Discoveries from Finland World Cinema

The story of a rock band "Kalle Päätalo" in the 1980s.

An uptight all-girl school teacher Leena Kataja stumbles upon a handsome artist Pertti Rinne who paints her face on a nude portrait, much to her chagrin. She is intent on keeping the painting out of circulation by stealing it from an art gallery, but the aftermath turns out to be more complex than she anticipated, leading Leena to become involved in various misunderstandings featuring a gang of criminals, inept cops and false murder charges among other things.

After his wife leaves him, a man becomes obsessed getting his family back together by buying an old house.

Portrait of rural life in 1920s Northern Finland. The film follows the early life of a boy called Kalle and his family in the shores of river Iijoki.

Ida is a woman who was adopted to Finland from Africa as a child. Ida is an unemployed seamstress approaching her thirties and still lives at home with her activist mother Kati. Kati wants to fix her daughter's life and offers her a job at her work. Encouraged by her new friend Ville, Ida, however, sets out for Berlin in order to find a job and to prove to her mother that she can manage on her own. Meanwhile, Kati has been told that she is seriously ill, but she does not want to mention it to Ida in fear of standing in the way of her daughter's struggle for independence. Ida wants to have a life of her own, but what will she have left at the end of the day?

A fellow arrives to a quiet summer cottage with a list of things to do – only it turns out there’s one too many.

Emma and Joel get dumped by their partners on the same day, and when they meet each other they think they're a perfect match. Emma discovers she is pregnant and ends up taking care of Joel's mother while he goes off on tour to conduct around the world. Pregnancy, a crazy mother-in-law, trust, and loyalty test the couple to make the right decisions.

Set in 19th century country side and a small town. Leni and later her daughter Hanni living in Pimeänpirtti croft are seduced by Otto von Holten, the Patron of Kankaanpää Estate.

In a country where bella figura is a national pastime, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the maestro of media manipulation. Having risen to political primacy with the aid of his Mediaset empire, he now controls 90% of the bel paese’s television channels including the state-run RAI network. Quantity, it seems, does not equal quality. Fed on a diet of semi-naked dancing girls, inane competitions and rickety reality shows built around the most ridiculous of premises, is it any wonder that Italians are becoming a nation of fame-hungry wannabes?

A man fakes his own suicide in order to see how his close ones react.

Without money, without papers, and without language skills, Pena manages to get by in Fuengirola, whether on the beach, in restaurants, or at pig festivals.

Cosmetics saleswoman Kirsi Viilonen dreams of a career as a star artist. When Kirsi meets DJ and radio journalist Paula, she decides to give in completely to her dream of becoming a singer. Despite the scorn of the male-dominated music world, Paula recognizes the star in Kirsi and together they get her a recording contract. Kikka's career takes off when her nipple is accidentally flashed on a TV show. Kikka immediately becomes a national celebrity and one of Finland's best-selling female artists.

Becoming Me is a film about three young women, Elli, Laura and Juulia. Each of them writes a blog on her life on the Internet, all of them sharing their lives with strangers. Each of them is struggling with the real or imagined demands and pressures of today’s society.

Hanna teams up with her sister and counterculture friends to create a parody romance on Instagram between herself and young actor Ekku. Hanna starts living a crowd-pleasing love story for the public, only to find herself tangled up in the unresolved past with her “you were never my boyfriend” friend Lasse, who also happens to be the real-life co-writer and cinematographer of Fucking with Nobody. Fiction and auto-fiction crash and melt into each other, as writer-director Hannaleena Hauru plays the lead role of an ever-single film director Hanna.

Finnish small time criminal gets a mission to get an Asian man from Sweden to Finland. In Lapland the frost gets on the nerves and the mission turns into a deadly arctic chase.

The film is based on history of the Russian Military garrison in Sveaborg (Suomenlinna, near Helsinki) in Finland, which was an autonomous part of Russian Empire. In 1906 Russia had about 12 thousand troops stationed in Sveaborg fortress. The riots were provoked by the Socialist - Revolutionaries who spread influence on the minds of Sveaborg garrison. First acts of un-subordination broke on July 17, 1906, when revolutionary sailors were supported by mine-men. Minemen were arrested and disarmed by the infantry regiment. Gunners decided to release their comrades. The following fight ignited a bloody revolt, that was headed by lieutenants A. Yemelyanov and Y. Kohansky, members of the Lenin's Bolshevik party. A general strike began in Helsinki on the next day. The revolt lasted three days and was crushed by the Baltic Fleet naval bombardment. Over 40 men were executed, hundreds were sentenced to prison.

A documentary that unveils the primeval forests of Northern Finland, some of Europe's sole remaining, old-growth forests. The main characters of the film are the various inhabitants of the forest: the bears and the elk, the snakes and the owls, the ants, the frogs and the flying squirrels, the ancient soul birds such as the Siberian Jay, the Lapland Owl and many, many others.

An elite trio of expert hunters venture into the woods to track and capture an especially rare and dangerous prey for the Christmas season.

Manne, Harri, and Ville Alfa are rootless twenty-somethings in search of purpose for their banal lives. After Manne steals a priceless painting from a group of petty criminals, Manne and Harri flee from the gangsters across Finland, while Ville goes to Paris. On the road they meet Veera, an old girlfriend of Harri's, and try to avoid the gangsters in pursuit.

The S/S Vellamo heads to Alexandria with Kaarina, the daughter of the ship's owner Hallerman, on board. As Kaarina trades places with the family's housekeeper Marja, first mate Yrjö takes a liking to Marja whom he believes to be miss Hallerman. Meanwhile Kaarina, pretending to be a member of the cleaning staff, starts getting close with lower ranking officer Kalle Aaltonen.

Räkä is the best driver of the MC-Helper moped gang and it lies on his shoulders to protect Harjutie from the rival gang of MC-Hammas, while other gang members of the MC-Helpers are serving their time in prison.

Anna Kelanen is an ex-model, who just has been released from prison. She thinks back on her life, when she was a rather successful model, and on the things that went wrong.

The beloved actor Risto gets paralyzed - quadriplegiac - in a studio accident. The accident brings him massive financial compensation and a flood of sympathy. Suddenly there is money for everything that Risto's young and beautiful wife has always wanted. She gives up her boring job and becomes an artist.

The Tough Ones tells a story of two friends who have a hard time finding their place in the society. Antti and Jussi are released from jail. While they were doing time for bank robbery, the third man involved in the robbery, the one who was not convicted, has become a policeman. He tries to help his friends to settle into the small town in Pohjanmaa, but the boys start a black market liquor business instead. The road seems to lead back to the jail.

Seven stories of women. Occasionally intersecting with each other in everyday situations. Parallel episodes of hope and abandonment, addiction and infidelity, but also friendship and trust.

Luokkakokous is a story about three men that travel back to their hometown to attend their high school class reunion.

A young girl and her friends try to save their small rural school from being demolished to make way for a race track.

An open-pit mine is unearthed in an idyllic town in Northern Finland. A strange chain of dreadful events affect the life of Pepe, a kind and optimistic woodcutter. But no matter what happens, Pepe seems to be fine with it, as if he holds a secret of existence that is hard to grasp.

The story of an unspecified country ravaged by civil war, with its rebels and spies.

When Tommi doesn't get the promotion he was hoping for from his father-in-law Johan, he decides to get into the investment business to buy his dream house with his wife, Harriet. However, things are complicated by the fact that Tommi is easily fooled and the money from the old apartment, more than half a million euros, disappears in a pyramid scheme. When Tommi is in danger of losing Harriet for good, his loyal friend Juhis takes the reins. Juhis plans a rescue operation that kind of works.

Heavysaurs is a partly-animated, live-action family adventure about two kids who find five funny dinosaur creatures that love to eat and play rock music. When the creatures are taken into captivity, their rescue takes the kids on an exciting adventure full of challenges and surprises.

A Western comedy about the adventures of Tundra-Tauno in Pohjola and in the village of Utopila which ruled by a greedy mayor.

An American, with a past as a successful musician, makes a living by playing at weddings and the likes in Germany. Then he gets an offer to tour in East Europe. During his travels he gets insight and finds true love.

This action packed Finnish thriller tells the tale of two friends who get their revenge against the millionaire who double-crossed them. Patrick and Tony are hired by the wealthy gambler to steal the priceless Romanov stones, Russian jewels. They do it, but almost lose their lives when he double-crosses them. They turn around and get revenge, his money, his wife, and his daughter.

The stories of the aristocratic Lilliehjelm family, the middle-class Widing family and the poor Kajander family from the Finland's independence through the Civil War and the Roaring Twenties ending during the Second World War.

Elvira, a confident Sámi teenager, firmly believes that her lesbian single mother conceived her at a Danish fertility clinic. She often daydreams about her father, envisioning him as a charismatic movie star. However, her world is turned upside down when her real biological father unexpectedly steps into her life.

A woman takes her black terrier out to the city center of Helsinki. They visit the Market Square and then get in a car on the Esplanade. The dog narrates the fim.

Simo Häyhä is still regarded internationally as the most legendary sniper of all time. During the Winter War on the Kollaa front, Simo Häyhä, a master marksman from the Karelian Civil Guard, became a white death who let his actions speak for themselves. He was one of the brave fighters in snow suits whom the enemies feared. Vesa Vitikainen and Tomi Sunnarborg drew the work in the form of a comic book, with the script based on Petri Sarjanen's best-selling work, which has been reprinted several times.

Young Affu sets off to travel around the summer countryside, hoping to find himself a bride. He carries with him an engagement scarf given to him by his mother, which he promises to the farmer's daughter Milda, until he meets the mysterious gypsy girl Marketa.

An archaeological team unearths a body of a young woman, who was told to be a witch buried in the bog some 300 years ago. Soon a naked woman appears and drives the men of the village crazy...

Mikko Virtanen feels like a Swedish soul trapped in a Finnish body. Full of disgust for everything Finnish, he sees Sweden as heaven. Upon meeting a suicidal Swedish psychologist Mikael Anderson, he seizes an opportunity for an identity switch. Raspberry Boat Refugee is a comedy about cultural differences in the Nordic countries, their nationalism and, not least, prejudices about our neighbours. It also proves how futile it is to try to escape oneself.

Once upon a time there was a large Finnish company called Nokia that manufactured the world’s best and most innovative mobile phones. Nokia’s annual budget was larger than that of the Government of Finland and their phones spread everywhere and changed the whole culture of communication. But then something changed. Film portrays the rise and fall of Nokia and the Finnish mobile phone industry. Nokia engineers, designers and managers tell their story about the creation, success and downfall of the Finnish mobile phone.

Euthanizer tells the story of a mechanic who euthanises sick and old pets as a side job. Despite the grim work, he has a soft spot for the animals. Trouble stirs when the owner of a dog he was supposed to end realises that the canine is still alive. The only innocent party in the drama that ensues is the dog itself.

The company's regional manager has had enough of the fast pace of business and the frivolous patterns. He leaves the office sauna for a booze run at the behest of his boss. Drunk and driving his own car, even he doesn't have to. The situation becomes a thrilling chase that ends in a breathalyzer test and all-round relief as things fall into place. The booze run becomes a turning point in the life of the group's regional manager.

The film follows Sanna, who sets out to document the countless ways there are to ruin a marriage for her doctoral thesis.

Pipsa wants a better life. She is sure that new breasts will help her to achieve it. But where to get the money for the surgery?

Machine shop entrepreneur Partanen has severe work pressures and his life is messed up. The foundation of Partanen's life is work. Due to rather unfit subordinates and increasing production pressure, he decides to hire a new employee.

Bad Trip, a biker who has been freshly inducted into a gang, flees from them after stealing one of their bikes.

Valo, who recently moved to Raahe, gets bullied. After rescuing an abandoned dog, Valo finds a friend in it, whom she names Roi. Together, the friends end up investigating the mysterious disappearance of a neighbor boy.

Kaarina, an orphan girl raised by Taneli, the innkeeper, notices that her friendship with her childhood friend Antti is turning into romance. Henrik, the patron, also has his eye on Kaarina.

A story about Marja Maronen, a 30-year-old office worker who is self-centered and pursues love and wealth. After her father's death, Marja is plunged into a crisis that shakes her entire life, the consequences of which are particularly reflected in her relationships and working life.

Anssi Mänttäri’s low-budget movies with their intimate content have become classics. In this black comedy that takes place in Helsinki in summer the main character (played by Mänttäri himself) jumps from one bar and bed to the next. Especially vulgar black humour.

Sixteen-year-old Tomi trusts no one and does his best to protect his little sister Aino from the dangers of the world. But Aino is changing, fast. Because of his own fear of loneliness, Tomi tries to stop his sister, but he will eventually find out that you cannot control another person by force.

Finnish friends escape taxes to Florida.

K and Eetu are the best friends. They work together as bike couriers in the center of Helsinki, and training tightly every night to reach success of bicycle racing. However, life will change once and for all when a charming and resolute student girl Oona is coming to work in same courier company.

Jerico 2000 is a magazine programme parody made by Julmahuvi group. It's mainly made of parts from "Studio Julmahuvi" TV series. It participated in Rose d'Or film festival in Montreux.

In Finland, a small child is waiting for his time to begin. His heart is broken. A major heart surgery is expected. There is a fight against time. The boys parents are wandering in the corridors of the hospital. The heart is stopped during the surgery operation. Le Locle, a village in Switzerland acts as the heart of watch industry. Narrow streets of the village carry vital parts to watches and nowdays also into human bodies, for example pacemakers. Village is formed as a big factory line and appears as a time-twisting machine. There pieces are refined and workers hands turns the time on and off.

Through the eyes of two 12-year-old boys, the sexual revolution arrives in a conservative and religious small town in Northern Finland.

A boy abandoned by his father wants to become Finland's biggest rock star.

A fractured family retreats to a remote winter villa, hoping to reconnect. But when the children discover a mysterious puzzle box hidden in the ruins of a neighboring house, they unknowingly unleash imprisoned spirits bent on fear, possession and death. As the box begins to feed, only sacrifice will stop its hunger.