F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0

Feature Length Documentaries

All Boys 4 Arabian Shores 6 Auf Wiedersehen Finnland 8 Freetime Machos 10 Home Dreams 12 In the Shadow of a Doubt 14 In the Steam of Life 16 Ito – A Diary of an Urban Priest 18 Kinnvika – The Last Border 20 Magnetic Man, The 22 Matti Nykänen – By His Own Words 24 Portrait of a Man 26 Rules of Single Life 28 Saving Souls 30 Selling the Silence 32 Silent Longing 34 Vesku from Finland 36 Volga, Volga 38

Documentaries (length 36–60 minutes)

1984 Helsinki Underground 40 Captive of Gaze 42 Felicity or The Apocalypse Begins

in Pieksämäki 44 Fight of Fate 46 Gaucho 48 Göring’s Baton 50 Home-Made Heroes 52 Iceberg Shadow 54 Magical Power 56 Man from the Congo River, A 58 Sisterhood Across the Gulf of Finland 60

Documentaries

(length 35 minutes or less)

3 Walls 62 And the Oscar Goes to Mexico 64 Conserved (working title) 66 Do You Still Remember Hilma Limperi 68 Ismo K. – Regards to Forgone Dadaists 70 Kinbaku 72 Monster Birthday 74 Reborn 76 Rudolf Koivu 78 Trafﬁc Jam 80 Under Our Sky 82

Contacts 84

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All Boys

[

P o i k i e n b i s n e s

]

2009 | HDCAM | 16:9 | Stereo | 72’

Director, script: Markku Heikkinen

Cinematography: Hannu Vitikainen

Editing: Joona Louhivuori

Sound design: Olli Huhtanen

Music: Tobias Wilner

Producer: Cilla Werning

Production company: Kinotar Oy

Co-producer: Bullitt Film (DK)

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, DFI, NFTF

Financing TV companies:

YLE, DR (DK)

International sales: First Hand Films

All Boys looks at the social and individual impact of the boy porn industry. It shows men in Eu-rope’s boy porn business struggling with commerciality and the passing beauty of youth, poverty and the loneliness of gay consumers. Gay porn is the fastest growing segment of the entertain-ment business. The ﬁlm consists of compleentertain-menting episodes that expose the production chain of East European boy porn. Where do the porn boys come from originally, and how do they work? It is the poor, uneducated, unemployed young men without strong family ties or social networks who drift into the porn industry and its ‘foster care’. For some it offers survival and peers in the porn community, at least for a while – but in many cases the quick, easy money comes at a high cost in the long run. For consumers porn is mainly entertainment, but it may often also serve to alleviate the same wounds, the same loneliness, as in the production side of the business. It is an exploitation of the lonely on all sides.

Markku Heikkinen

Raised in Kainuu and brought to Helsinki by the railway, Markku Heikkinen is a documentary ﬁlm maker and radio reporter. He has completed an M.A. at the Department of Film at the Uni-versity of Art and Design Helsinki. He has made documentary ﬁlms and programmes since 1993 and worked as a freelance radio reporter for the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE’s different channels since 1986.

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Pekka Uotila

Pekka Uotila (b. 1958) has graduated from the Department of Film at the University of Art and Design Helsinki in 1992. He is a film industry professional specialising in cinematography, and works as a cinematographer and film director. Uotila has worked as the chief cinematographer in over twenty documen-tary films, four fiction feature films that have been distributed to theatres and several TV dramas of different types. He has also directed documentary films.

HT Partanen

HT Partanen (b. 1949) has directed 16 documentary ﬁlms and produced approximately 40.

Arabian Shores

[

A r a b i a n r a n t a

]

2009 | HDV | 16:9 | 90’

Director, script:

Pekka Uotila, Heikki Partanen

Cinematography: Pekka Uotila

Editing: Kimmo Kohtamäki

Sound design: Heikki Partanen

Music: Mauri Sumén

Producer: Heikki Partanen

Production company:

Alppiharjun Elokuva Oy

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation

Financing TV company: YLE TV1

Arabian Shores is a film about the birth of a community in a new residential area and about peo-ple in pursuit of their dreams. Shooting for the film began in 2000 and continued until the end of 2008. This nine-year period will give birth to a film in which Arabian Shores emerges from an empty wasteland into a community with an identity of its own – a spirit of “us Arabians”. The focus of the film will be on how the residents and the laws governing the birth of an urban com-munity together lay a foundation for the future – and for man’s quest for the Good Life.

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 _{2010 | HDCAM | 16:9 |}

5.1 Stereo | 78’

Auf Wiedersehen Finnland

Director, script: Virpi Suutari

Cinematography: Heikki Färm

Editing: Jukka Nykänen

Music: Pekka Kuusisto, Johanna Juhola

Producer: Cilla Werning

Production company: For Real Productions Oy

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, MEDIA Programme

Financing TV companies: YLE Co-productions, ARTE

Virpi Suutari

Suutari (b. 1967) has written and directed a number of internation-ally awarded documentary ﬁlms with her colleague Susanna Helke; their ﬁlms include, among others, Sin – Documentary about Everyday Crimes (Synti, 1995), The White Sky (Valkoinen taivas, 1998),

The Idle Ones (Joutilaat, 2001) and Along the Road Little Child

(Pitkin tietä pieni lapsi, 2005).

Suutari became a member of the European Film Academy in 2001.

Auf Wiedersehen Finnland is an intimate documentary about young Finnish women who left Fin-land after the LapFin-land War broke out in September 1944 and moved to Germany with the re-treating German soldiers. Most of the women returned to Finland during 1948, and they were interrogated as potential spies. Once at home, the women faced mockery and ridicule or total si-lence surrounding their stay in Germany. Children fathered by German soldiers, especially, were treated cruelly for decades.

The women, now in their 80s, and their children are the main characters in this documentary. The film portrays the sometimes agonizing struggle of the elderly women; the women are trying to explain their past to themselves and to their loved ones. In the film, alongside with the women’s stories, we’ll see shots of collapsed Germany, filmed in colour by American soldiers in 1945.

Filled with black humour, this ﬁlm is a poetic portrayal of young people who went on an adven-ture towards the unknown. It’s a story of feeling like an orphan and the need to be loved.

We’ll see mothers and their children while being given the opportunity to ask ourselves whether a reconciliation is possible. Ph ot o: V ir pi S uu ta ri

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 _{2009 | 35mm, Digibeta | 16:9 |}

Stereo | 86’ / 52’

Freetime Machos

Director, script:

Mika Ronkainen

Cinematography:

Vesa Taipaleenmäki

Editor: Anders Villadsen

Sound design: Esa Nissi

Music: Samuli Putro, Ahti Marja-aho

Producers: Mika Ronkainen, Kimmo Paananen

Production company:

Klafﬁ Productions

Co-producer: Prounen Film / Michael Trabitzsch

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, NFTF, AVEK, POEM

YLE Co-Productions, TV2 Norway, NDR, ARTE

www.freetimemachos.com

A documentary about the most northern and third worst rugby club in the world. A touching comedy about men lost somewhere between a hobby, home, and work. A true and manly love story.

Mika Ronkainen

Mika Ronkainen’s (born 1970) work includes the prize-winning and acclaimed documentaries

Screaming Men (Huutajat, Best Nordic Documentary 2003, selected for Sundance 2004), Our Summer

(Meän kesä, 2004), and Car Bonus (Autobonus, 2001). Works also as a producer, editor and composer. Co-founder of Air Guitar World Championships. Apart from gardening,

Ronkainen doesn’t have any physical hobbies. Phot

o: P ek ka F al i

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 _{2010 | Digibeta, HDCAM | 16:9 |}

Stereo | ~70’

Home Dreams

[

S u o m e a r a k e n t a m a s s a

]

Directors, script:

Pasi Riiali, Mikko Peltonen

Cinematography: Pasi Riiali, Jukka Koskinen, Kimmo Yläkäs, Mikko Peltonen, Raimo Uunila

Editing: Jari Heikkinen, Pasi Riiali, Mikko Peltonen

Sound design: Janne Jankeri

Music: Kaapo Huttunen

Producer: Pasi Riiali

Production company:

Mediatehdas Dakar Oy

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK

Throughout time, Finns have built their own houses. At the moment, thousands of families are building their homes. Home Dreams portrays the house-building process in today’s Finland. The ﬁlm follows people from the moment they reserve a piece of land until the day they move into their new house.

The Särkiniemi family is building their house by themselves. The family consists of a father, a mother and two small children. For the last two years, the family has spent all their free time on their dream of a new home. How does the family hold up under the mental pressure caused by ﬁnances and the environment they live in?

Pentti Kyllönen is a businessman. He builds homes for others. His business is going well until the recession hits Finland in the middle of a building process.

Home Dreams is a ﬁlm that should be seen by everyone who’s ever wanted to build a house.

Pasi Riiali & Mikko Peltonen

Pasi Riiali graduated from the Tornio College of Art and Media. He is a producer-director at Mediate-hdas Dakar. Mikko Peltonen graduated from the University of Jyväskylä. He works as a director-pro-ducer at Filmstone.

The directors have been working together for a decade. Their ﬁrst ﬁlm, a documentary titled

The Campaign (Vaalitaisto, 2005), was liked by both audiences and ﬁlm festival juries.

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Pekka Lehto

Pekka Lehto has directed the documentary ﬁlms Brothers of the Forest

(V.O.I.T.K.A. – metsän veljet, 2004), The Real McCoy (1998), Boy Hero 001 (1997), The Temple (Temppeli, 1991), Alone (Yksinteoin, 1991), Nine Ways to Approach Helsinki (Yhdeksän tapaa lähestyä Helsinkiä, 1982),

Swastika (Vaaran merkki, 1978) and Their Age (Ikäluokka, 1976). His ﬁlms have won many prizes, and they have been broadcast international-ly and released theatricalinternational-ly. He has also directed the feature ﬁlms Game Over (2005), Tango Cabaret (Tango Kabaree, 2001), The Well (Kaivo, 1992), Da Capo (1985), 250 Grammes (250 grammaa, 1983), Flame Top

(Tulipää, 1980) and The First Co-operative ’39 (Kainuu 39, 1979).

In the Shadow of a Doubt

[

E p ä i l y k s e n v a r j o s s a – e l o k u v a A l p o R u s i s t a

]

2010 | DVD, Digibeta, Digital Cinema print | 16:9 | Dolby Stereo | 90’

Director: Pekka Lehto

Script: Beatrix A. Wood, Pekka Lehto

Cinematography:

Kasimir Lehto, Teppo Högman

Editing: Jussi Rautaniemi

Sound design: Joakim Nyström

Music: Lasse Enersen

Producer: Pauli Pentti

Production company:

First Floor Productions

Production support:

In the Shadow of a Doubt is a documentary film about what happens when people try to find a crime for the accused instead of looking for the accused for a crime. The main character in the film is Alpo Rusi, a Finnish diplomat and former presidential adviser. The film is based on Rusi’s personal experiences and writings as well as on investigative material gathered by his supporters.

In the Shadow of a Doubt sheds light on the preliminary investigation carried out by the Finnish Security Police, the different phases of the public witch hunt that followed and interpretations of what happened. The ﬁlm takes a close look at the memory and the recent history of our country, at guilt and shame and at a constitutional state and its political elite.

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Joonas Berghäll & Mika Hotakainen

Berghäll (b. 1977) graduated from the Tampere School of Art and Media in 2005. In 2004 he founded a ﬁlm production company, Oktober Ltd, together with Mika Hotakainen and Katja Gauriloff. He is a producer and the managing director of the company. Besides working as a director, he has produced The Smoking Room (Tupakkahuone, 2006), A Shout Into the Wind (Huuto tuuleen, 2007) and Canned Dreams (in prod., 2010).

Hotakainen (b. 1977) graduated as a director in 2004 from the Helsinki Polytechnic University, Department of Art and Media. Mika has worked in the television and film industry since 1998. In 2004, he co-directed a long documentary film, titled Freedom to Serve (Valtio vapauden vei), with Joonas Berghäll. In 2007, he directed a short fiction titled Visitor (Ensimmäinen Eskelinen).

In the Steam of Life

[

E l ä m ä n l ä m m ö s s ä

]

2010 | 35mm, Digibeta | 16:9 (1:1,85) | Dolby Digital | 82’ / 52’

Directors, script:

Joonas Berghäll, Mika Hotakainen

Cinematography:

Heikki Färm, Jani Kumpulainen

Editing: Timo Peltola

Sound design: Christian Christensen

Music: Jonas Bohlin

Producer: Joonas Berghäll

Production company: Oktober Oy

Co-producer: Röde Orm Film

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, SFI, NFTF, MEDIA Programme

YLE, SVT, ETV

International sales:

Films Transit International

A ﬁlm where naked men sit in a sauna and talk straight from the heart. In the heat given by rusty stoves, Finnish men cleanse themselves both physically and mentally.

The film takes us on a journey across the country and stops on a number of sauna benches to listen to touching stories of life, death, birth, friendship, life. The unpretentious camerawork shows the men as images that are nearly magical. The presence of the men and the depth of their emotions are close to such intensity that it’s almost impossible to watch the film. The film offers us an unexceptionally intimate look into the bare souls of the men and forms a poetic portrait of the Finnish man.

Ph ot o: Ja ni K um pu la in en

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 _{2008 | 35mm, HD, Digibeta |}

16:9 | Dolby Digital | 111’

Ito – A Diary of an Urban Priest

[

S e i t t i – k i l v o i t t e l i j a n p ä i v ä k i r j a

]

Director, editing: Pirjo Honkasalo

Script: Pirjo Honkasalo, Miika Pölkki

Cinematography: Pirjo Honkasalo F.S.C., Marita Hällforss F.S.C.

Sound design: Joonas Jyrälä, Miia Nevalainen, Panu Riikonen, Kozo Hosomi

Producer: Kristiina Pervilä

Production companies:

Millennium Film, Baabeli

NHK Japan, YLE TV2

Production support:

Set in Tokyo, Ito – A Diary of an Urban Priest tells the story of Yoshinobu Fujioka, a young Buddhist priest, and his fervent search for the meaning of life amid oppressive dreams, back alleys of the city and the darkness of the human mind. Yoshinobu hears confession in a women’s prison, bars and an old geisha house while the many layers of nocturnal Tokyo and unpredictable memories are twisted into a web that drives people face-to-face with one another. Dreams, reality and ﬁction are blended in this study of the complexity of the human mind, which takes us on an exploration of memory while facing oneself and encountering others.

Pirjo Honkasalo

Pirjo Honkasalo (born in 1947) is an established director, screenwriter, producer and photographer who has won count-less awards for her work. She directed several ﬁlms in the 1970s and 80s with Pekka Lehto (including Da Capo, 1985). In the 1990s, she made the so-called Trilogy of the Sacred and the Evil, consisting of the ﬁlms Mysterion (1991), Tanjuska and the 7 Devils (Tanjuska ja 7 perkelettä, 1993) and Atman (1996). In 2004 she made the multiple award-winning The 3 Rooms of Melancholia (Melancholian 3 huonetta).

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 _{2010 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo |}

90’ / 55’

Kinnvika – The Last Border

[

K i n n v i k a – V i i m e i n e n r a j a

]

Director, editing: Petteri Saario

Script: Timo Humaloja, Petteri Saario

Cinematography: Petteri Saario, Anton Leppälä, Janne Henriksson

Producer: Timo Humaloja

Production company:

Kinovid Productions

Production support:

Financing TV company:

YLE TV2 Documentaries

In a place where the last ice age still prevails, a group of geologists is going to spend a few weeks in the High Arctic in Spitzberg. In the sediment layers they are looking for new evidence on the mechanisms of climate changes, including several enormous ice ages on the European continent, during the last 100 000 years.

This expedition is their greatest dream. No one can predict what will happen hundreds of miles away from the nearest habitation. Here we can understand the basic theme of the ﬁlm, the eternal passion that scientists feel when they look for new pieces of knowledge while risking their health and sometimes their life. They have to worry about the roaming polar bears; that’s why they have to carry riﬂes all the time and know how to shoot – to kill.

In these circumstances a cool scientist has to face his own concept of life. In the High Arctic you can have a real look into the motives that have carried you this far. These people are true descendants of the old explorers.

Petteri Saario

Petteri Saario (born 1961) is a documentary maker, who specializes in depicting the endangered relation-ship between man and nature. Besides directing, producing and shooting, he is also familiar with underwater and wildlife ﬁlming. Many of his ﬁlms have been awarded both in Finland and

abroad. Phot o: P et te ri S aa ri o Ph ot o: M aa ri t G ab ri el ss on

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 _{2009 | 2K, Digibeta | 16:9 |}

Stereo | 79’

The Magnetic Man

[

M a g n e e t t i m i e s

]

Director, script: Arto Halonen

Cinematography: Hannu Vitikainen

Sound design: Heikki Innanen

Music: Pekka Streng

Producer: Arto Halonen

Production company:

Art Films production AFP Oy

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, ESEK/Luses

The Magnetic Man is a ﬁlm about people who have found strength in their own individuality and acquired powerful means for personal development, through songs of a virtually unknown Finn-ish musician Pekka Streng.

One of these people is the film’s director, Arto Halonen, for whom the production process is a journey of inner discovery. The people featured in the film listen to Streng’s music in a trance-like state in order to feel an association with the underlying significance of the pieces. They strive to create a connection between the music and their own process of personal development.

At the same time, those who were close to Streng tell the fascinating story of a media-shy, mystical musician who died of cancer as a young man. The Streng family decides to bring the songwriter’s memory back to life with the help of new studio technology, by publishing new songs derived from unreleased demo tapes.

The ﬁlm is about the huge inﬂuence a virtually unknown individual can have on his environment and about how we leave traces that can live on and affect others powerfully after we are gone.

Arto Halonen

Halonen has directed numerous award-winning ﬁlms, e.g. the documen-taries Shadow of the Holy Book (Pyhän kirjan varjo, 2007), Pavlov’s Dogs

(Pavlovin koirat, 2005), The Stars’ Caravan (Taivasta vasten, 2000) and

Karmapa – Two Ways of Divinity (Karmapa – jumaluuden kaksi tietä, 1998). In 2005 he got the Finland Prize, the highest annual prize in the arts given by the Ministry of Culture. In 1998 he received the European Humanitarian Award, and in 2008 the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival honoured him as one of the most important documentary ﬁlmmakers of his generation. He is the founder of DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival.

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1

0 _{2010 | Digital Cinema print | 16:9 |}

Dolby Digital | 90’

Matti Nykänen – By His Own Words

[

M a t t i N y k ä n e n – o m i n s a n o i n

]

Director, script: Kim Finn

Cinematography: Jussi Arhinmäki

Editing: Speedy Durga

Sound design: Jari Alakoskela

Music: Simon Bartholomew, Luis Ramirez Moya, Shock tilt

Producer: Aarni Kuorikoski

Production company: Blue Media Oy

Production support:

Financing TV company: YLE

International sales:

Deckert Distribution

The story of Matti Nykänen, which has taken mythological dimensions, is known by winter sports fans throughout the world. However, so far one view is still missing. Matti’s own.

According to the tabloid press, Matti is just a foolish Finnish drunk messing around and cracking stupidities, getting himself into trouble. It’s easy to moralize and laugh at him – even maliciously. A more careful observation reveals that Matti is just a human, a master of situation comedy, mostly thinking of himself as a misunderstood eternal kid with ADHD whose innocence and directness represents something which we can all identify with.

The documentary focuses on Matti’s own version of his life until now. Here Matti unveils the stories that haven’t been told yet. He reveals his own version of the legends built by the press by showing us the real person behind the media scandals. The aim is to reach an atmosphere which gives a minimal impression of personal manipulation – the ﬁlm will be an intimate, warm, lyrical and comical dive into the Finnish mental landscape. The story will be told by Matti himself; no other storytellers are needed.

Matti Nykänen – By His Own Words is a great story told by a human being.

Kim Finn

Kim Finn was the writer/director/editor of Riot On! (2004), which became the ﬁrst Finnish documentary ever to be aired prime time on BBC in the UK. Finn has written/directed/edited several documentaries for YLE; his works include I Draw Therefore I Am, Rhyme and Nonsense, Brave Boys,

Manhattan Rendez-Vous and Marketing Psychosis of the 3rd Degree. He has also edited documentaries for Channel 5 and Channel Four in the UK and also directed Ten Questions on Why Democracy for BBC.

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Visa Koiso-Kanttila

M.A. Visa Koiso-Kanttila was born in Finland in 1970. He has won several awards at ﬁlm festivals. Visa Koiso-Kanttila directs and produces his ﬁlms in co-operation with his wife and colleague Iiris Härmä.

Portrait of a Man is the last part of Koiso-Kanttila’s trilogy on Finnish boys and men; the ﬁrst two were

Father to Son (Isältä pojalle, 2004) and A Winter’s Journey (Talvinen matka, 2007).

Portrait of a Man

[

M i e h e n k u v a – e l o k u v a r a k k a u d e n k a i p u u s t a

]

Director, script, cinematography:

Visa Koiso-Kanttila

Editing: Tuula Mehtonen

Sound design: Janne Laine

Music: Bill Frisell

Producer: Iiris Härmä

Production company:

Guerilla Films Ltd

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, Church Media Foundation

YLE TV1 Co-productions

What is the mental legacy and set of values that the liberal late 1960s and early 1970s gave to the people who were born and grew up during that time, to the people who are now approaching middle-age?

The main character of the documentary is Kalle Rissanen, a 39-year-old successful IT educator and single father. Kalle is going through a crisis which has spurred him to change the course of his life. Kalle wakes up to the fact that his father committed suicide exactly at the same age and exactly in the same situation as he is in. Kalle wants to ﬁnd out what made his father choose suicide and how he could avoid the same fate. On his journey, Kalle meets a number of different men: relatives and childhood friends who are ready to share their life experiences. The men talk about their relationship with their children, alcohol and ﬁrst and foremost, with women. They wonder how they’re supposed to be and live with women when nothing seems to be enough. They shouldn’t be the macho men their fathers were, but at the same time, the Finnish women don’t seem to appreciate nice guys, either...

2010 | 35mm, 2K Digital Cinema, HDCAM, Digibeta, DVD | 16:9 | Dolby Digital 5.1 & Stereo | 81’ / 59’

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Tonislav Hristov

Tonislav Hristov was born in Vratza, northern Bulgaria, in 1978. In 1999 he moved to Finland. He has a MSC in computer engineering (2002) and a MA in film making (2007). He has worked for years as a freelancer for YLE and has made several TV documentaries. His first feature-length documentary film Family Fortune

was released in 2007.

Rules of Single Life

Director, script:

Tonislav Hristov

Cinematography:

Peter Flinckenberg

Editing: Kim Finn

Sound design: Anne Tolkkinen

Music: Petar Doundakoff

Producers:

Kaarle Aho, Kai Norberg

Production company:

Making Movies Oy

Co-producer: Agitprop (BUL)

Production support:

YLE TV1, NRK

A romantic documentary about love in a foreign city. Four Bulgarian guys emigrate to Helsinki. Disillusioned with love, they decide to give themselves a task. In 12 months, they need to ﬁnd girl-friends in Helsinki. Otherwise, they ﬁgure, they won’t cope with Nordic ladies ever again.

The men start a well-organized self-development and women hunting process. Internet dates, sport dates, courses in dancing and tantric sex – not to mention a date with a whole female volley-ball team.

Still, love is always full of surprises. The past – especially ex-wives and ex-girlfriends – won’t leave the men in peace. And the present is also full of surprises: Why don’t all women put their photos on the dating sites of the Internet? Why do Finnish men have less hair than Bulgarian men? Is sex a cure for solitude? And can anyone anywhere really get to know another person in 12 months?

2010 | Digital Cinema print, Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 75’

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Saku Pollari

Saku Pollari has previously directed Kansalainen Jussila, an award-winning documentary on Petteri Jussila, a successful and controversial Finnish self-made businessman. Pollari has shot, directed and edited a number of Finnish TV programs. He studied audiovisual production at North Carelia College, Outokumpu. Pollari has always been interested in people. He loves to watch how people behave and likes books and ﬁlms based on true events.

Saving Souls

[

U u s i k i r k k o

]

Director, cinematography:

Saku Pollari

Script: Saku Pollari, Ilkka Hynninen

Editing: Kimmo Kohtamäki

Sound design, music:

Poppe Johansson

Animation: Teemu Åke

Producers:

Ilkka Hynninen, Eero Hietala

Production company: Aito Media

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, Church Media Foundation

YLE International

Saving Souls follows the story of one man’s dream about a church which believes in the tradition of the Bible.

Markku Koivisto, a Lutheran minister, believes that the end of the world is coming and is in a hurry saving souls. He is disillusioned with the stagnant state church and decides to start one of his own. New church, Nokia Missio, quickly gains popularity as a colourful, living church, full of mu-sic and joy. But how do you ﬁnance a church; will it get enough members to form a congregation?

Koivisto has been cured of lethal cancer by what he calls a miracle; not once, but twice. How have his personal hardships affected his values?

Saving Souls is a documentary which immortalizes a historically unique occasion; a revival movement’s secession from the state church.

2010 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 74’ Ph ot os : M ik a Ka ne rv a

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Markku Tuurna

Filmmaker and producer Markku Tuurna is renowned for his documentaries with a unique social point of view (for example, a fox farmer’s story in today’s high-tech Finland: One Hundred Generations /

Sata sukupolvea, 1999). In Selling the Silence, the director leaps into new fields; he opens the family files and wants to find out the truth about the current changes in Lapland.

Selling the Silence

[

S a l l a n s t r a t e g i a ( w o r k i n g t i t l e )

]

Director: Markku Tuurna

Script: Markku Tuurna, Tarja Kylmä

Cinematography: Jarkko T. Laine

Editing: Kimmo Taavila

Sound design: Kyösti Väntänen

Music: Kimmo Pohjonen

Producer: Markku Tuurna

Production company: Filmimaa Oy

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, Nordisk Film & TV Fond

YLE, ARTE, SVT

Selling the Silence is a creative documentary ﬁlm. It witnesses the rise and fall of a family of entrepreneurs, the Kuukkanen family from Salla, Lapland, side-by-side with the current changes in the values of our society. In combining private and personal family memories with ongoing changes in the scenery, the documentary asks how to avoid irreversible changes in the nature when earning your living.

Selling the Silence is a journey to the North, past and present. Sometimes the journey can be surprising, sometimes sad, sometimes absurd in a black Finnish way. When the ﬁlm asks what is the price of the wilderness, it is also a question of identity: Who are you really? What is your real nature?

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Timo Haanpää

Timo Haanpää (born 1967), MA, M.Ed, works as a full-time teacher at the University of Lapland. His previous ﬁlm (a co-direction) was Reaching Father

(Isien merkit, 2007). Timo has experi-enced infertility for seven years, which provides him with a personal viewpoint on the subject.

Silent Longing

[

H i l j a a t o i v o t u t

]

Director, script: Timo Haanpää

Cinematography: Timo Haanpää, Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen

Sound design: Kimmo Vänttinen

Producer: Janne Niskala

Production company:

Vaski Filmi Oy

Production support:

YLE Co-productions

Silent Longing is a story about two childless couples who use infertility treatments to have bio-logical children of their own.

The film shows an emotional journey of a man and a woman when they go through endless infertility treatments, dividing their life between home and the infertility clinic. It tells how the woman’s hormones take control not only of her own life, but also her man’s. Uncertainty about the future and the infertility treatments with their side effects challenge the relationship. It is difficult to approach other people and talk about the situation. The idea of one’s own child turns into a silent longing with no certainty of fulfillment.

Silent Longing tells how involuntary childlessness can hurt deeply. Childlessness forces the characters to make difﬁcult decisions and think about their lives, its meaningfulness and about the future – with or without a child. Childlessness remains with them even after their child is born, as nothing can erase their experiences of infertility. It also forces them to confront the thoughtlessness of other people and life in a child-centered society.

2010 | HDCAM, DVCProHD, Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 75’

(19)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Mika Kaurismäki

Mika Kaurismäki’s first film The Liar (Valehtelija, 1980) marked the beginning of cinema for the Kaurismäki brothers and started a new era in Finnish cinema. He has since directed films all around the world. His work includes, e.g. the fictional films The Worthless (Arvottomat, 1982), Rosso

(1985), Helsinki Napoli All Night Long (1987), Amazon (1990), LA Without a Map

(1998), Honey Baby (2004) and the documentaries Tigrero – A Film That Was Never Made (1994, with Sam Fuller and Jim Jarmusch), Brasileirinho (2005) and Sonic Mirror (2007). In 2008, after 17 years of not filming in Finland, he directed two Finnish fictional films, Three Wise Men (Kolme viisastamiestä, 2008) and The House of Branching Love (Haarautuvan rakkauden talo, 2009).

Vesku from Finland

[

V e s k u S u o m e s t a

]

Director, script:

Mika Kaurismäki

Cinematography:

Jari Mutikainen, Tahvo Hirvonen

Sound design: Joonas Jyrälä

Producer: Mika Kaurismäki

Production company:

Marianna Films Oy

Production support:

A documentary film about Vesa-Matti Loiri, alias Vesku, probably the most popular film and TV comedian in Finland. Vesa-Matti Loiri has created a significant career also as a singer, perform-er, writer and as a sportsman. He has recorded several albums, from folk songs and couplets to tangos. Some of his recordings are based on the lyrics of Hermann Hesse and Eino Leino, one of the best-known Finnish poets. During his unique career, he has played in more than 60 films and recorded 30 albums.

2010 | Digital Cinema print | 16:9 | 5.1 | 90’ Ph ot o: M iik ka P ir in en

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The story line of the documentary is clear: a voyage down the river from Moscow to the Caspian Sea. The documentary articulates its ideas on many levels. It combines a sharp associative per-ception of reality with a mythic fresco depicting the history of the river. The elements of the ﬁlm are the voyage on the river and the passengers on the riverboat coming from all over Europe; the cultural contradictions, the ancient wild nations, the Soviet Union, the Russia of today and, ﬁnally, the observing Europeans.

This ﬁlm is about all of us, about Europe.

Volga, Volga

2009 | HDV | 16:9 | 70’

Director, script: Marja Pensala

Cinematography: Vladimir Brulyakov, Alexander Burov, Marita Hällfors

Editing: Timo Linnasalo

Sound design: Tero Malmberg

Producer: Heikki Partanen

Production company:

Alppiharjun Elokuva Oy

Production support:

Marja Pensala

Pensala has worked in several capacities in the field of cinema since 1969 – as scriptwriter, editor, producer and director. She has worked in fiction, commercials, TV programmes and industrial, educational and other commissioned films. Since 1981, she has carried out independent documentary film production as producer, scriptwriter, editor and di-rector. Among other films, she has directed two internationally awarded documentaries in Russia. The Eclipse of the Soul (Sielun pimennys, 2001) and The Red Rocket (Punainen raketti, 2004). In both of these films Pensala concentrates on the essence of the “Russian soul”.

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Petri Hakkarainen

Petri Hakkarainen, also known under his stage name Pete Europa (director, screenwriter, Master of Arts), grew up surrounded by the Helsinki gang and underground culture. He’s worked in ﬁlm and done research in psychology and different cultures. Besides working on his latest documentary, he is writing a new version of Kalevala for TV and preparing a script for an international feature ﬁlm.

A documentary on the great cultural turning point that took place in Helsinki in the early 80s. The ﬁlm tells how underground culture broke out of clubs, art galleries and small stages into mainstream awareness. With the help of art and new ways of self-expression and individuality, representatives of the new generation paved way for the international, open, unique and coolly stylish atmosphere that Finland is now known for. These people turned their life into individual-istic art; some of them by just being, others through art. Their way of life and breaking out from under the hold of rigid Finnish culture came at a cost, and some of them paid with their lives. 2009 | Digibeta | 16:9 |

Stereo | 60’

1984 Helsinki Underground

[

J o k a i n e n v o i o l l a t ä h t i 1 5 m i n u u t t i a

]

Director, script: Petri Hakkarainen

Cinematography: Arttu Peltomaa

Editing: Kari Elovuori

Sound design, music: Pekka Hakala

Producer: Jouko Aaltonen

Production company: Illume Ltd.

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, ESEK The Finnish Performing Music Promotion Centre

(22)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Timo Humaloja

Timo Humaloja’s career in Finnish TV and film started over 30 years ago. His works include feature films, TV drama, short films and documentary films. He has also worked as a production consult-ant at AVEK(The Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture). Since 2006, he has worked as an independent documentary film producer.

Anneli Sauli is the last living movie star from the golden era of Finnish ﬁlm. Still today, she is remembered as the girl from the daring scene in The Milkmaid (Hilja – maitotyttö, 1953); the reputation has followed her like a shadow throughout her life.

Captive of Gaze is a documentary about Sauli, a Finnish ﬁlm icon and the transformation of the myth around her, seen from the perspective of Finnish ﬁlm and theater. In Anneli Sauli’s roles and in the photos taken of her, one could see the patriarchal double standards and the hidden erotic wishes of Finnish men in the 1950s. Her whole life, Anneli has fought against the erotic myth that surrounded her, trying to gain control of her life.

Through the myth, we see a story of a woman whose fates have travelled through 50 years of the changing roles of the Finnish woman. With her whole being, Anneli Sauli has represented great changes in the Finnish culture while also participating in them.

2010 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 58’

Captive of Gaze

[

K a t s e e n v a n k i

]

Director, script:

Timo Humaloja

Cinematography:

Harri Paavola, Pekka Uotila

Editing: Petteri Evilampi

Sound design: Heikki Innanen

Producer: Timo Humaloja

Production company:

Kinovid Productions

Production support:

(23)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 _{2010 | HDCAM, Digibeta | 1:2,35 |}

Dolby stereo | ~60’

Felicity or The Apocalypse

Begins in Pieksämäki

[

O n n e l l i s t e n k a u p u n k i e l i m a a i l m a n l o p p u a l k a a P i e k s ä m ä e l t ä

]

Directors, script: Heikki T. Partanen, Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen Cinematography: Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen

Producer: Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen

Production company:

Zone2 Pictures Oy

Co-producer: Heikki T. Partanen / Alppiharjun elokuva Oy

Production support:

A film about hope, the illusion of ”the good life” and the reality on the edge of Europe. The film’s story comes from footage of about twenty very different and somewhat original residents of Pieksämäki. The narrator of the film, a web camera on the town web site, monitors the events from the top of the tallest building in town and comments on them in four languages.

Heikki T. Partanen & Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen

Heikki T. Partanen has worked as a scriptwriter, soundman, editor, producer and director since 1973. He has directed a number of award-win-ning documentaries. He received the State Quality Award for his ﬁlms The Bench (Penkki, 1998) and Fathers and Sons (Isät ja pojat, 1995). He was a co-writer/producer in Earth (Maa, 2001), Working Class (Työväenluokka, 2004) and The Shepherds (Paimenet, 2004), a trilogy directed by Veikko Aaltonen. Currently he is working on Arabian Shores (Arabianranta, 2009).

Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen studied cinematography at the School of Mo-tion Picture, Television and ProducMo-tion Design in Helsinki. He has worked as a cinematographer on numerous creative documentary ﬁlms of which

Shadow of the Holy Book (Pyhän kirjan varjo, 2007) was screened at the main competition at IDFA in Amsterdam and A Lone Star Hotel (Yhden täh-den hotelli, 2007) won the Finnish Jussi award for the best documentary.

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 _{2009 | Digibeta | 16 :9 | 56’} Director, script: Mohamed El Aboudi Cinematography:

Rostislav Aalto, Aleksander Burov, Jyri Hakala, Jan Nyman

Editing: Mikko Sippola

Sound design: Anne Tolkkinen

Music: Timo Peltola

Producer: Timo Korhonen

Production company.

Road Movies Oy

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, Church Media Fund

Umar Kemiläinen is a professional boxer; the European Championship is his goal. He converted to Islam a few years ago, has no Finnish friends except for other converts and is convinced that the whole society is against him because of his religion.

Suddenly Umar loses everything; he becomes seriously ill and has to cancel his boxing matches. While in hospital, he loses his apartment. Soon he also divorces. He is at a crossroads: Should he follow his manager’s advice and continue boxing, or try some other profession? Will he ﬁnd a new wife? Will he become politically active? Will he ﬁnd his place in society or continue to feel alienated?

Umar has become active in the Islamic Party, the ﬁrst of its kind in the Western world. The party programme includes banning the sale of alcohol, promoting male circumcision and making music lessons in public schools optional.

This is a story of a man who chose a religion that some people associate with terrorism; he chose Islam because he found inner peace in it. Umar is a man who is determined to adopt a whole new culture and who no longer feels at home in his society.

Umar travels to Dubai to celebrate the end of Ramadan. There he also tries to ﬁnd a Muslim wife and a job. If he succeeds, he might never come back to his native country again.

Mohamed El Aboudi

Mohamed El Aboudi was born in Morocco. He completed his B.A. in Theatre at the University of Fes, Morocco (1991), and an M.A. in Film and Television at Bond University Australia (1997). His ﬁlms include

City Folk Helsinki (2007), Inside/Offside (2006), Sound of Sadness (2006),

Forever Stranger (2005), Two Mothers (2005) and Ramadan (2004).

Fight of Fate

[

V a s e n v a r t a l o o n

]

(25)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Maria Lappalainen

Maria Lappalainen graduated from the All Russian State Institute of Cinematography with a Master of Arts degree in ﬁction ﬁlm di-recting. The documentary On Edge

(Reunalla, 2002) and the short ﬁction Milja (2005) toured ﬁlm festivals around the world.

Gaucho

Director, script:

Maria Lappalainen

Cinematography:

Jyri Hakala, Marita Hällfors

Editing: Annukka Lilja

Music: Miika Spåre

Producers:

Mika Ritalahti, Niko Ritalahti

Production company:

Silva Mysterium Oy

Production support:

Finnish company Botnia built a cellulose plant in Fray Bentos, a small town in Uruguay. The plant is the ﬁrst of many foreign factory projects planned in the Uruguayan territory, and the investment is the biggest ever in the whole country. Huge eucalyptus plantations, which produce wood for the plants, are changing both the landscape and the local people’s traditional source of livelihood – cattle raising. Rural Uruguay is changing into an industrial producer. Adapting to the new situ-ation is easier for those who are employed. Instead of herding cattle, some of the local cowboys, gauchos, are occupied with horse polo games that are arranged to entertain Botnia’s engineers.

The Botnia cellulose plant is situated on the bank of the River Uruguay, which marks the bor-der of Uruguay and Argentina. The plant provoked a conﬂict between two countries: Argentina accuses Uruguay of contaminating its territory. Local people on the Argentinean side of the river are organizing huge demonstrations against the Botnia plant. The Finns are seen as invaders, just like the Spaniards 500 years ago…

(26)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Pia Andell

Pia Andell, born in 1964, has been making documentary films since 1992. Many of the films of Pia Andell have been shown and given prizes at many internationally renowned festivals, like the IDFA, Prix Europa, BANFF and Nordisk Panorama. Her previous films include international successes like Y in Vyborg (Hetket jotka jäivät, 2006), and Sibling Relations (Pieni elokuva sisaruussuhteista, 2001). 2010 | Digibeta | 4:3 | 38’

Director, script: Pia Andell

Cinematography:

Felix Forsman, Pekka Uotila

Sound design: Kirsi Korhonen

Music: Pessi Levanto

Producer: Pia Andell

Production company:

Of Course My Films

Production support:

YLE Co-productions

Göring’s Baton tells the story of Felix Forsman, a young and curious Finnish war cinematographer, and his remarkable secret ﬁlming assignment in Nazi Germany.

Late in June 1942, Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, the Commander in Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, reluctantly paid a return visit to Germany after Adolf Hitler had visited Finland and con-gratulated Mannerheim on his 75th_birthday.

Felix Forsman was asked to ﬁlm it all. And so he did. Through his lens, Felix observed Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring and the conditions in Berlin, at the UFA studios and Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair in the summer of 1942.

The news reel compiled from this material was, however, banned shortly after its completion and remained that way for 65 years. Now is the time to see this exceptional ﬁlm material shot in those exceptional times.

Göring’s Baton is a creative historical documentary focusing on the personal experiences of a young man; it tells what it is like to be in the midst of war, in a historical focal point, in sudden and unimaginable situations, when failure is not an option.

Göring’s Baton

[

G ö r i n g i n s a u v a

]

(27)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Jaakko Kilpiäinen

Jaakko Kilpiäinen (born 1962)

graduated with a Bachelor of Culture and Arts (photography) from Lahti University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Design. He has directed the documentaries

Koivurastin Elsa (2008), Vallattu!

(2007), Ulapalla (2007) and Rai rai

(2005), the short ﬁlm Russian Cake

(2007) and a number of music videos. 2009 | Digibeta | 16:9 |

Stereo 1&2 | 52’

Director, script: Jaakko Kilpiäinen

Cinematography: Arttu Peltomaa

Editing: Matti Näränen

Sound design: Vesa Meriläinen

Music: Janne Haavisto

Producer: Ari Matikainen

Production company:

Kinocompany

Production support:

Home-Made Heroes is a documentary film about courage and about finding one’s limits. The narrators in this funny, yet touching, film are a number of colorful stage artists whose golden era spanned the 1950s through 1970s, the time period when Finland was going through a powerful transformation.

These folk artists, who toured with travelling amusement parks, were home-made stars whose timid “glamour” was loved by the audiences. The arrival of magicians, escape artists, acrobats and daredevil drivers was an escape from the everyday grind. In the ecstatic atmosphere of their show, the artists felt their work had a meaning, even though their lifestyle and their daring acts came at a cost. The ﬁlm pays tribute to the forgotten folk artists who toured around the country, entertaining Finns who were building their future during the hard times.

Home-Made Heroes

[

R i e m u r u h t i n a a t

]

(28)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Antti Seppänen

In addition to directing, Antti Seppänen, works as an editor and camera-man. He has graduated from the Huston School of Film and Digital Media in Ireland (M.A. in Film Production and Direction) and the Art and Media department of the Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Bachelor of Culture and Arts). He has also studied at the University of Salford in the UK (Department of Media and Performance). Antti is an experienced camera-man and has participated in the making of documentaries e.g. in China and Afghanistan. “Documentary ﬁlms aim to explore and try to explain the unexplained contained in concrete, seemingly everyday reality. It is typical for me to ﬁnd and create meanings by combining existing things.” 2009 | Digibeta | 16:9 |

Stereo | 57’19’’

Director, script: Antti Seppänen

Cinematography: based on 8mm shootage by Oiva Kovanen

Photography: Teemu Liakka

Editing: Antti Seppänen, Samu Heikkilä

Sound design: Kimmo Vänttinen

Music: Antti Kokkola, Kimmo Mustonen

Producer: Pertti Veijalainen

Production support:

YLE Co-productions

The director finds a box of 8-millimetre films full of images from all over the world at a flea market.

Night after night, the thin strips of plastic lying in the box spring to life. They have been clearly filmed by the same person. Who would have wanted to record these moments? Calm after a storm, an oriental dancer, mist in Machu Picchu, a caterpillar eating a leaf and the blaring neon signs of Manhattan. Mysteriously rippling hustle and bustle in ports that no longer exist. A million ex-posed squares of film. Someone’s entire life and experiences for sale at a flea market.

The surprising find opens a window to a lost world and takes the viewer on a journey around the world with a forgotten adventurer, an old sailor – and even further away, as the filmmaker, searching for the human behind the films, begins to ponder on what is left of us after the results of decades of dedication end up at a flea market.

Iceberg Shadow

[

J ä ä v u o r e n v a r j o o n

]

(29)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Jean Bitar

Jean Bitar is a producer and ﬁlm director of Lebanese origin. He is a naturalized Finn. In 1977 he graduated with a Master of Arts degree from the All Union State Institute Of Cinematography in Moscow specializing in feature and TV direction. In 1978 he emigrated to Finland where he established his base of operation. He has written and directed TV plays and documentaries for YLE. Since 1984 he has been operating through his company Bitar Films Oy in Finland. His most notable works include Breaking Free in Hakunila (Säpinää Hakunilassa, 2006) and Katri and Kaitsu (Katri ja Kaitsu, 2008). 2009 | 16:9 | Stereo | 58’

Director, script, cinematography:

Jean Bitar

Editing: Jean Bitar, Joseph Bitar

Sound design:Martti Turunen

Producer: Jean Bitar

Production company:

Bitar Films Oy

Production support:

TheFinnishFilmFoundation, AVEK, Church Media Foundation, The City of Vantaa

Magical Power is a documentary ﬁlm which follows three different daycare centersin the city ofVantaa,Finland,for a period of about three years. Children with special needs experience mu-sic, dance and visual art and gain a better understanding of themselves. The ﬁlm follows the changes that the children go through during this time.

Magical Power

[

T a i k a v o i m a

]

(30)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Jouko Aaltonen

Director and producer Jouko Aaltonen has directed numerous documentaries since the early 1990’s with subjects ranging from the Siberian taiga to the diplomatic circles of New Delhi. In 2006 he released Revolution (Kenen joukoissa seisot), a feature-length documentary that garnered both record-breaking audiences and the Finnish Jussi award for the best documentary. In 2007 he achieved his Doctor of Arts degree. 2009 | Digibeta | 16:9 |

Stereo | 52’46’’

Director: Jouko Aaltonen

Script: Jouko Aaltonen, Seppo Sivonen

Cinematography: Timo Peltonen

Editing: Samu Heikkilä

Sound design: Martti Turunen

Music: Tapani Rinne

Producer: Pertti Veijalainen

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

YLE, RBTF Télévision Belge

A Man from the Congo River sheds light on the little-known story of Nordic machinists working on the river boats on the Congo River. Professionals from Finland and Sweden were hired with promises of lucrative salaries, and they had to give an oath of fidelity to the King of Belgium. Sail-ors from the North met a new reality in the heart of the Black Africa where the colonial economy was based on slavery and forced labor. When reading the sailors’ letters home, we can see how the men from egalitarian North gradually change and adapt to the racist system. A concrete tool and a symbol of the regime was a whip made of hippopotamus skin. First terrified by the brutality of the white oppressors, Nordic sailors soon learned to use the whip themselves. The film adds an interesting chapter to the history of colonialism in Africa. It is important to tell this unknown story, as it deals with the universal theme of an individual’s moral choices.

A Man from the Congo River

[

K o n g o n A k s e l i

]

(31)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Imbi Paju

Director, author and journalist Paju has won international attention with

Memories Denied (Torjutut muistot, 2005), her documentary ﬁlm and book by the same name. Both the ﬁlm and the book deal with Soviet slave labor camps, the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

In 2009, Paju and Finnish writer Soﬁ Oksanen published a collection of essays titled ”Fear Was Beyond Everything” (Kaiken takana oli pelko, WSOY), which further develops the same themes.

2009 | 60’

Director, script: Imbi Paju

Cinematography: Ants Martin Vahur, Priit Sooba, Aare Varik,

Liina Toiviainen

Editing: Riitta Poikselkä, Anders Helle

Sound design: Kirsi Hiltunen

Music: Arvo Pärt, Leo Sumera

Producer: Tiina Butter

Production company: Film Magica Oy

Co-producer: Allﬁlm / Pille Runk

Production support: AVEK, Föreningen konstsamfundet, Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, VIMS, Majaoja Foundation, Lotta Svärd Foundation, Eesti Kultuur-kapital, Finnish Institute in Estonia, Lohja Children and Youth Foundation, Estonian Film Foundation

Financing TV company: YLE FST5

Sisterhood Across

the Gulf of Finland

[

S u o m e n l a h d e n s i s a r e t

]

This historical psychological documentary tells the story of the cooperation and friendship between members of the Estonian and Finnish voluntary auxiliary organizations for women that began in the 20’s and was cut off by WWII, the Soviet occupation of Estonia and the subsequent politics of the Cold War. The reminiscences of Estonian and Finnish women, supplemented by rare archival ma-terials and footage, illustrate the vulnerability of ordinary people and small nations in the power politics maelstrom of large totalitarian nations. The ﬁlm sheds light on the rise of totalitarianism in Europe in the 30’s, peoples’ surrender to mass psychosis and the decline of democracy.

The elderly women in the ﬁlm have all experienced hard times, but with their warm and kind nature, they give the viewer hope that good can defeat evil. In the light of their humanity, we can see the darker side of mankind, which comes to the force through political violence when people are forced to remain silent and to forget. The past is connected to the present when we see UN Special Representative Elisabeth Rehn, herself once a Girl Lotta, assisting civilian victims in crisis areas. The ﬁlm shows how the patterns of violence tied to war keep repeating themselves.

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Antti Lempiäinen

Antti got his BA degree in Film and Television from the Lahti Polytechnic Institute of Design in Finland. Man Seeking Man (Mies etsii miestä, 2004), his graduation film in fiction cinemato-graphy, won several awards and was invited to over 100 international film festivals. Death In a Modern Day Finland (Kuolema nyky-Suomessa, 2008) was his first short film as a director, and it was selected to IDFA, among other festivals. 2009 | Digibeta, Beta SP | 16:9 |

Stereo | 14’

Director, script, cinematography, editing:

Antti Lempiäinen

Sound design, music: Petrus Rapo

Producer: Liisa Juntunen

Production company:

napaﬁlms oy

Production support:

Three people face their barriers in a prison that will soon be closed. Time throbs inevitably forward, and each of them has their own perspective on it. Freedom or the lack thereof presents itself in a variety of forms.

(33)

F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Alvaro Pardo

Alvaro Pardo was born in Spain and has made his professional career as a ﬁlmmaker in Finland. He has directed and produced a number of documen-tary ﬁlms, including Stiller, Garbo and I (Stiller, Garbo ja minä, 1988), Condom (1999) , Kings of Recycling (Kierrätyksen kuninkaat, 2000) and

Eden Pastora – Commandant Zero (Eden Pastora – “Komentaja Nolla“, 2006). In all of his ﬁlms humour and irony play an important part. 2009 | Digibeta | 16:9 |

Stereo | 10’49’’

Director, script: Alvaro Pardo

Cinematography: Alex Albert

Editing: Anne Lakanen

Sound design: Jari Innanen

Music: Felix Arndt, Mariachi Leon

Producer: Alvaro Pardo

Production company: Filmitakomo Oy

Production support:

YLE Co-productions

Oscar-winning ﬁlmmaker and seasoned activist Barbara Trent travels in Mexico City with her Oscar award. Oscar surprises people she meets. Strangers make acquaintance with a real Oscar and get to know Barbara Trent herself. Oscar gives rise to spontaneous situations. This humoris-tic short documentary contemplates the mythical attraction of this little gold-plated statuette and represents Barbara Trent’s strive for a more just and peaceful world.

And the Oscar Goes to Mexico

[

O s c a r m e n e e M e k s i k o o n

]

(34)

Hannes Vartiainen & Pekka Veikkolainen

Hannes Vartiainen (b. 1980) has worked as a free-lance director and production manager for Kinotar Ltd since the early 2000s. Pekka Veikkolainen (b. 1982) is a graphic design student at the Univer-sity of Art and Design Helsinki. He has worked in the ﬁelds of animation and illustration since 2000.

The two started their own production company in 2008, and their ﬁrst ﬁlm together was

Hanasaari A (2009, documentary, 15 min, 35 mm). 2010 | 35mm | 1:1,85 |

Dolby digital | 7’

Directors, script,

cinematography, editing, animation:

Hannes Vartiainen, Pekka Veikkolainen

Music: Joonatan Portaankorva

Consulting sound mixer:

Olli Huhtanen Producers: Hannes Vartiainen, Pekka Veikkolainen Production company: Pohjankonna Oy Production support:

In a vast, lifeless landscape where time itself has stopped its crawl; within the isolated hollows of urban structures; among the horribly deformed remains of fellow insects; a mad ballet is com-mencing and a newly hatched ﬂy is about to die.

Conserved

(working title)

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Jukka Kärkkäinen

Jukka Kärkkäinen (born 1972 in Kerava, Finland) has been making documentary ﬁlms since 2003. His work includes such ﬁlms as

Zetor – Born Free (Zetor – vappaana syntynyt, 2004), The Smoking Room (Tupakkahuone, 2006) and The Living Room of the Nation

(Kansakunnan olohuone, 2009). Jukka is also one of the co-founders of production company Mouka Filmi Oy.

2009 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 12’

Director: Jukka Kärkkäinen

Script: Jukka Kärkkäinen, Sami Jahnukainen

Cinematography:

Jani Kumpulainen F.S.C.

Editing: Illusia Sarvas, Jukka Kärkkäinen

Sound design: Tuomas Klaavo

Producer: Sami Jahnukainen

Production company:

Mouka Filmi Oy

Production support:

Finacing TV company:

Tero, 28, from northern Finland is becoming a father but has not told anybody yet. One Saturday night in December, his friend Saku comes for a visit, bringing Tero two pairs of baby overalls. For some reason, the whole village has heard the news. The boys decide to make a toast for father-hood.

Do You Still Remember Hilja Limperi is a story of male friendship and Finnish stiffness that opens up often with the help of alcohol. Most importantly, it is a recording of a happy evening between two good friends living in the cold but warm-hearted North.

Do You Still Remember

Hilma Limperi

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 KJ. Koski

KJ. Koski is a screenwriter, director, cinematographer and producer. He has been a professional since 1968 and has worked as a sound designer in national hit films. He has written and directed both fiction and documentary films since 1985. His works include over twenty feature films and dozens of short and TV films. Koski’s latest works as a director include It’s Lonely at the Top (Yksinäinen mies, 2008), Dream of Karelia

(Unelmana Karjala, 2007), On the Footsteps of Caj Bremer (Suomalaista arkipäivää 2004) and The Red Hanko (Krasnij Gangut, 2003).

2009 | Digibeta, DVCAM | 16:9 | Stereo | 28’

Director, script, cinematography:KJ. Koski

Editing:Anssi Blomsted

Sound design:Martti Turunen

Music:Mauri Sumén

Producer:KJ. Koski

Production company:Long Shot Oy

Production support:AVEK

Financing TV company:YLE TV1

A documentary film on artist Ismo Kajander and his world. In the documentary, Kajander returns to his old love, photography, in Paris. He reflects on being an artist, the meaning of flying and the meaning of life, and being away from the more conservative mainstream art circles.

Kajander is a true avant-gardist. Thus, it isn’t easy to classify him. Kajander has found inspi-ration in Rauschenberger, Duchamp and Man Ray. “My debt to Marcel Duchamp is unpayable – M.D. is the limit after which there is no art. M.D. is the mystery of the artifact.”

It has been said museums are not the place for Kajander’s works. His work is criticism against the concept of art and the institution of art. “Instead of being a separate phenomenon, everything that is called art should aim at being a natural part of life.”

Kajander is now a retired artist and spends as much time as possible in Paris, which has been his dream ever since he was young. In the ﬁlm, we follow Kajander planning his grave monument that is to be put on his grave in a Parisian cemetery one day.

Ismo K. –

Regards to Foregone Dadaists

[

I s m o K . – t e r v e i s i ä m e n n e i l l e d a d a i s t e i l l e

]

Ph ot o: Is m o Ka ja nd er

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Jouni Hokkanen

Director Jouni Hokkanen has made several documentaries, many of them on Asian topics. His ﬁlm Pyongyang Robogirl (2000) was invited to Berlinale and travelled more than 180 international ﬁlm festivals and venues, including MOMA in New York. One of Hokkanen’s latest documentaries, The Dictator’s Cut, dealt with cinema in Northern Korea. His documentaries Tehran Taxi (2004), Hong Kong Sars Blues

(2003) and Children’s Palace (2002) were all made for international audiences and have been shown on dozens of festivals worldwide. 2009 | HD, Digibeta | 16:9 |

Dolby | 29’

Director, script: Jouni Hokkanen

Cinematography: Jussi Arhinmäki

Editing: Kim Finn

Sound design: Pekka Lipponen

Music: Simon Bartholomew

Producer: John Hakalax

Production company:

Hakalax Productions Oy

Co-producer: Soma Projects

Production support: AVEK

Kinbaku, “tight binding”, is a Japanese style of bondage which involves tying up the bottom using simple, yet visually intricate, patterns and several pieces of rope, usually made of hemp or jute. In Shinto religion, in order to make something sacred, a man ties a rope around it. This sacred quality of tying can also be applied to Kinbaku, which is an erotic, spiritual and artistic connection between the people who do it. It started with the samurais capturing enemies on the battleﬁeld 500 years ago. “Rope is an extension of one’s arms and a communication tool. Two people can really be close and have emotional exhange,” says rope master Osada Steve from Tokyo. Osada Steve is a student of Haruki Yukimura, a rope master who has tied over 3000 people in his life. “If you look at the Japanese samurai armor, it’s tied on. If you’ve ever received a Japanese gift, it’s an exquisite thing,” says Asagi Ageha, the most popular star of the new generation. Japan places a ritualistic weightness on everyday acts and talent our own culture lacks – and turns almost anything, including knots and ropes, into art. Nowadays rope is used to create an artistic, meaningful scene between two people. Kinbaku is about creating a beautiful climate and an exciting dramatic experience.

Kinbaku

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Marika Väisänen

Marika Väisänen graduated from the Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences in 2004. Her graduating film was All Woman (Koko nainen, 2004), a documentary film about cartoon artist Kaisa Leka. Her first professional work as a director was Home Away from Home (Sylistä syliin, 2008), a children’s documentary that won several awards at film festivals around the world. Besides working as a film director, Marika also freelances as a TV director and journalist.

2009 | Digibeta, Beta SP | 16:9 | Stereo | 12’

Director, script: Marika Väisänen

Cinematography: Sari Aaltonen

Music: Panu Aaltio

Producer: Liisa Juntunen

Production company:

Kinocompany Oy

Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, Church Media Foundation

Mimmi is a six-year-old preschooler who has tons of hobbies and a vivid imagination. Despite being lively and cheerful, Mimmi has had trouble making friends with children her age and is afraid of being bullied. Mimmi is about to turn seven and decides to invite friends to her birthday party for the ﬁrst time. Will the party help Mimmi conquer her fear?

Monster Birthday

[

P ä i v ä n s a n k a r i

]

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F I N N I S H D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M S 2 0 1 0 Tita Jänkälä

Tita Jänkälä is a documentary ﬁlm director, scriptwriter and editor. Her ﬁlm Imagine the Work (Kuvittele teos, 2000) won the prize for the best portrait at the Montreal International Festival Films on Art in 2001.

2009 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 25’

Director, script, editing:

Tita Jänkälä

Cinematography:

Raimo Uunila

Sound design, music:

Otso Pakarinen

Producer: Jouko Aaltonen

Production support: AVEK

Financing Tv company: YLE

Reborn is a ﬁlm poem that tells about the close friendship between Detlef Trefz, 57, a photo-grapher, and Liisa Rautiainen, 88, a painter. To be near his friend, Trefz, a former advertising photographer and world citizen, moved to Keminmaa, a small, quiet municipality in southwest-ern Lapland, and set up Mikä Maku, an art and craft gallery. Trefz wants to make Liisa’s old age as pleasant as possible and be there when she passes away.

Reborn

[

T o i n e n o v i