries" (2023) is an experimental film inspired by the poem 'The Horse Fell Off the Poem' by Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish. When love, nature, and war collide, poetry and dance emerge to honour the innocent blood shed in search and longing of freedom; blood which will never dry but will eternally stain the heart.

A stubborn young metal musician meets her idol, hoping he will become her mentor. The good news: he wants to include her in his next project. The bad news: it's not what she was expecting.

Experiemental short about dogs.

Tim's family seems like a completely normal family, but inside the family´s four walls everything is not right. Fred is causing physical harm to Petra and the home is an unsafe place. One day Tim gets the courage to seek help, but in an unexpected way.

In „Fuck Off 2“, Donner waxes sarcastic about the scourges in Finnish society by interviewing regular people. The film takes a theme of different living possibilities. Some people find happiness, others succumb to depression. Many still dream of a better life somewhere else. Donner himself undergoes cardiac surgery.

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.

Sami Hedberg, one of Finland's most popular stand-up comedians, will conquer the country's largest arena in autumn 2013, making history in the process. Sami Hedberg Alive, to be held at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on Friday, November 15, will be the largest stand-up solo show ever held in Finland. During the spectacular two-hour show, Sami will be joined on stage by an amazing live band, several surprise performers, fire, dance, and magical moments. This unprecedented show will be crowned by a high-quality dinner that you can enjoy with your friends or business guests. The evening will conclude with the Still Alive afterparty, where you can meet the star of the evening and enjoy the festive atmosphere after the show. Packages including dinner and after-party tickets are sold separately. Sami Hedberg Alive is perfect for anyone who wants to treat their loved ones, friends, or company to an unforgettable comedy experience or a crazy Christmas party.

With the Soviet Union’s dissolution dragging down the economy of neighboring Finland, the Scandinavian country was plunged in a period of protracted recession. And with no recovery in sight, a soap opera offered Finns a respite from the grim reality; the debut of The Bold and the Beautiful on television quickly amassed a vast and dedicated following, whereas the arrival of American idols in the country, on tour, elicited unprecedented frenzy.

A zombie attends to a another kino kabaret.

Filmmaker John Webster sets out on a road-trip with his imaginary great granddaughter in an attempt to understand the moral and behavioural choices that make tackling climate change so difficult. A documentary film with humoristic overtones about a fundamental question: what is our responsibility to future generations?

A man seeking seclusion in a remote cabin in the woods discovers he isn't alone.

A lonely man lives his daily life trapped in routine – the same shows, the same moments, day after day. For years, life has followed the same familiar pattern, until one day he notices a sign that disrupts the rhythm. Something has changed. The man begins to awaken and investigate the cause behind it all. Eventually, he discovers what has been keeping him stuck and realises that only he can change direction.

A cyberpunk body horror story of a man, who, in a desperate bid to survive, ends up trading his own body for an experiment far more sinister than he could have ever imagined.

A documentary about one night at Alexander Theatre in Helsinki. Staff prepares for 300 guests, serves them and closes this historically significant building for the night.

Being on the verge of adulthood Aatos carries a heavy secret, which has an effect on his dear football hobby and makes friendships harder to upkeep. Being misunderstood by his team-mates Aatos struggles with growing preassure during an extra hard day and reaches his boiling point, until his childhood friend Hannes makes an intervention. Opening up to Hannes gives Aatos unexpected comfort.

A young soldier named Olavi is seriously wounded on the front lines of the Continuation War and, while unconscious, recalls a happy summer when he and his friends landed on the island of Bornholm in a sailboat after a storm and met Birte, a girl from the archipelago. Only about 28 minutes of the film have been preserved in a 16 mm screening copy. Maunu Kurkvaara later compiled the film material into the film Ei enää eilispäivää (No More Yesterday).

A truck driver and his daughter navigate rural life in the 60s while helping a struggling family, and decades later, a once-deceased child reappears in a hospital in Helsinki.

The Finnish psychiatrist, politician, poet and musician Claes Andersson analyzes himself. At the same time, we dive into the history of Finland and Helsinki from the 1930s to modern times.