SHOWING THE SUN
Multi-year film journey through northern Europe, the Belgrade Cultural Center continues in April, presenting the contemporary Finnish film. Although Aki Kaurismäki has been the synonym for this cinematography, his films won`t be present within the scope of these 13 achievements, because they are shown in cinemas, on television and were released on DVD. But are there all the most important, new and broadly renowned Finnish authors. First of all, the truly small masterpiece by Aki`s older brother Mike "Three Sages of Greece", and then the two films by Klaus Hare and Aqua Louhimiesa. Klaus Hare films mainly in Swedish, and his film "Elina" is known for our youngest audience. At the end of April, we we`ll see in Belgrade Cultural Center Hare`s latest and the best Finnish film officially in 2009. year "Letters to His Father Jacob," who was Finland's candidate for the Oscar Award, and "My Mother" which was dedicated to children who were sent to Sweden by their mothers during the Second World War.
The special value of the program are excellent films by Aqua Louhimiesa who is known to us through the erotic drama "Anxiety" (Levottomat), then “Frozen Country " and "Frozen City", two completely different film genres, that show a dramatic way of life back in one of the safest countries in the social world.
Quite another story are the works of currently most popular Finnish director Karukosi, that show how the European film heritage perfectly fits in with the Hollywood thriller "House of black butterflies and love-religious drama" Forbidden Fruit ". One of the best Finnish films in the last decade, "Black Ice" by Petri Kotwic, not only corresponds to the "Fatal Attraction" but goes beyond it. As for the horror that is, after films for children, perhaps the most popular film genre in Finland, there is the biggest name of Anti-Jusi Anila whose historical horror "Sauna" gained an international reputation. Besides "Sauna", there is another specialty of this kind on the program, " Dark Floors ", done by the original idea of Mr. Lordi, the leader of Finnish music group of the same name which won the Eurovision Song Contest. In the film under their usual costumes and masks perform all members of the group. The Finnish film mosaic is completed with "Thomas", a beautiful lyric drama by Mike Soini, which is on a lonely old man, and the "Visitor" by Juke Peke Valkeapee, highly esthetisized thriller that is rated as one of the best debut in the Finnish cinematography in the 21st century.
So, from 22nd – 28th April, the Finnish Film Week in Belgrade Cultural Centre’s Cinema Hall (DKC, St. Kolarceva 6), we'll see everything else, by Aki Kaurismäki’s films. These films will move us out of prejudices about depression as the dominant feeling of Finnish films. We will laugh, then cry, and thrumble of fear. As in the real cinema, and as in real life. With the presence of the filmmakers.
Programme of the Festival:
Thursday, 22nd April
20.30 Opening ceremony: Thomas
directed and screenplay: Miika Soini
cast: Laase Pöysti, Pentii Siimes, Mauri Heikkilä, Aarre Karén
Friday, 23rd April
19.00 Frozen City / Valkoinen kaupunki
directed by: Aku Louhimies; screenplay: Paavo Westerberg, Mikko Kouki, Aku Louhimies; cast: Jaane Virtanen, Susanna Anteroinen
21.00 Black Ice / Musta jää
directed and screenplay : Petri Kotwica
cast: Outi Mäenpää, Ria Kataja, Marti Suosallo, Ville Virtanen
Saturday, 24th April
19.00 Mother of Mine / Äideistä parhain
directed by: Klaus Härö; screenlay: Jimmy Karlsson, Kirsi Vikman
cast: Topi Majaniemi, Kirsti Lahti, Michael Nyqvist, Maria Lundqvist
21.00 Forbidden Fruit / Kielletty hedelmä
directed by: Dome Karukoski; screenplay: Aleksi Bardy
cast: Marjut Maristo, Amanda Pilke, Joel Mäkinen, Jarkko Niemi
Sunday, 25th April
19.00 The Home of Dark Butterflyies / Tummien perhosten koti
directed by: Dome Karukoski; screenplay: Marko Leino
cast: Niilo Syväoja, Tommi Korpela, Eero Milonoff, Kristina Halttu, Katti Outinen, Pertti Sveholm
21.00 Frozen Country / Paha maa
directed by: Aku Louhimies; screenplay: Paavo Westerberg, Jari Rantala, Aku Louhimies;
cast: Jasper Pääkkönen, Mikko Leppilampi,Pamela Tola, Petteri Summanen, Mikko Kouki, Samuli Edelman
Monday, 26th April
19.00 Dark Floors: The Lordi Motion Picture
directed by: Pete Riski; screenplay: Pekka Lehtosaari po ideji mr. Lordija
cast: Skye Bennett, Noah Huntley, William Hope, Lordi, Kita, Amen, Ox, Awa
21.00 Three Wise Men / Kolme viisasta miestä
directed by: Mika Kaurismäki; screenplay: Mika Kaurismäki, Petri Karra
cast: Kari Heiskanen, Pertti Sveholm, Timo Torikka, Irina Björklund
Tuesday, 27th April
19.00 The Visitor / Muukalainen
directed by: Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää; screenplay: Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää i Jan Forsström
cast: Vitalij Bobrov, Pavel Liska, Emilia Ikäheimo,Jorma Tommila
21.00 Letters to Father Jacob / Postia pappi Jaakobille
directed and screenplay : Klaus Härö
cast: Kaarina Hazard, Heikki Nousiainen, Jukka Keinonen
Wednesday, 28th April
21.00 Sauna
Directed by: Antti-Jussi Annila; screenplay: Iiro Küttner
cast: Ville Virtanen,Tommi Eronen, Rain Tolk, Viktor Klimenko
The Festival has been organized by the Belgrade Cultural Center, Embassy of Finland in Belgrade and the Finnish Film Fund.
With the assistance of the City of Belgrade - Secretariat for Culture.