finnish short films - suomen elokuvasäätiö · cinema programme on yle’s channel one. the...

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F I N N I S H S H O R T F I L M S 2 0 0 6

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Make It Short 4

Aarne 6Animal 8BANG! 10Body Language 12Butterfly Lovers 14Cameraman’s Dream – episode IV 16Fokus 18Great Journey, The 20Hedgehog Thing 22Hercules 24In a Nostalgic Way 26Leading Lady, The 28My Economic Life 30

Nature and Health 32Off the Meter 34Opportunist 36Optical Sound 38Queue, The 40Sam 42Siberian Express 44Spring 46Superhero’s Son 48They Throw Dwarfs Too, Don’t They 50War 52Wedding, The 54Zoo 56

Contacts 58

Contents

Make It ShortAVEK (the Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture), in collaboration with The Finnish Film Foundation and Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) Co-productions, announced the Make It Short project in October, 2004 to raise the profile of the short medium and particularly to en-courage filmmakers to make and offer short films in all their forms.

The underlying reason for the project was a clear decline in short films being produced and the desire to celebrate the centenary of Finnish short films and also the ten years of the New Cinema programme on YLE’s Channel One.

The proposed projects had to meet the following requirements: a duration of less than 15 minutes, budget of no more than 50 000 Euros and a professional filmmaker. In order to ensure as many participants as possible, a production company or a producer was not required at the proposal stage, only after if the proposal was chosen. Thus screenwriters without directors could enter too. The project was received enthusiastically, and there were 211 proposals. Ten were cho-sen to represent different filmmakers, views and genres.

The films will be shown together for the first time at the Nordisk Panorama in Århus in 2006.

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Neuvonen Laura:

MöbleeraajaAn animated film about a relationship and the challenge of decorating.

Juutilainen Tommi:

AnkkuriAn animated film about men in the sea who experience a transcendent connection with themselves and each other.

Webster John:

HiihtäjätA documentary film about men who skied for their life sixty years ago. Now they compete by skiing – once a year.

Illi Esa:

Hedgehog Thing [ Siilijuttu ] (page 22 in this catalogue)Good deeds lead to good mood. Fiction.

Arpalahti Laura:

JärviThose who seek may not necessarily find what they want. Fiction.

Vilhunen Selma:

Jätkä ja hevonen A documentary film about the life and work of Asko and Myrsky.

Korhonen Timo:

KainuulaisiaA film about forest thinning and a conservationist in a wolf-fur coat. Fiction.

Nikki Teemu:

Opportunist [ Menestyjä ] (page 36 in this catalogue)A child shows initiative. Fiction.

Lehtinen Mika:

NumeroLife on a scale of one to ten. Documentary.

Kasurinen Pentti, Lundsten John:

Jumalan hampaatFaith is put to the test at a confirmation camp. Fiction.

The proposals selected are:

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Mervi JukkonenMervi Junkkonen (born 1975) has studied documentary directing and editing at the University of Art and Design Helsinki, UIAH. She has made the films Barbeiros (2001), Saana (Saanan tahto, 2003) and About a Farm (Hiljainen tila, 2004). She has won several prizes at film festivals around the world.

Aarne

Director, script, editor:

Mervi JunkkonenCinematography:

Tuomo HutriSound design:

Esa NissiMusic:

Girilal BaarsProducer:

Kimmo PaananenProduction:

Klaffi ProductionsProduction support:

The Finnish Film Foundation

Aarne, 86, lives by himself on a small farm near Oulunsalo airport. He doesn’t want to move to an old people’s home though his knees are weak and joints stiff with arthritis. Wild cats that roam his garden by the dozen keep him company. Daily routines and the cats make Aarne’s life worth living.

Documentary | 2005 | Digital Betacam | 16:9 | Stereo | 15’

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Tatu Pohjavirta Tatu Pohjavirta graduated from the Turku Arts Academy (1997–2001). He has made several animated films, puppet, flash, and drawn animation. Animal is his first off-school production with a real budget. Tatu’s films have been shown at many international festivals. His film Reflector (Kuvastin, 2001) won the UIP price at the Tampere International Short Film Festival (2002).

Animal[ E l u k k a ]

Animation | 2005 | Digibeta, 35 mm | 1:1,85 | 28’

Director, script, editing:

Tatu Pohjavirta Cinematography:

Anu Keränen Animation:

Mark Ståhle, Tatu Pohjavirta Sound design:

Salla Hämäläinen Music:

Alamaailman Vasarat Producer:

Jyrki Kaipainen Production:

Elokuvaosuuskunta Camera Cagliostro Production support:

AVEK, The Finnish Film Foundation Financing TV company:

YLE

Animal is a story about a single parent father who is turning into a werewolf, his son who has mixed his body with a lamb in an accident, and a female doctor – the subject of the father’s desire. In Animal, the director tells the story in his very personal style. Twisted humour and folk story horror go hand in hand, and laughter sticks in one’s throat. Tatu Pohjavirta’s films are full of action but with a philosophical background.

Tatu’s characters have rough and very earthy appearances, and it is easy for the viewer to iden-tify with them. The earthbound music of Alamaailman Vasarat fits the story perfectly. The music creates its own worlds and gives the film its own rhythm. An adult audience and children from 12 years upwards are likely to enjoy this absurd and brutal story about human relations.

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A marginalized, middle-aged woman in her town house feels vulnerable and unprotected, so she buys a gun. Fear, combined with the self-confidence the gun brings about, causes her to attack the outside world.

Haanperä’s earlier films have been set, for example, in the trunk of a car (The Dark Side of the

Car, 2003), in a refrigerator (Indoor Light, 2001) and inside a machine (The Turkish Chess Machine / Turkkilainen shakkikone, 2001). In Soul Seeker (Sielun etsijä, 2004) he examines the innermost parts of humans. In Haanperä’s films, the audiovisually created atmosphere is as important as the story.

BANG!Fiction | 2005 | Digibeta | Cinemascope | Stereo | 8’


Jari HaanperäCinematography:

Jussi EerolaSound design:

Johannes Raumonen, Jari HaanperäMusic:

Johannes Raumonen, Jari HaanperäCast:

Rea MauranenProducer:

Mirka FlanderProduction:

Lumenia ProductionsProduction support:

The Finnish Film FoundationFinancing TV company:

YLE Co-productions

Jari HaanperäJari Haanperä is director and media-artist. All his works are about light, sound and moving images. Haanperä is interested in analogue technology but also uses digital techniques. He is interested in early 20th century technology romanticism / mysticism as well as the phenomena of our time. He uses whole range of the moving image, from pre-cinematic methods to video and 35mm fiction films. He blurs the line between dream and reality and observes surrounding world in that light.

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06 Body Language (working title)

[ K e h o n k i e l i ( w o r k i n g t i t l e ) ]

Experimental documentary | 2006 | DVD, Digital Betacam | 16:9 | Stereo | ~7’

Director, script:

Seppo RustaniusCinematography:

Tahvo HirvonenEditing:

Samu KuukkaMusic, sound design:

Tipi TuovinenChoreography:

Anu RajalaCast:

Milla KoistinenProducer:

Pertti VeijalainenProduction:

Illume Ltd.Production support:


YLE TV1

Film is a study of the movements of the human body consisting of different elements: women’s gymnastics, the history of modern dance and the contemporary dance inspired by the historical materials. Body language is the point at which they intersect..

Seppo Rustanius For 25 years Seppo Rustanius has written and directed documen-taries about such subjects as the Finnish Civil War, the history of Russian Karelia, a singer, theatre and Finland’s cultural history. Rustanius studied film in Paris, Communications Theory and Mass Media at Tampere University and Theological Ethics and Religious Philosophy at Helsinki University. He is particularly interested in the problems of ethics and aesthetics and that of art and religion. His latest works include the documentaries Over the

Ice (Jään yli, 2005), Karelian Terror (Karjalainen kiirastuli, 2002) and Red Orphans (Punaorvot valkoisessa Suomessa, 1999).

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Marikki HakolaHakola (b. 1960) is an internationally acclaimed media artist, director and executive producer. She is CEO of the production company Kroma Productions Ltd. Her works, beginning in 1981, include video tapes, dance and music films, video installations, and internet projects. She is also a postgraduate student aiming for a doctoral dissertation. Her topic is “Hypermontage – a Montage of the Moving Image in Multimedia”. Her directions include e.g. Butterfly Tones (2005), a documentary about the making of Butterfly Lovers and The Bewitched Child (L’enfant et les

sortileges, 2004), a fantasy film based on the opera by Maurice Ravel.

Butterfly LoversFiction | 2005 | HD-cam, Digibeta, DVD | 1:1,85 | Dolby stereo surround, Dolby digital 5.1 | 29’05’’

Director, script, editing: Marikki HakolaCinematography: Raimo Uunila, Epa Tamminen, Marikki HakolaSound design: Epa TamminenMusic: He Zhan Hao, Chen GangChoreography: Dou DouDancers: Dou Dou, Ding YuehongProducer: Marikki HakolaProduction, sales theatre & TV: Kroma Productions Ltd.Co-producer: Naxos Rights International Ltd.Production support: The Ministry of Education FinlandFinancing TV company: YLE Co-productions, YLE TeemaInternational sales DVD: Marco Polowww.butterflylovers.fi

Butterfly Lovers is a music and dance film by director Marikki Hakola. A synthesis of the ever-popular Chinese violin concerto “Butterfly Lovers” and choreography inspired by Chinese martial arts and modern dance, the film is an imaginative interpretation of the ancient Chinese fairy tale – “A Love Story of Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai”. The film features violinist, Takako Nishizaki, conductor, James Judd, choreographer and dancer, Dou Dou, dancer, Ding Yuehong, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

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06 Cameraman’s Dream – episode IV

[ K u v a a j a n u n e t – e p i s o d i I V ]

Pekka UotilaPekka Uotila has been the cinematographer in dozens of short fictional films and documentaries, the most recent ones being Veikko Aaltonen’s documentary Working Class (Työväenluokka, 2004) and fictional film Trench Road (Juoksuhaudantie, 2004). His most recent feature length film as a cinematographer is Kari Paljakka’s For the Living and the Dead (Eläville ja kuolleille, 2005). Uotila has directed documentaries and free form short films, e.g. Eino and I (Eino ja mä, 1998), The Three Smiths (Kolme seppää, 2001) and 92 Shots (2004).

Director, script,

cinematography, editing:

Pekka UotilaCast:

Anna-Leena UotilaProducer:

HT PartanenProduction:

Alppiharjun Elokuva Oy

Experimental | 2004 | 35 mm | 1:1,85 | Mono | 4’

”I was watching my daughter, and for five short seconds I thought I understood something about life.

My recent works had all been serious and deep so I wanted to capture something of life’s beauty. I had also noticed that to an adult’s eye my daughter, Anna-Leena, seemed to be living the mythical, wonderful part of childhood.

My working method was simple. I had no script, and if I felt that I was getting nowhere, I put the films away for a while. My aim was to record Anna-Leena’s relationship with me, her father, who is filming. Our intuition took us to places that felt natural to Anna-Leena and important somehow to me. I quickly realised that the images I had shot needed specific other images so that they would become meaningful. The idea of the whole began to form.

First there is an image, and if it works I will make a film out of it. I believe that this reverse method creates natural films that may have something new, as well as content and quality.”

Pekka Uotila

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Sami van IngenSami van Ingen works with film, video and installation. A focal point in his approach is the examination of the moving image as a medium and its boundaries. His first international retrospective was organized by Pleasure Dome in Toronto, Canada in November 2005. Van Ingen lives and works in Hankavaara, a miniscule village in the eastern part of Finland and is presently working on his doctorate in the Academy of Fine Arts.

FokusExperimental | 2004 | 35 mm | 1:1,85 | Dolby stereo | 40’

Director, script,

cinematography, editing,

sound design, music, animation:

Sami van IngenProducer:

Sami van IngenProduction:

Jinx Ltd.Production support:

AVEK, Alfred Kordelin Fund, The Finnish Cultural Foundation, Arts Council of Finland, Academy of Fine Arts, Regional Arts Council of Southern Savo

“Fokus is a stirring viewing experience. It is based on an extremely minimal visual form: con-trasts, textures and glowing colours. Its visual language consists of highly magnified and slowed images.

The surface of the film material, the film grain and other anomalies function as integral parts of the whole. Van Ingen’s rigorous structuralist methods have produced beautiful, emotionally touching and many-layered results. Fokus is as close to the art of painting as cinema can possibly strive to be.” MT

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Saara CantellSaara Cantell (born 1968) is a film director from Helsinki and a mother of three. She graduated as a director from the school of Motion Picture, Television and Production Design at the University of Art and Design in 1996 and has since directed numerous short films, for example, A Clear Winter’s Day (Peilikirkas päivä, 1997) and What If (Mahdollisuus, 2005) and also dance films, for example, A Tale of Shatters (Sirpalesatu, 1995) and Portrait (Potretti, 2003), radio plays and two children’s television series.

The Great Journey[ D e n s t o r a r e s a n ]

Fiction | 2005 | Digibeta | 29’

Director:

Saara CantellScript:

Camilla RoosCinematography:

Heikki FärmEditing:

Tuuli KuittinenSound design, music:

Pekka KarjalainenCast:

Johanna af Schultén, Elin Petersdottir, Lilga KovankoProducer:

Pamela MandartProduction:

Mandart Entertainment Ltd.Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, NFTF, AVEK, Svenska Kulturfonden, VilliläFinancing TV company:

YLE FST

The Great Journey is a story about an intense triangle, a story about love and dependence. Rosa is intimately involved with Elena. They dream about travelling abroad together, but when Elena suggests travelling for real there’s disagreement. It turns out Rosa doesn’t dare leave her elderly mother alone at home.

Rosa is over 30 and still lives with her mother Sylvia. Sylvia dreams herself out of reality by reading atlases and detective stories. Rosa, too, sits daydreaming at her dull job.

Rosa realizes she has to take her mother on the journey she keeps dreaming of before it’s too late, but at the same time she wants to travel with Elena. After learning that Elena has been offered a reporting trip to France, Rosa realizes she has to make a decision – one that turns out to be more complicated than she first thought.

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Esa IlliEsa Illi graduated as a director from the school of Motion Picture, Television and Production Design at the University of Art and Design. He has directed, for example, Midsummer Stories (Juhannustarinoita, 1997), the short fictions which won awards at the Tampere film festival: Lazyman Death (Den lata döden, 1991), Break-In – The Anatomy of a Gig (Kili-Kali, 1994) and Monkey Business (Apinajuttu, 2000) and the EBU-awarded short film, Kotiinpaluu (1998). His first full-length feature, Brothers (Broidit), was made in 2003. Other awards and honourable mentions: Nordisk panorama (Reykjavik 1994), Mannheim (1994 and 2000), and Shanghai International Film Festival (2004).

Hedgehog Thing[ S i i l i j u t t u ]

Experimental fiction | 2006 | 35mm, Hdcam, Digibeta | 16:9, 1:1,85 | Dolby Digital | 7’

Director, script, music:

Esa IlliCinematography, colourist:

Pentti KeskimäkiEditing:

Esa Illi, Pentti KeskimäkiSound design:

Olli PärnänenCast:

Eetu Furuholm, Jani Toivola, Maria Heiskanen, Ville VirtanenProducer:

Raimo UunilaProduction:

Grape Productions OyProduction support:

AVEK (Make It Short Project of AVEK, The Finnish Film Foundation and YLE Co-productions)Financing TV company:

YLE Co-productions

A sweaty and tense afternoon on a city bus. Tired, angry and apathetic people. A small boy who’s afraid to go home and is sort of trapped on the bus. This is one of those moments when you’re balancing on a razor’s edge.

In the end a person who has every reason to give up musters up the energy to care and the boy is saved.

A small unselfish act, to rise above everyday life for a moment is enough for a feeling of mythi-cal heroism to spark to life for a moment.

Unless we see enough signs in our surrounding reality that at least one person cares and is capable of altruistic, unselfish acts during tough, stressful situations then some significant break-down will occur. We need these signs to believe in this world and to feel good. Especially children do.

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Tonislav HristovTonislav Hristov (b. 1978 in Vraza, Bulgaria) moved to Finland four and half years ago. He has graduated from the Technical University in Bulgaria. After working as a technical assistant to movie directors, Hristov started in 2003 making his own movies. Hristov has also studied on the Etno Media Course, arranged by YLE in 2004, and is now a media student on MUNDO – a media education and work training project for immigrants and ethnic minorities living in Finland. The two-year-long studies take place at the Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia. The work training takes place at YLE, where Hristov has been making short documentaries for a weekly MUNTO-TV-slot on YLE TV1.

HerculesDocumentary | 2005 | Digital Betacam | 4:3 | Stereo | 17’28”

Director, script,

cinematography, editing:

Tonislav Hristov Sound design:

Juha HakanenProducer:

Pekka AineProduction:

Oy Todellisuus AbProduction support:

AVEKFinancing TV company:

YLE TV1 Co-productions

Tonislav Hristov’s Hercules is a short documentary about a Bulgarian man who earns his living entertaining people by swallowing swords, lying on nails and walking on broken glass. The dan-gers of this rare profession collide with the long tradition he is also teaching his young son.

A warm and touching story of an exceptional occupation, Hercules is a vision of a craft mov-ing from generation to the next, in the modern world of only shortly lived moments. Beautifully simple yet pure in its heart, Hercules shows us a child’s vision of the world around him as well as the humility and fears of the older man, scarred from his way of life.

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Eila HutriEila Hutri (Naukkarinen) was born in 1951. She holds two MA degrees: one in Film and TV Directing and another in Arts Education from the University of Art and Design, Helsinki. Eila has worked as an animator for more than 25 years: on educational programs such as Tales from the City Dump series (Kertomuksia kaatopaikalta, 1993), which won the award for Europe’s best educational film in 1994 and as an Animation Director in the Animation Studios of Tallinn-Film’s Cod Liver Oil (Kalanmaksaöljyä, 1991). At the moment, Eila works with her husband, documentarist Lasse Naukkarinen, at their own inde-pendent film production company. In a Nostalgic Way is an image-sound-poem, which works as an introduction to her latest animation film =X, which is currently in pre-production.

In a Nostalgic Way[ S a r j a k u v a p a t i n a a ]

Experimental animation | 2005 | Digibeta, Beta SP, DVD | 4:3 Letterbox | Stereo | 7’15’’

Director, script, designer, animation:

Eila HutriCinematography:

Lasse NaukkarinenEditing, sound design, music:

Dile KolanenProducer:

Lasse NaukkarinenProduction:

Ilokuva, Naukkarinen & Co.

Like an aphorism, In a Nostalgic Way creates moments, states of minds and memories. Image-sound-poem drawing from pop art, sci-fi and comics lifts the veil on new dimensions and tunes one into the atmosphere of experiments. In a Nostalgic Way is a crisp exception, which inspires everyone to seek answers.

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Klaus HäröDirector Klaus Härö (born 1971) rose to fame with his debut film Elina (Näkymätön Elina, 2002). The film won over thirty domestic and international film awards and was Finland’s Oscar-nominee in 2003. In 2003 Härö received Ingmar Bergman’s personal reward and a year later he received the State Award for Art. Klaus Härö’s film, Mother of Mine (Äideistä parhain, 2005), has also been chosen as Finland’s Oscar-nominee.

The Leading Lady[ H u v u d r o l l e n ]

Fiction | 2005 | Digibeta, 35 mm | Dolby digital | 29’

Director:

Klaus HäröScript:

Camilla RoosCinematography:

Robert NordströmEditing:

Timo HalonenSound design:

Kirka SainioCast:

Annika Miiros, Marina MotaleffProducer:

Pamela MandartProduction:

Mandart Entertainment Ltd.Production support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, NFTF, AVEK, Svenska KulturfondenFinancing TV company:

YLE FST

Maria is an actress. For decades she’s only been given minor parts at the theatre, but at the same time she has dreamed of getting a leading role. Then, one day, she does get a leading role and is struck – by panic.

The Leading Lady tells the story of Maria’s struggle to come to terms with her new leading role. She spends a weekend at the countryside villa to get some peace and quiet to work on her role, but she becomes ever more anxious and stressed out. Until she comes up with the solution: to model herself on cousin Frida who is perfect for the role.

The Leading Lady is a film about an encounter between two women. Maria tries to exploit Frida’s life and character for her own purposes, but she soon realizes there’s more than that at stake. The tables are turned more than once during Maria’s and Frida’s weekend together.

The Leading Lady is a film about being seen and being looked at.

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06 My Economic Life

[ T a l o u s e l ä m ä n i ]

Documentary | 2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | ~20’


Jaana PuhakkaMusic:

Ilari EdelmannProducer:

Jaana PuhakkaProduction:

Kuvani KyProduction support:



Jaana PuhakkaDocumentary filmmaker and film worker. Born in 1963.

This movie is an essay documentary on the power of money.The movie tells about the freedom and servitude of consumption in my own life.I am looking for a new language for a subjective social movie.The power of money is everywhere. It lives in our house too.

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Panu Heikkilä Panu Heikkilä (born 1970) is a trained photographer. He previously directed the short films, Farmer’s Journal

(Maamiehen päiväkirja, 2001), and

Friday (Perjantai, 2003).

Nature and Health[ L u o n t o j a t e r v e y s | P r i r o d a i Z d o r o v ’ e ]Director:

Panu HeikkiläScript:

Panu Heikkilä, Ville HaapasaloCinematography:

Jussi EerolaEditing:

Harri YlönenSound design:

Janne JankeriCast:

Ville Haapasalo, Olga Shuvalova, Oleg Letnikov, Andrei Tsumak, Valeri Filonov, Leonid Nitsenko, Juri Orlov, Viktor TerehovProducer:

Pekka LehtonenProduction:

Fantomatico OyCo-producer:

Nina Koljonen / Fantasiafilmi OyProduction support:

The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK Financing TV company:

YLE TV1

Fiction | 2006 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | ~50’

Kostya is looking for his place in his new home country, Finland. He’s trying to keep a distance from his father, Anatoly, and his older generation Russian friends.

When Alexei, a family friend who occasionally employs Kostya, needs his apartment back, Kostya has to temporarily move back with his father. Alexei runs a stripper business and brings female dancers to Finland from St. Petersburg. Kostya gets to chauffeur Masha, a girl from St. Petersburg who dreams of being a singer, to a strip bar and back.

The film is mainly in Russian.

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Kimmo TaavilaKimmo Taavila was born in 1965. After studying at the Department of Motion Picture, Television and Production Design, he has worked extensively in the film industry. During the past ten years he has edited numerous feature length films, the latest being Producing Adults (Lapsia ja aikuisia, 2004). Taavila’s previous film, Don’t Let It Kill You (Ei siihen kuole, 2002), was screened at several festivals and received the National Council for Cinema’s Quality Support Prize.

Off the Meter[ M i t t a r i ]

Director, script:

Kimmo TaavilaCinematography:

Heikki FärmEditing:

Slawomir KrasnogorskSound design:

Risto IissaloCast:

Annaleena Lahtela, Pekka StrangProducer:

Liisa PenttiläProduction:

Edith film OyProduction support:


YLE Co-productions

A watercolour-painting taxi-driver gets an artist for a fare. The artist tries to explain her the essence of art. She is not quite sure if she gets it, but that probably has something to do with life being short and art being long.

Fiction | 2005 | 35 mm | 1:2,35 | Dolby Digital | 13’39’’

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Teemu NikkiTeemu Nikki (born 1975) has directed several music videos and commercial films. Opportunist is his first short film.

Opportunist[ M e n e s t y j ä ]

Fiction | 2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 Anamorphic | Stereo | 8’30”


Teemu NikkiCinematography:

Jyrki ArnikariSound design, music:

Sakari SalliCast:

Topi Majaniemi, Aukusti Heikkilä, Antti Reini, Tarja Heinula, Pertti Sveholm, Milka AhlrothProducers:

Petri Jokiranta, Tero KaukomaaProduction:

Blind Spot Pictures OyProduction support:

The Finnish Film Foundation (Make It Short Project of AVEK, The Finnish Film Foundation and YLE Co-productions)Financing TV company:

YLE

10-year old Marko is jealous of his next door neighbour who is the same age as he. Marko’s family and the neighbour boy’s family go for a ride. At the gas station Marko notices that his op-portunity has come.

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Mika TaanilaMika Taanila is an artist working fluently in the fields of documentary filmmaking, avant-garde filmmaking and the visual arts. His films deal with the issues of artificial, urban surroundings and futuristic utopias of contemporary science.

“Relics and artefacts from futures both past and possible are the stuff of which Mika Taanila’s oeuvre is made. Taanila is a creature of our in-between times, which makes his works hard to classify.” Olaf Möller, Film Comment

Optical Sound[ O p t i n e n ä ä n i ]

Experimental | 2005 | 35 mm | Cinemascope | Dolby Digital | 6’

Director, editing:

Mika TaanilaScript:

Mika Taanila, Jussi EerolaCinematography:

Jussi EerolaSound recording, audio consultant:

Olli HuhtanenMusic:

[The User]Producers:

Cilla Werning, Ulla Simonen, executive producer Lasse SaarinenProduction:

Kinotar OyProduction support:

Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, AVEK, The Finnish Film FoundationCo-commissioned by SPACEX and LUX, with support from Arts Council England through South West Screen and Film London. Financing TV company:


Office technology becomes obsolete very quickly. Old tools are transformed into musical instru-ments of the future. The film is based on the Symphony # 2 for Dot Matrix Printers, composed by [The User].

Optical sound continues the series of films by Mika Taanila which deal with technology, hu-manity, and futuristic ideas. His previous work includes The Future Is Not What It Used To Be (Tulevaisuus ei ole entisensä, 2002), Robocup 99 (2000), Futuro – A New Stance For Tomorrow (Futuro – tulevaisuuden olotila, 1998), and Thank You For The Music – A Film About Muzak (1997). Taanila’s films have been screened at over 200 international film festivals and in Biennales of Berlin, Istanbul and Venice.

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06 The Queue

[ J o n o ]

Kimmo YläkäsKimmo Yläkäs studied film at the Lahti polytechnic, Institute of design, Film and TV department. His diploma work was the film The Long Gone (Poissa, 2004). The Queue is his first film outside the school.

Documentary | 2005 | Digital Betacam, Beta SP | 16:9 Anamorphic | Stereo | 12’38’’

Director, script:

Kimmo YläkäsCinematography:

Tahvo HirvonenEditing:

Kimmo Kohtamäki, Kimmo YläkäsSound design:

Janne JankeriProducer:

Hannu OksanenProduction:

Oksanen Töölöstä OyProduced as part of The Other Finland project: executive producers Ulla Simonen / AVEK, Iikka Vehkalahti / YLE TV2 Documentaries, Timo Korhonen / The Other FinlandProduction support:

AVEKFinancing TV company:

YLE Co-productions

In Vaalimaa, the Finnish-Russian customs and border, hundreds of trucks wait to cross the bor-der to Russia. The queue can be up to some twenty or thirty kilometres long. A Russian truck driver, Andrei Romantchenko waits for his turn in the queue. The queue jolts forward in its own time. He just waits, and waits.

Andrei tries to sleep whenever he can. But if the queue moves, when he’s asleep, the others will jump in and take his place. He keeps in contact with his family over his mobile just to find out that his wife is out partying. Andrei wants to believe that even if he’s away a lot, he is still there to see everything important like the birth of the baby and his first steps.

How does it feel, when you can do nothing but wait? Frustrating? Truck drivers are meant to be on the move. You can sit still in the queues for days, then you move a bit and then wait again repeatedly.

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Anna Maria Jóakimsdóttir HutriAnna Maria Jóakimsdóttir Hutri was born in Reykjavik but grew up in Sweden. After receiving her Master’s of Fine Arts degree from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, she’s been making films for the Finland-Swedish TV and Lasihelmi Filmi, among others.

At present she’s working on a manuscript for a feature film that partly takes place in Iceland.

The film is based on a true story from the many memories of childhood.

SamFiction | 2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Dolby stereo | 16’40’’

Director, script:

Anna Maria Jóakimsdóttir HutriCinematography:

Tuomo HutriEditing:

Joona LouhivuoriSound design:

Anne TolkkinenMusic:

Mats GustaviiCast:

Anders Tolergård, Gabriella Widestrand, Konsta MäkeläProducer:

Jarmo LampelaProduction:

Lasihelmi Filmi OyCo-producer:

Louise Lindbom JOJ Films ABProduction support:



Sam and Malinda, a young couple in their early twenties, are taken aback by an unexpected pregnancy. Parenthood is a frightening but also a tempting prospect for Sam. Malinda is more reluctant. The experiences of family life are complex for both of these young souls. Malinda was only few years old when her father died from stomach cancer. Sam’s mom and dad divorced when he was in his early teens. Since then Sam has lost touch with his father and his heritage of Finnish culture. Malinda is curious to meet Sam’s father Atro, a hermit living in a trailer on the outskirts of the city and society with his old dog. Sam on the other hand is hesitant. After the reunion, the young couple see their future in a whole new light.

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Pekka KorhonenPekka Korhonen (b. 1968) graduated from the Arts Academy at Turku Polytechnic in 1998. His student works include e.g. the award-winning Shadows in the

Margarine (Varjoja margariinissa, 1996), In Bed with

the Wolf (Sängyssä suden kanssa, 1997), and Little Men (Pieniä miehiä, 1998). After graduating, he has worked as a director and an animator on the tv show Risto Räppääjä, and as an animator on various animated cartoons and puppet animations.

Siberian ExpressAnimation | 2005 | DigiBeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 13’57’’

Director, script:

Pekka KorhonenAnimation:

Katja Kettu, Pekka Korhonen and Mikko TorvinenEditing:

Harri YlönenSound design, music:

Arttu KontkanenVoice cast:

Katja Kukkola, Petteri Summanen, Juha KaijomaaProducer:



The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEKFinancing TV company:

YLE Co-productions

Pedro is a rabbit in love. His heart yearns for the beautiful Ramona, but he dares not act upon his feelings. A Mysterious Stranger shows up and sweeps the frustrated Ramona off her hairy feet. Consequently, a tragic duel takes place between rabbit and wolf in the cactus desert at night. Who is to win the woman’s heart? Only Siberia can save the lovers.

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06 Spring

[ K e v ä t ]


Directors, script, editing:

Susanna Helke & Virpi SuutariCinematography:

Heikki FärmSound design:

Anne TolkkinenMusic:

Timo HietalaProducer:

Cilla WerningExecutive producer:

Lasse SaarinenProduction:



YLE

A school day ends and the scruffy fatigue of the last school weeks of spring is unleashed by restless wandering in the woods, stump lands and shopping malls of the suburbs. Young boys are full of anarchy and frenzy. They walk like termites in the scenery divided by ring roads taking with them everything they can. The film stars 12–13-year-old boys and a few same-aged girls who live in a Northern Helsinki suburb. The film depicts the basic state of childhood of our time: restlessness.

Susanna Helke & Virpi SuutariDirectors Susanna Helke and Virpi Suutari have worked together since 1993. Their film making career together includes, for example, the following films: The Idle Ones (Joutilaat, 2001) – a documen-tary about boys getting a grip on their lives; A Soap

Dealer’s Sunday (Saippuakauppiaan sunnuntai, 1998) – a documentary about getting lost in time; and White Sky (Valkoinen taivas, 1998) – a documentary essay about adapting to destruction.

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Kaisa PenttiläKaisa Penttilä (born 1975) graduated from the Art Academy of Turku in 1998. Her previous works are Shadows in Margarine (Varjoja margariinissa, 1996), The Last Apparition (Viimeinen ilmestys, 1996), In the Soup (Liemessä, 1998), which received the Risto Jarva-award at the Tampere International Short Film Festival, and Air Mail (Lentoposti, 2002), which received the national quality grant and awards at several festivals.

Superhero’s Son[ S u p e r m i e h e n p o i k a ]

Animation | 2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 13’43’’

Director, script:

Kaisa PenttiläAnimators:

Jan Andersson and Kaisa PenttiläCinematography:

Ville PenttiläEditing:

Hannele MajaniemiSound design, music:

Sakari SalliVoice cast:

Leena Uotila, Janne Reinikainen, Niko Saarela, Juho Milonoff, Heikki NousiainenProducer:




YLE Co-Productions

In a small apartment an ordinary boy lives with his mother. His life is quite ordinary except for his mother, who is a superhero. A caring mother turns into a powerful world-saving superhero within seconds and leaves on a rescue mission and the little boy is alone – once again. With help of an Alley Cat the Boy will take justice into his own hands and carry out a dubious plan...

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Markku HaapalehtoA writer/director who has earned his stripes with commercials and believes that the truth is found in Swedish comedy-dramas, British sketch shows, Spanish red wine, Finnish sauna and Gary Larson’s Far Side.

They Throw Dwarfs Too, Don’t They[ H e i t e l l ä ä n h ä n k ä ä p i ö i t ä k i n ]

Fiction | 2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 26’

Director, script:

Markku HaapalehtoCinematography:

Jyrki ArnikariEditing:

Timo HalonenSound design, music:

Juri SeppäCast:

Johanna Kokko, Iikka ForssProducers:

Mika Ritalahti, Niko RitalahtiProduction:

Silva Mysterium OyProduction support:


YLE TV1

Jaana, 29, surprises his boyfriend Jesse on his 30th birthday by taking him along to two prosti-tutes as a present. She thinks she’s preventing his “thirties crisis” though she’s actually suffering from her own. Jaana abhors commitment as much as breaking up, getting stuck in a rut as much as moving to a new phase. Her gift is a test for both of them. She tests the power of their love with the ultimate method. Her gift leads to disaster and humiliation and another and yet another. But also to a cleansing show-down. When all seems lost, the twosome save their relationship together. Both Jaana and Jesse remember why they fell in love with each other and attain the certainty they need. At least for now.

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06 War

[ S o t a ]


Directors, script, editing:

Susanna Helke & Virpi SuutariCinematography:

Heikki FärmSound design:

Anne TolkkinenProducer:

Cilla WerningExecutive producer:

Lasse SaarinenProduction:



YLE

A group of young suburban boys has gathered to play airsoft. Their equipment resembles that of real infantry men down to the smallest detail. Their camouflage outfits blend in with the Finnish suburban forest. Machine guns shoot sustained fire and when a magazine is empty a new one is loaded professionally. The entertainment industry produces equipment for games in which children emulate the adult world ever more authentically using toys.

Susanna Helke & Virpi SuutariDirectors Susanna Helke and Virpi Suutari have worked together since 1993. Their film making career together includes, for example, the following films: The Idle Ones (Joutilaat, 2001) – a documen-tary about boys getting a grip on their lives; A Soap

Dealer’s Sunday (Saippuakauppiaan sunnuntai, 1998) – a documentary about getting lost in time; and White Sky (Valkoinen taivas, 1998) – a documentary essay about adapting to destruction.

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Ann-Cathrine FröjdöAnn-Cathrine Fröjdö (born 1959) is a Finnish-Swedish actress and director who works in film, theatre and art projects, among other things.

The Wedding[ B r ö l l o p e t ]

Fiction | 2005 | Digibeta, DVD, Beta SP | 16:9, 4:3 | Stereo | 28’30’’

Director, script:

Ann-Cathrine FröjdöCinematography:

Bo ForsanderEditing:

Katarina WiklundSound design:

Johan Forslund, Henrik MeierkordMusic:

Johan SöderqvistCast:

Ylva Ekblad, Leonora Brandt, Johan FageruddProducer:

Mårten FröjdöProduction:

McArena AbProduction support:


YLE FST, SVT

”The year I turned eleven the whole world was an adventure and for me, the village was the worldand all the people who lived there...I started to discover that many things didn’t make senseWhen grown-ups said one thing they meant another... What did love look like?I kept wondering about that...”

The Wedding sets out from Mia’s everyday life. Her mother’s strong memories from her childhood lead to fantasy meeting reality – a wedding materializes in front of Mia’s eyes.

The short film is based on the book The Wedding by Katarina Torfason. The film was shot in Kronoby in Ostrobothnia during summer 2004.

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Salla TykkäSalla Tykkä was born in 1973 in Helsinki, Finland, where she lives and works today. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki in 2003. She has been working with photography, video and film since 1996, and she had her first solo show in 1997. In 1999 she directed the short film Power. The short film trilogy Cave was completed in 2003. Salla Tykkä’s films have been shown in museums and galleries worldwide and at many international film festivals.

Zoo


Salla TykkäCinematography:

Samuli SaastamoinenUnderwater cinematography:

Jyrki ArnikariSound design:

Janne JankeriMusic:

Max SavikangasCast:

Terhi SuorlahtiProducer:

Misha JaariProduction:

Five Years Production OyProduction support:


YLE TV1

Experimental | 2006 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Dolby SR | 13’

A woman is taking pictures of cages in a zoo. The animals from within stare back at the woman and follow her with their eyes. The viewer and the object change places. The woman plunges into deep water, where a game of violent underwater rugby is on. She surfaces to breathe, but the stares of the animals and the camera’s view block her escape route. In desperation she makes an extreme decision.

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Alppiharjun Elokuva OyViipurinkatu 16 B 22FI-00510 HelsinkiTel. +358 50 5634 084Fax +358 9 1481 [email protected]

Blind Spot Pictures OyKalliolanrinne 4FI-00510 HelsinkiTel. +358 9 7742 8360Fax +358 9 7742 [email protected]

Edith film OyTehtaankatu 5 C 21FI-00140 HelsinkiTel. +358 9 6124 9660Mobile +358 40 505 0015Fax +358 9 6227 [email protected]

Elokuvaosuuskunta Camera Cagliostro Vellamonkatu 1 FI-33100 Tampere Tel. +358 3 2226 790 Mobile +358 41 4344 399 [email protected] www.cameracagliostro.fi

Fantomatico OyKoskelantie 21 AFI-00610 HelsinkiTel. +358 9 8561 9908Fax +358 9 8561 [email protected]

Five Years Production OyPikkupurontie 2FI-00880 HelsinkiTel. +358 45 674 [email protected]

Contacts

Grape Productions OyMagnusborgFI-06100 PorvooTel. +358 40 540 [email protected]

Illume OyPalkkatilankatu 7FI-00240 HelsinkiTel./Fax +358 9 1481 [email protected]

Ilokuva, Naukkarinen & Co.Palotie 23FI-02760 EspooTel. +358 9 8554 860Fax +358 9 8813 [email protected]

Festival contacts for all titles:

The Finnish Film FoundationKanavakatu 12FI-00160 HelsinkiTel. +358 9 6220 300Fax +358 9 6220 [email protected]

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Oksanen Töölöstä OyKymenlaaksonkatu 10FI-48100 KotkaTel./Fax +358 5 2250 [email protected]

Silva Mysterium OyPulttitie 16 FI-00880 HelsinkiTel. +358 9 7594 720Fax +358 9 7594 [email protected]

Oy Todellisuus AbSuomenlinna C 83 A 8FI-00190 HelsinkiTel. +358 400 604 [email protected]

Jinx Ltd.Hankavaarankaari 575FI-Savonranta 58300Tel. +358 50 5866 [email protected]

Kinotar OyVuorikatu 16 A 9FI-00100 HelsinkiTel. +358 9 1351 864Fax +358 9 1357 [email protected]

Klaffi ProductionsNahkatehtaankatu 2FI-90100 OuluTel. +358 8 8811 623Fax +358 8 8811 [email protected]

Kroma Productions Ltd.MagnusborgFI-06100 PorvooTel. +358 19 5348 015Fax +358 19 5348 [email protected]

Kuvani KySillanmäki 10FI-06100 PorvooTel. +358 40 5426 277Fax. +358 19 5348 [email protected]

Lasihelmi Filmi OyKalliolanrinne 4FI-00510 HelsinkiTel. +358 9 7742 830Fax +358 9 7742 [email protected]

Lumenia ProductionsPL 719FI-00101 HelsinkiTel. +358 40 5523 [email protected]

Mandart Entertainment Ltd.Kalevankatu 28 A 3FI-00100 HelsinkiTel. +358 9 694 3142Fax. +358 9 694 [email protected]

McArena AbElverksgatan 10AX-22100 Mariehamn, ÅlandTel. +358 18 128 [email protected]

The F inn ish F i lm Foundat ion | Kanavakatu 12 | F I -00160 He ls ink i | Te l . +358 9 6220 300 | Fax +358 9 6220 3060 | ses@ses. f i | www.ses. f iEdito

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The Finnish Film Foundation

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