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The movie tells the story of how the life of a poor, semi-deaf woman leads to an inevitable conclusion in early independent Finland. She was arrested as a member of the Red Guard women’s company in 1918 and sentenced to a prison camp. Since then, she has been marked as “classified as dangerous to society.” In the 1920s, she was actively involved in leftist youth associations in Helsinki, led a literary committee, and writes for organization newsletters.
The state police have all the rights to intervene in radical activities; the unity of the nation must be ensured by any means necessary. In the early 1930s, communist activities are banned by law, and accordingly, paranoia increases. The State Police monitor and report on the lives of thousands of people. The distinction between treason and heroism becomes blurred.
Martta Koskinen never makes a fuss about herself, but she is reported several times. She meets Hertta Kuusinen in prison, which leads her to the circles of the intelligentsia. She works diligently as a seamstress, among others for the writer Hella Wuolijoki. She always helps her juniors to the best of her abilities and during the Continuation War, she assists conscientious objectors, compromising her own modest standard of living.
She becomes a messenger for the underground resistance movement, whose activities are almost non-existent, largely due to the mutual squabbling of a small circle. She hides a leading communist figure, Hertta Kuusinen’s fiancé, Yrjö Leino. When caught, she refuses to reveal anything.
Martta Koskinen is seen as a traitor, a spy, an enemy collaborator. To some, she is a prisoner of conscience, a dissident, a pacifist.
“The Seamstress” is a human rights story from 70 years ago and at the same time a story of young Finland.
Director:
Ville Suhonen
Starring:
Vera Kiiskinen
Laura Birn
Elena Leeve
Pekka Milonoff
The film was awarded the Best Documentary Film Jussi Award.
Note: Not available on DVD or Blu-ray distribution.
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The only official documentary film about Lordi, the Finnish national hero, a creative monster genius, who with his band won Finland its first Eurovision title. For the first time in the film, we get behind the scenes, where the band’s frontman Mr. Lordi, Tomi from Rovaniemi, has experienced great success and acceptance from the masses following the victory. Two years later, Lordi has become a commercial brand, but Tomi suffers from a total collapse and is unable to create anew. The pressure to succeed is immense from both fans and the general public.
Will Tomi manage to keep his monster band together and find the joy of childish creation crucial for a new Lordi album amidst difficulties? The film exclusively follows the challenging everyday life of the popular monster band behind the curtains and presents unique, previously unseen archive material from the inception of the monster dream in Tomi’s childhood years.
Tomi swears eternal loyalty to 80s heavy metal and never intends to grow up. The film is about the fervor of creation and the courage to be exactly what one believes in, even if the 1980s heavy metal monster is no longer the trendiest thing in the world.
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The overall tone of the film is as energetic as punk itself. The movie depicts youth, specifically two generations of youth from the 1970s-80s and the present-day punk scenes. We follow a band formed by four young people from the Tampere region, witnessing their journey through gigs, successes, and setbacks. The film features both old and new punk music, along with intriguing archival footage from the early days of punk veterans. “Punk – A Disease That Doesn’t Kill” is a compelling and engaging documentary about Finnish punk, entertaining yet not toothless or bland.
Director:
Jouko Aaltonen
Starring:
Andy McCoy
Severi Helle
Pelle Miljoona
Pantse Syrjä
Note: The documentary is no longer available on Blu-ray or DVD.
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In the documentary “Madam President,” we follow the everyday life of Finland’s first female president for nearly a year and a half, up until the end of her term. “Madam President” is a film about Finland, about the president as a leader, and the brisk woman behind the institution.
The production team of the film accompanies President Halonen in Finland and abroad, in cabinets and leisure. The documentary captures the routine and celebration from November 2010 to early March, when President Halonen handed over power to her successor. In “Madam President,” the viewer is present in situations never seen before moments just before significant public events and afterward, journeys and transitions, and all the tasks that constitute the work.
Director:
Aleksi Bardy
Starring:
Tarja Halonen
Pentti Arajärvi
Eila Nevalainen
Heli Sariola
Note: No longer available on Blu-ray or DVD distribution.
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Finnish farm boy Paavo Turtiainen is hired into the Parisian household of Swedish theatre producer Lars Schmidt and his wife, actress Ingrid Bergman. The couple “adopts” and trains Paavo to navigate among the rich and famous. Later on, Paavo becomes the personal secretary for Schmidt and Bergman. His responsibilities include building up the personal archives of both Schmidt and Bergman. Ms. Bergman’s archives are now at the film archives of Wesleyan University and Schmidt’s archives are in the United States Library of Congress. After Schmidt and Bergman divorce Paavo decides to settle permanently in New York. His first clients are friends of Schmidt: celebrities and business personalities Paavo has met while working in Paris and on Dannholmen, a Swedish island owned by Schmidt. Eventually, Paavo becomes an acclaimed chef and event planner for high society. Along the way, he has learned to stand on his own feet.
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Young poet Laura Eklund Nhaga is seeking meaningful ways to influence the surrounding world. She explores various forms of activism, understanding that each of them can be effective in its own way. Eklund Nhaga moves effortlessly from the steps of the Parliament House to British university poetry nights and to the Capitol. The documentary by Greenlit Productions examines some of the biggest questions of the present moment, such as global change, the rise of populism on social media, and grassroots movements. The film is audio-described. (Source: Yle Areena)
Note: Not available in DVD or Blu-ray format.
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The lonely son of a Canadian preacher man, Michael, builds the first professional boxing league far away in Finland. Transgender boxer Jessica joins, competing against Michael both physically and ideologically. Anger and frustration affect Michael, now 40 years old and still seeking a partner. He yearns for love, but first, he must learn not to hate. After finding true love online, Michael redefines his values and reinvents himself as a boxer in love.
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Oscar is 40 years 40-year-old teacher whose Jekyll and Hyde lifestyle starts to cast a shadow on his family life. Just when he is starting to show signs of calming down following the birth of his firstborn, new mortgage, and several visits to a psychiatrist, his manager lures him back into his old life as a rock’n’roll lunatic and to an apocalyptic three-week tour in China.
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For centuries, a closed institution served as a final destination for socially transgressive women at Själö, an isolated island in the Baltic Sea. The outcast women were kept there in detention to be observed, studied, and measured – in much the same way as the scientists now focus on the surrounding nature at the research center the place has been converted to. While a young scientist is collecting samples on the island, the past emerges in the whispers of the unsent letters and empty rooms of the hospital. The space fills up with hidden memories as the invisible archives become alive. Whose stories are remembered and whose are forgotten?
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Songs of Love paints a picture of mature love in its various forms. The songs and poems performed by Ritva Oksanen intertwine six different stories of love. A freshly married couple bonds over karaoke, passion, and cutting down trees. A widow rebuilds her life after loss. A woman who enjoys life dates a man 20 years her junior and questions if it can be called love. A long-term relationship between two men has endured through hardships and continues despite declining health. Theater director Ritva Oksanen relishes her freedom; she works, lifts weights, and doesn’t want a romantic relationship. A man places his wife, suffering from dementia, in a care facility, knowing that time is running short. Songs of Love is a bold and empowering look at love and aging.
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