Discoveries from Finland World Cinema

The TV film depicts the loneliness that follows divorce.

Soldiers conducting combat exercises in the area attract women more than civilians, as Raakki-Kustaa and cantor Sylvester learn to their cost. Private Malakias charms the cowgirl Sandra with his smooth talk. Major Jyrki's manly appearance appeals to the charming lady of the manor, Oilia.

Dramatized documentary of the early hours of Finland's Civil War in January 1918.

Guerrilla style documentary about Finnish Neo-Nazi and occult wacko Pekka Siitoin.

A Finnish dramedy about an 11-year-old boy dealing with the loss of his parents.

A fictional love story between famous composer Gabriel Linsén and opera singer Maria Sawina in 19th century Finland.

Lieutenant Takala meets his fellow partisans of 20th division many year after the war. With flashbacks we see the events of summer 1944.

Two Kaamos’ – Two Polar Nights depicts collecting beautifully as a passion. From Northern Finland, Maarit has spent years collecting Elsa Montell’s ‘raanu’ tapestries. Even though for Maarit, the tapestries are full of emotion and meanings, she keeps her collection locked away in a closet. They can only momentarily be admired by others and interpreted by experts. The film asks necessary questions about yearning for beauty and meaning, the joy of owning, and our current relationship to things.

A commissioned film about the production and distribution of gasoline

A documentary covering the killing of four UNTSO soldiers in the 2006 Lebanon war by an Israeli air strike.

As a service provider, Heikki's mission is to deliver relationship experiences to his clients, with no strings attached. Because of the dysfunctional nature of his own life, he wants to make the experiences as realistic as he can - in other words, as unpleasant as possible.

The adult sisters, Suski and Mikko, and Mikko’s 11-year-old child, Miro, come to visit their mother Anne for an annual visit on her birthday. Little by little, it becomes clear why the children only visit their mother once a year. Anne gets the whole group confused by talking about her favorite topics – death and accidents.

Young married couple, Martti and Ulla, are spending a carefree weekend at their Rauhanlehto villa. Their peace is disrupted when the in-laws and Ulla's sister Alli, come to visit.

About the harmful effects of alcohol on the human body.

How does one leave positive marks on their body? In the short documentary, three young adults open up about their relationships with their bodies through tattoos. They think tattoos showcase something otherwise invisible about themselves to the world.

Teenage girls take their shirts off at a party together but they attract an audience.

Aino tells Salla a ghost story. Salla wants to know, if the story is true.

Two young lives intertwine by the melody of a piano as the world goes mad around them during World War 2.

In the film, the summer vacation is spent hiking, swimming, eating at a restaurant, doing haymaking and tending to the vegetable garden.

Sami Hedberg is kicking off his much-awaited Kokovartalomies 5 tour, celebrating the 10th anniversary of these 'full body man' shows.

Ville-Kalle Mölsä, a devoted rural environmentalist, accidentally blows up his family’s toxic storage and must flee to the city, where he stays with his eccentric cousin “Pikkusedä” and falls for Liisa despite her godfather’s plans.

After a young girl is found murdered in Kumpula, Helsinki, the police arrest Ossi Virtanen as a suspect. He had been drinking for days and got into a fight with a local youth gang. The police think that Ossi had gone after the gang for revenge and then killed the girl by mistake. Though Ossi maintains his innocence, and the evidence against him is insufficient, deputy chief Ranta has decieded he is guilty.

A commissioned film about foam rubber production

The documentary takes the viewer on a serene afternoon stroll through the Japanese mental landscape and culture, with death and ageing as its perspectives.

A former couple talk with each other for the first time after their separation and one short telephone call embodies their years together.

After the Continuation War and the Lapland War, Eino Mäkinen photographed the devastated Lapland rising from the ashes in 1945-1947. Lapin sisu is a harrowing depiction of a family arriving at the ruins of their home. But a new home is quickly built by a volunteer team. “Remember, Kansanapu is calling you too!”

Documentary exploring the seabed of the Baltic Sea and telling the stories of its most glorious shipwrecks

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.

Experimental short based on video games aesthetics.

A woman named Sini travels to Brazil to meet her sister Sissi, who previously broke off Sin's marriage. Sini meets Sissi's husband, Jorge, who tells her that she has disappeared. Sini sets out to find Sissi together with Jorge's servant Tiago.

Animation film.

Art documentary film.

A 1982 TV movie by Marjaana Mykkanen.

Biographical comedy of a lazy dreamer who according to a village history/legend invented flying in Finland.

Experimental Finnish movie from 1961, about one night in the city. In 1960, the director Eino Ruutsalo spoke of the movie with these words: "The camera moves around the night - loose images are created - they create memories, consortia in us, or do not create. Man as such is interesting. Woman for a man. Man for a woman. There is no final destiny - there are only events. Different people touch each other - nothing is too solid and not ready. Everything hovers and gets new shapes".

In their quest for connection and acceptance among their peers, two Finnish teens suddenly find themselves entangled in the world of addiction and violence. As the light-hearted days of youth fade, they are faced with the harsh realities of adulthood.

A experimental short using public domain footage made in Kino Obscure 2020.

The film is about a show dancer, Kristal, 40+ years, blond hair woman, who with a Lada car goes around small pubs and entertains people. First she seems a bit ridiculous, self-sufficient and naive, a potential victim, an circus animal, but she comes out as something else. Kristal is a weird saint, who takes to bear all the hate, despair, lust and confusion around her and through that gives people a momentary relief.

A young woman, Veera, revolves around musician Janne. Janne is not interested, but what happens when Janne can't escape the situation.

Emmi goes to bed after a house party and is about to sleep when her old classmate Jani entering her room. Emmi lets him sleep on the floor, but Jani doesn’t wanna sleep.

From the big band Ramblers to the chorus girls – everyone is giving their best. Matti Rajula on sax, Asser Fagerström on piano and Eric Tidlund on vibraphone. Singer Olavi Virta steps on stage and performs "mi onni tuo...". Margaretha von Bahr gives a fiery performance.

A documentary about entrepreneurship, featuring images of pioneers in various fields who have achieved their goals and succeeded through their entrepreneurship.

A story in the form of a fairy tale, that tells of the time the Princess calls upon her hero to slay the modern day dragon. The film is unusual in the way it portrays ecological issues in a highly artistic way.

A melodrama based on Aino Räsänen's novel of the same name, continuing the story of the Junkker family.

A documentary or rather a bulletin style movie about Finnish Air Forces in the 1930s.

A small Finnish town bank manager gets caught in the midst of local politics, with dire effects on his family and himself.

This is the story of Zibaa Karimi, a 30-year old Afghan filmmaker and Government employee, facing the most dangerous 40 hours of her life. Zibaa is a woman on the run. The Taliban have taken over her country and Zibaa must take the most difficult choice: staying and facing potential death or leaving. But fleeing means separating herself forever from her fiancé Samir.

Humorous fragment of starting over, struggles with life and neighbours. A story of the time when even washing the undies seems difficult.

Spend a winter holiday in Pelkosenniemi. Ski in the fell landscapes.

War reparations industry: ore enrichment at the Outokumpu factories, locomotive manufacturing.

Over the years, President Kekkonen's personality has also inspired numerous fiction films. Jari Alakoskela's short film represents the top of Kekkonen fiction. It is early winter 1956 and the newly elected President of the Republic of Finland, Urho Kekkonen, is on a business trip. Kekkonen's journey is interrupted when he wants to demonstrate both his political and physical strength. The film was awarded the Napinpainajat prize at Tampere Film Festival in 1999.

Return to Taiga.

Teenager Miika, who has closed himself in guilt and self-loathing after his parents' divorce, falls in love with domestically abused Jenna. He feels the desire and need to protect her from a situation that is even more chaotic than his own

A young woman wakes up to a new morning.

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.

Sonja is tired of her body being a problem for others.