Discoveries from Finland World Cinema

A dinner is laid on the table. Arriving guests are creatures that are typically found on the plate.

Contrapeso is about a man struggling to uphold the meaningless construction of his life and whom through a mystical event, breaks the barrier he’s built for himself and recognises his true nature.

Between the Fist and the Stove is a hilarious, fictional film, a melodrama and a tragicomedy based on clips from old Finnish films from the 1940s and 1950s. It is a synthesis of Finland’s Bold and the Beautiful – of a time when the swing of the haystack band made the public wild. Passion, jealousy, lust and forgiveness meet in the surges of the rapids and at the gates of heaven.

Two upstart families compete while trying to overcome the generation cap with their children.

The festive spirit of an office party is ruined, when a woman accidentally reveals that their colleague had harassed her at the previous office party.

The program Aikamme uskomuksia - ei ainoastaan leivästä (1973) looked into spirit beings, horoscopes, predictions and everything else from the rest of the world of the future appeal of the paranormal. Natural explanation for all of the world and the everyday reality is not enough. Astrologer Lyyli Mikkonen says the preparation of a horoscope, lecturer Liisa Tuovinen and Pastor Juho Tenhiälä show the relationship between the Christian faith and the miracle of UFOs. Chairman of the Helsinki UFO Society Timo Pyhälä familiar with the detection of light phenomena. (http://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2014/06/21/1612-teeman-elava-arkisto-hamaran-rajamailla)

In Star Wreck IV: The Kilpailu ("kilpailu" is Finnish for "competition"), several new characters were introduced, now drawn by Rudi Airisto. He would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the silly-looking Ferret graphics - the palette simply ran out of colours. The Kickstart is sent to take part in a competition organised by a powerful alien race, the Zarquons. Further complicating Pirk's already impossible mission, Mr Spook, unable to bear Pirk's incompetence, resigns and returns to his home planet of Vulgarus. His replacement is Mr Info. Being a robot, Info is immune to Pirk's insults, but is at least as irritating as good old Spook.

Katri is hired as a maid in Ruuhiniemi. Over the years, she works hard and even dares to dream of love and being the owner of the farm, but the scheming in the division of the inheritance complicate the future.

Bakery entrepreneur August Kassinen is worried about his musician son, who is going on a tour with his singer girlfriend. Kassinen's business affairs do not go smoothly, and through misunderstandings related to black market transactions, he gets into trouble with the police.

YouTube star Arne Alligator takes to the big screen with his most popular animated music videos, inviting kids and adults to sing along to the songs and ensure that the roofs lift in the halls. We also get to accompany Arne on adventures in real life.

A crackpot inventor tests his newest invention, a pill that removes all sexual inhibitions, on unsuspecting guests and staff members at a health spa.

Agent 000 gets involved in high-octane action in this Finnish James Bond parody.

Traffic education to prevent accidents in a documentary film introducing Traffic Safety Week.

The preservation of the Karelian culture. About how the evacuated Finnish Karels have acclimatized themselves to the indigenous people and how the Karelian culture has been preserved during the ages of change. Reportage and interviews with ordinary people and experts made during the summer of 1968. Faces of the Finnish Karelian people. Images of faces that reproduce the culture and the history of the territory.

Construction of competition venues for the Summer Olympics.

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.

The film is the first commission for the budding production company Filminor Oy, commissioned by the City of Tampere. Emphasising closeness to nature, the film showcases Tampere as an attractive summer city. Antti Peippo’s cinematography shifted a traditional city film towards a new wave visual narrative.

The Night Thief is a warmhearted drama set in the suburbs of Helsinki, Finland. It tells the story of a Somali man, Farah, whose car starts to disappear mysteriously at night. Although the car always shows up in the morning, Farah starts to run late from work, and fears that he could lose his job. Farah’s wife is moving to Finland from Somalia and if Farah were to get fired, his wife’s residency permit would be in danger. Due to the circumstances, Farah decides to do whatever it takes to catch the thief. In the end, things take an unexpected turn when Farah finally faces the person who has been stealing his car.

Short film by Hanna Bergholm.

The film follows researchers working at a Canadian research station as they become acquainted with Inuit culture.

Anna has taken care of her elderly parents and their farm. After her parents pass away, she takes control of her own life.

Juha Tiisjärvi, a 79-year-old coppersmith from Nurmo, casts and finishes small bells in her workshop.

Surreal journey into the complex relationship between indigenous peoples and the unstoppable force of technological progress. The film depicts various stages of technological development and their impact on indigenous populations.

Documentary film.

When Rauli Badding Somerjoki wrote the song “Lights” in 1975, he sent it to Elvis, the king of rock’n’roll. Badding waited for an answer from the King, whom he hoped would perform his wistful tune. Strange things started happening in Somero when potatoes started popping up in curious shapes.

Áfruvvá is a Sami sea creature, the ghost of a drowned person. Longing for warmth, she emerges from the sea to a world devoid of humans and experiences humanity through an abandoned museum.

Skateboardvideo from Finland.

Five teens have a movie night. A party turns into a nightmare when a mysterious murderer attacks. Teens have to face their adulthood.

An experimental short film combining modern dance and depiction of sculpting.

'Body Language Zone' consist of four dance film episodes. The humorous body language consultant gives body language guidance in different variations in the office environment. Each episode has a different approach to express body language.

Seppo, a forestry machine driver, receives an email from a mysterious woman called Miss Zahra, telling him about her money problems. Although his close friends claim the letter is a hoax, Seppo decides to follow his love abroad and save his heart for the chosen one.

Vihtori Frankenström dies after overdosing on cocaine. His pals Teemu and Aleksi get scared and take Frankenström's body to their pal Aapo Lovecraf, who apparently knows how to resurrect the dead. Frankenström resurrects from the dead, but he seems to have become a homicidal maniac. Frankenström starts a bloody rampage through the neighborhood.

The Angry Hamster is a short story about Tomi, a socially excluded man who lives with his mother. The young man's dauntingly routine everyday life is interrupted when his mother takes Tomi to town to celebrate his 23rd birthday. Tomi, who makes laconically analytical observations in his mind, is forced by a new situation to face his own feelings and prejudices about the world. Is life just a total misery, or is it not, after all? Perhaps the twisted world straightens out if you look at it from an even more twisted angle.

Full of Love is a combination of autobiography and Finnish burlesque. It’s a story of personal growth, but also a study of inhibitions and gender—of everything that has accumulated over the years and open for examination through burlesque. When Petra Innanen a.k.a. Bettie Blackheart guides Terho, the audience can rest assured that glimpses of both Finnish and foreign stars, from Erochica Bamboo to Satan’s Angel, can be caught during the journey.

Old woman is lonely. One day, a radio program tells that anyone can become a carer person for a ward. Old woman decides to have her very own ward.

A fishing party in the Gulf of Finland, fishing for pike with a casting lure in the outer archipelago.

To Make a Film Just to Meet Vera (2021) is an experimental documentary about an encounter between two women, media artist Pinja Valja and model Vera Ruuska. As a child, Pinja dreamt of becoming a princess when she grows up. The main duty of the princess was to be beautiful, wear gorgeous clothes and be admired – just like a model. Pinja begins to make a documentary about Vera in order to explore her own childhood dream.

Theater students rehearse their own play, "Freedom," and become entangled in the depths of the play's themes in their personal lives.

Kauhava master craftsman Kustaa Lammi makes a traditional Finnish puukko knife.

A movie about two women who are mothers to the same child, and a child who belongs to two different worlds.

Erkki and Ritva have lived in a detached house for 30 years. In the summer, they moved into a smaller apartment for their retirement. We see how the couple communicates and marks on their territory, but also loves deeply.

Short film by Hanna Bergholm.

Second adaptation of Teuvo Pakkala's popular play about Finnish lumberjacks.

Part two of the Emilia animation series. The twins get a ship to play with in the bathtub. But it's no ordinary ship, because you can sail along a large lake with strange foam islands and dirty water.

As Benjamin's famous past intervenes with his future self, he has to make fundamental changes to achieve his ideal.

Pyongyang, the capital of mysterious North Korea is built to impress. There is even no need for traffic lights in the workers' paradise. The traffic police at the main intersections rank among the most beautiful women in the world. Doll-like beauties swivel mechanically while directing traffic. They stand statuesque in electric blue uniform, short hair-cut, strong make-up and black-visored cap.

The night of the parliamentary elections a far-right politician, Reetta Tuggström, spends an intimate night with the journalist Hassan Abdi. The next morning Reettas campaign video causes a scandal, which forces Reetta to give an eventful interview to Hassan.

Magical Marla is a story about a girl whose sense of reality becomes blurred as magic creeps into her life. Is it all just imagination, or are the nosebleeds a sign of awakening powers?

A triangular drama set in the factory region and wilderness of Lapland.

Director Saija Mäki-Nevala was born in Kihniö but moved away as soon as it became possible. The village road with few buildings, and faces that were all to familiar to her, wasn’t enough. The real life and the possibilities of achieving dreams seemed to be somewhere else. After 18 years she goes back to look at Kihniö. She observes the ex-home village with feelings between love and foreignness. Is Kihniö more than its inhabitants? Is Kihniö just a name for the roots which we can’t either choose or forget? This observational documentary is a portrait of silent village, but the main role still belongs to its people. They are proud of living in a safe place where they all know each other. The most important goals in life are to have a permanent job and to own a house. When they achieve those things and can have their family around, everything is just fine. You don’t need anything else.

Documentary on 'Miss Finland' Sirkka Salonen. Girl from the Grassy Meadows - How Sirkka Became Miss Europe.

Three immigrant workers in a basement navigate the heavy costs of global labor.