Finnish Documentary Films 2006

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 0 6

Contents 

Feature Length Documentaries 

Along the Road Little Child 4 

Anni from Paanajärvi 6 

Cosmic Play 8 

Nesting Tree, The 10 

Paper Promises 12 

Pavlov’s Dogs 14 

Revolution 16 

Saami 18 

Sonic Mirror 20 

Väinö Auer (1895–1981) 22 

Documentaries 

(length between 36–60 minutes) 

About a Farm 26 

Borgå Year 28 

Campaign, The 30 

Family of One 32 

Fourth Chair, The 34 

Horse Effect, The 36 

Memories Denied 38 

Take Me in Your Arms 40 

Y in Vyborg 42 

Zahara & Urga 44 

Short Documentaries 

(length 35 minutes or less) 

Aarne 48 

Hercules 50 

My Economic Life 52 

Queue, The 54 

Spring 56 

War 58 

Contacts 60

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 0 6 

( F E A T U R E L E N G T H ) 

3


2005 | 35 mm | 1:1,85 | 

Dolby Digital | 79’ 

Directors, script: 

Susanna Helke & Virpi Suutari 

Cinematography: 

Heikki Färm 

Editing: 

Kimmo Taavila 

Sound design: 

Olli Huhtanen 

Music: 

Iiro Ollila 

Producers: 

Ulla Simonen, Cilla Werning 

Executive producer: 

Lasse Saarinen 

Production: 

Kinotar Oy 

Co-producer: 

asterisk film 

Production support: 

The Finnish Film Foundation, 

Danish Film Institute, 

Nordic Film & TV Fund 

Financing TV companies: 

YLE, ARTE, SVT 

Along the Road Little Child 

[ P i t k i n t i e t ä p i e n i l a p s i ] 

Abdi (15), Nasteho (11), and Bisharo (9) are refugees of the civil war in Somalia. In the wood 

outside their suburban block of flats, they meet a Finnish girl Julia (13) and her younger siblings. 

They all are ordinary children but outcasts in their own way. The games they play reflect the 

clashes of Western and Islamic cultures, but the question of God or Allah is far less important 

than keeping the gang together. The film is a story of the security and grace that people receive 

from each other. 


Directors 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 documentary 

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. 

4


2006 | Digital Beta, Beta SP, DVD | 

4:3 | Stereo | 122’ 

Director, cinematography: 

Lasse Naukkarinen 

Script: 

Lasse Naukkarinen, 

Markku Nieminen 

Editing: 

Tuuli Kuittinen 

Sound design: 

Heikki Innanen 

Music: 

Carl-Johan Häggman 

Producer: 


Production: 

Ilokuva, Naukkarinen & Co. 



AVEK, Juminkeko Foundation 

Financing TV company: 

YLE TV2 Documentaries 

Anni from Paanajärvi 

[ P a a n a j ä r v e n A n n i ] 

For six years, the Kemijoki-river of Viena has led Lasse Naukkarinen to follow the fate of a unique 

Karelian village in northwest Russia. The film follows the restoration and revival of the traditional 

village of Paanajärvi through the eyes of Anni Popova, the soul of the village. 

The threat of the village submerging in the reservoir of the Valkeakoski power plant has 

haunted Anni and the villagers for over forty years. Ten years ago in response to the threat, the 

Finnish Juminkeko Foundation began implementing measures to save the village. The Paanajärvi 

village was accepted on the list of the hundred most endangered cultural sites in the world which, 

for example, includes the ruins of Pompeii and the temple of Taj Mahal. 

The continued existence of the village was hindered, but also protected by a building prohibition. 

Due to the plans for the power plant, the beautiful and architecturally valued houses had 

deteriorated considerably. With the help of Juminkeko, the villagers have been educated, houses 

restored and new plans drawn up for the future. 


Lasse Naukkarinen (b. 1942) is a veteran documentary filmmaker 

who has made more than thirty films. After his political films of the 

1970s, e.g. Solidarity (Solidaarisuus, 1970), he observed the society 

of the 1980s and 90s through e.g. his films No Comments (1984) and 

Dog Trails (Koiranpolkuja, 1995). After the fascinating portraits e.g. 

Artist’s Life (Taiteilijaelämää, 1999), Miina! (Miinavaara!, 2001) and 

Schoolboy’s Life (Koululaisen elämää, 2002) the director made, based 

on his own experiences, Once Upon a Time There Was a Utopia 

(Olipa kerran Utopia, 2004), a trip to the soul of the 60s and 70s. 

6


2005 | Digital Betacam | 16:9 | 

Stereo | 72’20’’ 

Director, script, cinematography: 

Jouni Hiltunen 

Editing: 

Anne Lakanen, Jouni Hiltunen 

Sound design: 

Janne Jankeri 

Music: 

Markku Kopisto 

Producer: 


Production: 

Katharsis Films Oy 


AVEK 


YLE TV1 

Cosmic Play 

[ K o s m i n e n n ä y t e l m ä ] 

Cosmic Play is a documentary film about Kati Sinenmaa’s pursuit of a life outside society. In spring 

2001, she gave up her rented Helsinki city apartment and moved to a small piece of woodland 

right in the middle of the busiest intersections of railroads and bridges in Pasila, Helsinki. 

Kati builds a massive wall against society from stones. The stronghold becomes the very image 

of her soul: the inner being of an artist has been taken out, yet society wants to put it in again. 

Kati Sinenmaa does not adapt to the lifestyle expected by society. She does not hold a job, she 

neither rents an apartment or receives any support from society. All her clothes and meals are 

donations or picked from trash cans. She tries to be free and boundless. However, a free Internet 

service is the link that binds her back to society. 

In the film we follow Kati’s life for four years. Living in the woods is full of challenges. The society 

Kati attempts to leave behind, does not leave her in peace. Kati’s life gets very particular. She 

pours out everything on her web-pages and also in an abundance of dozens of pages of replies to 

the demands of the society. At the same time, she starts to live in the Internet, in the reality of the 

mind, in the physical reality and in the spirit world in between. 


Jouni Hiltunen (b. in 1964) is a documentary film director 

from Helsinki. He has worked in various fields of the film 

industry since 1990 and has directed 17 documentary films. 

His documentary film about three Russian prisoners for life, 

Blatnoi Mir (2001), has been awarded at both Finnish and 

international festivals. At the moment, Hiltunen works as a 

producer-director for his own company, Katharsis Films Oy. 

8


2005 | 35 mm, Beta | 1:1,85 | 

Stereo | 90’ 

Director, script: 

Ilkka Ruuhijärvi & Ulla Turunen 


Ilkka Ruuhijärvi 

Editing: 


Sound design: 

Ulla Turunen 

Producer: 


Production: 

RT Documentaries Oy 


The Finnish Film Foundation 


YLE TV1 Co-productions 

The Nesting Tree 

[ P e s ä p u u ] 

The children of the Kallio district have grown up. Everyone must find their place in society or 

others will draw attention to it. 

The battle for fame, money and knowledge is as hard as the battle against illness and displacement. 

The Nesting Tree tells of the world of these young adults and their yearning for freedom and 

their own space. 

This film by Ilkka Ruuhijärvi and Ulla Turunen continues the story of the lives of the children 

in this eastern part of central Helsinki which began in 1985. 

Ilkka Riihijärvi & Ulla Turunen 

Ilkka Riihijärvi (b. 1963) and Ulla Turunen 

(b. 1961), both MA / The University of Art and 

Design Helsinki, have been making documentaries 

together since 1985. Among them are 12 

full-length documentaries for television – for 

example, As it Happens (Kun se tapahtuu, 1986). 

Prizes and awards: 17. Tampere Film Festival: 

Special prize / the national competition, State 

award from the Ministry of Education 1987. 

10


2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 97’ 

Director & script team: 

Issu Huovinen, Leo Märkälä, 

Heta Partanen, Ilona Reiniharju, 

Eija Romppanen, Mika Suikkanen, 

Pentti Taipale 

Team leader: 

Heikki Ahola 


Markku Anttila, Kimmo Jaatinen, 

Sami Kuokkanen, Antti Lempiäinen, 

Markku Parikka, Pasi Riiali, 

Petri Salmi, Janne Vainiomäki 

Editing: 

Jukka Nykänen 

Sound design: 

Heikki Kossi 

Music: 

Timo Peltola 

Producer: 

Hannu Niikko 

Production: 

Videomakers Oy 


AVEK, European Social Fund, 

Lahti Institute of Design 


YLE 

Paper Promises 

[ K o n e 1 7 ] 

The Voikkaa paper mill has formed slowly along a dark flowing river. There are residences on 

both sides of the river. Everyone seems to have a view on the factory. The symbiosis of people 

and factory is strong. We are at the heart of the world’s largest paper industry centre. However, 

the factory lives in the early 21 st century when the paths of national industries and international 

capital have inevitable clashes. That also affects the people of this factory. In April of 2004 paper 

machine 17 is shut down – for good. 

That machine had produced paper non-stop for almost seventy years. When it stops, the lives 

of a hundred and sixty people change. Some find new employment at nearby Kuusankoski factories, 

and some retire but there are those who fear they will become unemployed. The shutting 

down of machine 17 reflects on the whole community. The drama unfolds in homes, restaurants, 

streets and people’s minds. Self-respect, self-worth and their loss, adapting to new situations or 

giving in to the feeling of loss are the basic themes of this film. 

The community formed around the machine disintegrates, the tone of friendships changes, 

the inner rhythm of families is altered, the whole basic structure of life has to find a new form. 

This is a story of inevitable change where substantial economic events clash with individuals 

and the small. All this time, the Kymijoki river flows by indifferent to these events. People cross 

the river by bridge every day. People change but the river remains the same. 

The directors 

A group of seven directors made this film: Issu Huovinen, Leo Märkälä, Heta Partanen, Ilona Reiniharju, 

Eija Romppanen, Mika Suikkanen, Pentti Taipale. This is the first big documentary for all 

of them. Some of them are students, some already have more experience in the field. The group 

and the topic of the film were borne out of The Other Finland (Toinen Suomi) training project. 

12


2006 | 16:9 | Dolby Digital | 67’19’’ 


Arto Halonen 


Vladimir Bashta, Dmitri Avrorin, 

Arto Halonen, Igor Tsernysov 

Editing: 

Sanna Liinamaa 

Sound design: 

Martti Turunen 

Music: 

Tapani Rinne 

Producer: 

Arto Halonen 

Production: 

Art Films production AFP Oy 

Co-producer: 

Studio East-West 


The Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, 

The Nordic Film & TV Fund 


YLE TV2 Documentaries, 

Radiotelevision Svizzera di lingua 

italiana (TSI), Télévision Suisse Romande 

(TSR), Sveriges Television AB 

Pavlov’s Dogs 

[ P a v l o v i n k o i r a t ] 

These days, even poverty can be bought. A Russian psychologist, Sergei Knyatzev, provides the 

experience of being a beggar to wealthy people who have tried everything and are looking for 

something new. 

But this is only one of the games that this psychologist has developed. He specializes in roleplaying 

and mental manipulation, starting with animals and small groups of people, and climaxing 

with his mass control of 7000 individuals. 

The film speaks in an interesting mannerism of our time: where nothing is enough, and people 

try to acquire both basic and extreme experiences by buying them. Everything’s for sale. Richness 

often alienates people at the expense of a balance in life. That in turn opens out a market for any 

entrepreneur with even the slightest understanding of the human psyche, just as it does for Sergei 

Knyatzev. Through these games he is also evoking people’s attitudes and society’s structure. 

Arto Halonen 

Arto Halonen has directed numerous films, including e.g. A Dreamer and 

the Dreamtribe (Unelmoija ja unikansa, 1998), Karmapa: A Voyage on the Roof 

of the World (Karmapa – Matka mailman katolla, 1998), The Stars’ Caravan 

(Taivasta vasten, 2000), The Tank Man (Tynnyrimies, 2004), Conquistadors 

of Cuba (Kuuban valloittajat, 2005) and The Legend (Legenda, 2005). 

He is the owner of film production company, Art Films production Ltd, 

and also produces films. He has acted in 2000–2003 as the chairman and 

a member of the executive committee of the Documentary Guild, a parent 

organisation of documentary makers. He is also the founder and festival 

director (2001–2004) of DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival. 

14


2006 | 35 mm | 16:9 | 

Dolby Digital | ~75’ 


Jouko Aaltonen 


Jussi Eerola, Timo Peltonen 

Editing: 

Samu Heikkilä 

Sound design: 

Paul Jyrälä 

Producer: 

Pertti Veijalainen 

Production: 

Illume Oy 



AVEK, ESEK 



Revolution 

[ K e n e n j o u k o i s s a s e i s o t – 

v a l l a n k u m o u k s e l l i n e n m u s i i k k i e l o k u v a ] 

Revolution is a documentary musical about the 70’s generation’s fight for a better world. Socialism 

seemed like a real alternative. The movement offered a whole unified world where it would be 

easy to be on the right side – against anything old and reactionary. Songs played a central role in 

this revolution. Hundreds of song groups sprung up. The songs told stories of battles, solidarity, 

socialism, Vietnam, Chile. Now middle-aged former revolutionaries return to their combat songs, 

singing in the environments revealing their present status and work places. Music creates some 

distance and in many ways, depicts the experiences and spirit of the era. The music also symbolizes 

the pomposity and rhetoric often so blatantly and comically at odds with reality and everyday 

life. What has happened to the idealism of youth? 

Jouko Aaltonen 

Jouko Aaltonen (b. 1956) has directed a wide range 

of documentaries on various topics and environments 

ranging from Siberian Taiga to the diplomatic society 

of New Delhi. His latest work includes the films: 

Life Saver (Hengenpelastaja, 2005), Ambassadors 

(Lähettiläät, 2004), Road of Hunger (Nälän tie, 1999), 

Constructing and Destroying (Rakenna ja tuhoa, 1998), 

In the Arm of Buddha and the Drum 

(Rummun ja Buddhan välissä, 1997). 

16


2006 | Digibeta | 16:9 | 

Stereo | ~75’ 

Directors: 

Anastasia Lapsui & 

Markku Lehmuskallio 


Johannes Lehmuskallio 

Editing: 

Anastasia Lapsui, 

Johannes Lehmuskallio, 


Sound design: 

Antero Honkanen 

Producer: 

Liisa Holmberg 

Production: 

Giron Filmi Oy 





Saami 

[ S a a m e l a i n e n ] 

The Saami are a people spread over 4 different countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. 

They have no state of their own. The Saami are Europe’s last aboriginal people and they speak 9 

different languages. They have lived off the land and nature has provided for them. 

But yesterday is not today. People have left their homes and followed work into the big cities. 

This film takes a look at the identity of these people. Has the change of life-style and surroundings 

changed the Saami way of looking at the world? In the film people try to answer the questions: 

Who am I? 

Anastasia Lapsui 

Born in the Yamal Peninsula, Western Siberia, in 1944. 

Has been a radio journalist in Salekhard for 26 years, 

working on a Nenets language program. 

Has directed since 1990. 


Born in Rauma in 1938. 

Graduated as forest technician in 1963. 

Worked in films professionally since 1969. 

18


2006 | 35mm, Digibeta | 1:1,66 | 

Dolby SR and 5.1 | ~ 90’ 

Director: 

Mika Kaurismäki 

Script: 

Mika Kaurismäki, Marco Forster 


Jacques Cheuiche 

Editing: 

Oli Weiss 

Sound design: 

Uwe Dresch 

Music: 

Billy Cobham etc. 

Producers: 

Mika Kaurismäki, Marco Forster 

Production: 

Marianna Films 


The Finnish Film Foundation, ESEK 


YLE Co-productions 

International sales: 

Wide Management 

Sonic Mirror 

Sonic Mirror is a musical documentary film presenting the journey of the legendary drummer 

Billy Cobham into several different musical cultures. 

Sonic Mirror shows the sometimes contradictory and sometimes surprising expectations and 

reactions from audiences. The film is shot in Finland, Switzerland, USA, Brazil etc. 

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. Mika has since directed films all 

around the world with an international crew and cast. His work includes, 

for example, the fictional films The Worthless (Arvottomat, 

1982), Rosso (1985), Helsinki Napoli All Night Long (1987), Amazon 

(1990), Zombie and the Ghost Train (Zombie ja kummitusjuna, 1991), 

LA Without a Map (1998), Honey Baby (2004) and three documentaries 

shot in Brazil: Tigrero – A Film That Was Never Made (1994, 

with Sam Fuller and Jim Jarmusch), Sound of Brazil (Moro no Brasil, 

2002) and Brasileirinho (2005). 

20


2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 | 

Stereo | 74’50’’ 


Mikko Piela 


Tahvo Hirvonen 

Editing: 

Timo Linnasalo 

Sound design: 

Juha Hakanen 

Music: 

Miika Snåre, Mikko Helenius 

Producer: 

Mika Ritalahti, Niko Ritalahti 

Production: 

Silva Mysterium Oy 



AVEK 

Väinö Auer (1895–1981) 

Väinö Auer (1895–1981) is a documentary film about the life and work of the Finnish scientist 

Väinö Auer in Finland and in Latin America. Auer was geographer, explorer and above all swamp 

geologist. His swamp auger reached the central, post ice age layers of earth’s climate history in 

Canada, Finland, Tierra del Fuego and Patagony. The film travels in time to the different stages 

of Auer’s life: in the swamps and wilderness of Finland, the peculiar shallow swamps of Tierra 

del Fuego and the Patagonyan pampas that are whipped by dusty winds. The documentary film is 

based on Auer’s diary entries and articles. Through them, it also takes a tour of dramatic human 

history in the 20th century. The journey of a pioneering climatologist from nationalism to global 

awareness and concern about the development of the relationship between man and nature. 

Mikko Piela 

Mikko Piela (b. 1956) has studied law, aesthetics, 

ethnology, theatre and philosophy at the University 

of Helsinki. In the 1980s, he wrote film criticism for 

several newspapers in Finland and also for the film 

magazine Filmihullu. From the beginning of the 1990s, 

he has made documentary films, e.g. 

Women At The University (Naisia yliopistolla, 1990), 

Milkpayday (Maitotilipäivä, 1991), The Last Livonians? 

(Viimeiset liiviläiset?, 1995) and Stones (Kivet, 2000). 

22


24


( L E N G T H B E T W E E N 3 6 – 6 0 M I N U T E S ) 

25





Mervi Junkkonen 


Mervi Junkkonen, 

Vesa Taipaleenmäki 

Editing: 


Sound design: 

Esa Nissi 

Music: 

Girilal Baars 

Producers: 

Kimmo Paananen, 

Mika Ronkainen 

Production: 

Klaffi Productions 


AVEK, Media Centre POEM 


YLE TV1 

About a Farm 

[ H i l j a i n e n t i l a ] 

In the autumn of 2002, the fifty head cattle of Junkkonen farm are taken away by a slaughter 

truck, and the cowshed falls silent. The wheels of development turn, but two middle-aged people 

are left behind. The small municipality of Oulunsalo is planning to build factories and industrial 

parks next to the airfield, as well as a road that would chop up the farmers’ fields. The old way 

of living is dying. The Junkkonens are leading a quiet life and contemplating the future. When 

their youngest child falls seriously ill the family awakes and reprioritises everything. The documentary 

is director Mervi Junkkonen’s journey to her birthplace and to the history that she will 

not continue. 

Mervi Jukkonen 

Mervi 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 Aarne (2005) 

Barbeiros has won several prizes at film 

festivals around the world. About a Farm has 

won Finland’s State Quality Award, Risto Jarva 

Award and Yamagata Award of Excellence. 

26


2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 | Stereo | 53’ 

Director, script, editing: 

Peter Lindholm 


Raimo Uunila 

Sound design: 

Tero Malmberg 

Music: 

Mika Tyyskä, Petski 

Producer: 


Production: 

Petfilms Oy 



AVEK, Pro Film 


YLE FST Co-productions, 


Borgå Year 

[ B o r g å m å t t | P o r v o o n m i t a l l a ] 

The 30-year-long battle of Porvoo bridge turns into a small town history with its changes and 

everyday life. A hilarious story about uncontrolled development and controlled destruction in 

a medieval city, where everything is the object of complaints – this is known as the “Porvoo 

disease”. 


Peter Lindholm (born 1960) graduated as a film 

director in 1990. He has directed feature films 

such as Kites Over Helsinki (Drakarna över 

Helsingfors, 2001), Anita (1994), TV-movies and 

programmes – for example, Sincerely Yours in 

Cold Blood (Kylmäverisesti sinun, 2000) – and 

commercials. He has also taught at the University 

of Art and Design in Helsinki and at the Theatre 

Academy of Finland. 

28


2005 | DVCPRO | 16:9 | 

Stereo | 49’45’’ 

Directors, script: 

Pasi Riiali & Mikko Peltonen 


Pasi Riiali, Kimmo Yläkäs 

Editing: 

Jari Heikkinen 

Sound design: 

Arttu Horttanainen 

Music: 

Simo Helkala 

Producer: 

Pasi Riiali 

Production: 

Media Center Kotka Oy 


AVEK 


YLE TV2 

The Campaign 

[ V a a l i t a i s t o ] 

A documentary of the campaign of a local election candidate. Eetu Kirppu is a first-time candidate, 

campaigning for a seat on the municipal council of Miehikkälä. There is more than one way 

to go when Eetu and his nimble-tongued campaign manager Esko Rikkola set out on a tour of the 

community to persuade voters. According to Esko’s calculations, Eetu will need 30 votes to get a 

seat. The men go from house to house and discuss things with potential voters, organize a rally 

including a fire artwork, and meet the Minister of Regional and Municipal Affairs. The eventful 

campaign culminates on election day, as the credibility of the two is to be weighed. For Eetu, 

responsibilities are growing at home too – his partner Suvi is expecting their first child, which is 

to be born around election day. 

Seasoned with humour, The Campaign is a film of influence, responsibility and friendship in an 

outlying Finnish community. 

Pasi Riiali 

Pasi Riiali is a thirty-year-old producer/director working at 

the Mediacenter production company. He graduated from 

Tornio Institute of Art and Media in 1999. He has experience 

in making all kinds of TV programmes and commercials. 

The Campaign is his first documentary film. 

Mikko Peltonen 

28-year-old Mikko Peltonen is from Kotka. He studied at 

Jyväskylä University and has previously worked as a reporter 

and director in various TV productions. The Campaign is his 

directorial debut in documentaries. 

30


2005 | Digibeta, Dv-cam | 

16:9 Anamorphic | Stereo | 49’ 


Mia Halme 


Tuomo Hutri 

Editing: 

Helena Öst 

Sound design: 

Janne Laine 

Music: 

Ville A. Tanttu 

Producers: 

Petri Jokiranta & Tero Kaukomaa 

Production: 

Blind Spot Pictures Oy 




YLE TV1 

Family of One 

[ Y h d e n h e n g e n p e r h e ] 

Family of One is a film of the generation of the uncommitted. It centres on a stage in life when people 

are independent, ambitious and always ready to take off. The unbearable lightness of living! 

There is so much within reach that choosing is hard and choices have to be controlled. 

I have trouble living in the moment. I keep thinking about what the future will hold. 

Work is demanding. You have to continuously be willing to change and move up in your career. 

But where are we trying to get to? People are busy all the time, always doing something, but 

does anything actually happen? For the main character friends are a safety net – and she has a 

lot of them. In the middle of all the changes, friends bring a sense of security and with them new 

rituals can be created. Closeness can be summoned up in a text message: needcompanybadly. 

If you think about commitment, you panic. 

The people in the film are no longer young, but they’re not ready to settle down with a family yet. 

There seems to be no time or place – or courage – for commitment. Would commitment reduce 

freedom or would there in fact be more freedom through attachment to something permanent? 

Family of One is a documentary about the conflicts of freedom. 

Mia Halme 

Mia Halme (born 1968) has graduated as a 

documentary director from the University of 

Art and Design Helsinki. Her previous films are 

Mother Brave (Omalla vastuulla, 2002), Carnival 

Spirit – Helsinki in the Year 2000 (Halki kaupungin 

– Helsinki vuonna 2000, 2002), Relatively Speaking 

(Sukulaisia, 2001) and Erotic Vivica (1999). 

32


2006 | Digibeta | 

16:9 Anamorphic | Stereo | 52’ 


Charlotte Airas 


Timo Peltonen 

Editing: 

Kimmo Kohtamäki 

Producer: 

Kaarle Aho 

Production: 

Making Movies Oy 


AVEK, 

Det Nordiske Samarbeidsfondet, 

Media+ 


YLE TV2, FST, Arte, TSR Switzerland, 

NRK Norway, ETV Estonia, LRT 

Lithuania 

The Fourth Chair 

[ N e l j ä s t u o l i ] 

The Fourth Chair is a documentary about negotiations and diplomacy. It is a documentary about 

the fears and emotions of three men trying to make peace in the Balkans. 

By March 1999, it seemed as if the world was facing a very serious conflict in Kosovo – conflict 

that in the worst scenario could turn into a third world war. 

As a last ultimatum Nato began bombing Serbia. One last try to reconcile the antagonists 

through diplomacy was made. On the initiative of the superpowers a delegation was appointed. 

The task was to find a strategy such that Milosevic would surrender. The delegation consisted of 

Martti Ahtisaari, President of Finland, Viktor Chernomyrdin, personal envoy of the Russian president, 

and Strobe Talbott, US deputy of State. 

The Troika gathered four times in May 1999 and by June 3 rd Milosevic signed the proposal. 

The meetings with the Troika and the final meeting with Milosevic will form the spine of our narration 

told by Ahtisaari, Talbott and Chernomyrdin. 

Charlotte Airas 

Charlotte Airas has twenty years of experience 

in filmmaking and journalism in Finland and 

France. 

Her documentaries have been broadcasted 

in all of the Nordic countries. 

34





Jolle Onnismaa 


Marita Hällfors 

Editing: 


Sound design: 

Olli Huhtanen 

Music: 

Timo Hietala 

Producers: 

Ulla Simonen, Cilla Werning 



Production: 

Kinotar Oy 



AVEK 


YLE 

The Horse Effect 

[ T a a k a n k a n t a j a ] 

A documentary film about horse riding as a treatment for mental patients 

Paloniemi psychiatric hospital has a unique horse riding therapy unit and small stables in the 

vicinity of the hospital. The Horse Effect follows two people, a little girl and an adult man, going for 

therapy and their process towards a better tomorrow. Pahe, a Finnish Horse, is capable of special 

interaction with his subjects and tries to help them. 

Jolle Onnismaa 

Jolle Onnismaa (b. 1967 in Oulu) is a documentary film 

director and photographer. Onnismaa studied photography 

at Lahti Polytechnic Institute of Design 1987–91 

and documentary film making in University of Art and 

Design in Helsinki 1993 – . She has worked in the film 

industry for several years as a camera-assistant, still 

photographer, and assistant director. The Horse Effect is 

her graduation film for UIAH – University of Industrial 

Arts Helsinki. 

36


2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 Anamorphic | 

Stereo | 59’45’’ 


Imbi Paju 


Marita Hällfors, Rein Kotov 

Editing: 

Riitta Poikselkä 

Sound design: 

Ivo Felt 

Music: 

Märt-Matis Lill 

Producer: 

Nina Koljonen 

Production: 

Fantasiafilmi Oy 

Co-producer: 

Pille Rünk / Allfilm OÜ (Estonia) 



AVEK (Development), 

Estonian Film Foundation, 

Cultural Endowment of Estonia 



Memories Denied 

[ T o r j u t u t m u i s t o t ] 

This historical-psychological documentary film tells the growth story of the director’s mother 

and her twin sister in a totalitarian society under Stalinism, Soviet occupation and terror when 

repressing memories was the only method of self-defence. The film is an analysis of memory 

which goes through violent personal memories of the Second World War sixty years after Stalin’s 

concentration camps and Soviet terror. In the documentary, the director depicts her mother’s 

past and, at the same time, that of all Estonia. It is still hard to talk about the unresolved past 

which crosses generation lines. But this journey must be completed in order for the community to 

heal from the wounds of history. 

Imbi Paju 

Imbi Paju is one of Estonia’s best-known writing journalists. 

She has worked as a correspondent in Finland for Estonian 

newspapers Päevaleht and Postimees. She has covered socially 

sensitive topics in both Estonian and Finnish newspapers. 

Paju’s best-known TV programmes are Encounters in Helsinki 

(Helsinki – Euroopan kulttuuripääkaupunki, 2000), Sangaste 

Manor and Count Berg (Sangasten linna ja kreivi Berg, 1999) 

and People of Raja Village (Rajakülan kansa – 

elokuva vanhauskoisista, 1998). 

38


2005 | HDVCAM, DVCAM | 16:9 | 



Rostislav Aalto 

Sound design: 

Heikki Innanen 

Producer: 


Production: 

Zen Media / Zen and Trading Oy 

(Ltd) 




YLE TV1 

Take Me in Your Arms 

[ O t a m i n u t s y l i i n ] 

The documentary Take Me in Your Arms tells of 33-year old Timi, who lives in Kallio, Helsinki. It is 

a story of loneliness and the glimpsing of moments of happiness and sadness. The movie opens a 

window on a nihilistic world, where you can find a friend only in the bar. 

We follow the protagonist for a period of four years. Timi ridicules our time and its cliches; 

As a jester, he questions the choices of others and his own. As the interpreter of mediocre pop 

covers, Timi makes a mockery of the middle classes, but at the same time he tells about the need 

to be close to someone. 


Rostislav Aalto (born in Moscow, 1971) has worked as photographer, 

editor and director in numerous productions. Since 1997 he has led 

a private enterprise, Zen Media, which produces documentaries and 

offers editing services for other film companies. 

Aalto has directed e.g. the films Gunshots in Orimattila (Orimattilan 

laukaukset, 2000), Cleaning Up! (2002) and Rush (Kiire, 2004). 

Aalto is a member of the Guild of Documentarists and member of 

the board of The Union of Finnish Film and Video Employees and 

The Association of Finnish Film Director. 

40


2006 | Digibeta, Beta, DVD | 4:3 | 

Stereo | 51’23’’ 


Pia Andell 


Martta & Ragnar Ypyä 

Editing: 

Pauliina Punkki 

Sound design: 

Kirsi Korhonen 

Music: 

Pessi Levanto 

Producer: 

Pia Andell 

Production: 

Of Course My Films 


AVEK 


YLE Teema 

Y in Vyborg 

[ H e t k e t j o t k a j ä i v ä t ] 

In 1938 young architects Ragnar and Martta Ypyä, or Y and Mirri, bouht an 8mm camera and 

started filming their world in Vyborg, a Finnish town near the Soviet border. The couple’s future 

seemed bright. A year later their lives had changed irreversibly. The Soviet Union had attacked 

Finland and the Winter War had started. Mirri fled to the countryside. Y stayed in Vyborg, where 

he was summoned to repair the damage caused by the Soviet bombings. Still they kept on filming. 

Y in Vyborg tells the touching story of Y and Mirri during the years 1938–1949. The film is 

based solely on the exceptionally good black and white 8mm footage and uses the couple’s correspondence 

to shed more light on the reality of that tragic era. Y in Vyborg is a chronicle of the 

times of the Finnish Ypyä family – a film about war and longing, and loss and death. 

Pia Andell 

Pia Andell has directed documentary films since 1992. 

When not filming she enjoys sleeping, dreaming and 

dancing vigorously. Andell is also a proud mother of 

two daughters. 

42


2005 | Digibeta, Betacam SP | 

16:9 Anamorph | 

5.1 / Stereo Surround | 60’ 


Rax Rinnekangas 

Editing: 


Sound design: 

Olli Huhtanen 

Music: 

Timo Hietala 

Producer: 

Pekka Hako 

Production: 

Bad Taste Ltd. 


AVEK 


YLE 

Zahara & Urga 

A touching film by Rax Rinnekangas about a human’s longing to find himself – set in Europe, 

Russia and Africa in the 20th century. 

Zahara & Urga is a story about a silent boy living near the Arctic Circle to whom a special light 

phenomenon one day gives him another person’s voice. He becomes a photographer who spends 

years travelling through European cultures searching for the light that helped him to speak. He 

arrives at a steppe (urga) in Central Russia where an Englishman called Andrew Powell once 

photographed a phenomenon of the same kind 60 years before, during the Stalinist regime of 

the 1930s. He begins to trace Powell’s life through recent European and African history, arriving 

at a house called Zahara in Spanish Africa. Here he discovers that the imagery of the mysterious 

Powell was similar to his and that Powell had photographed the same places as him. The mystery 

is: what are these men to each other? 

Rax Rinnekangas 

Rax Rinnekangas (b. 1954) strives, in his work, to 

encounter reality as a realistic and, at the same time, 

surrealistic quality. His central themes are the memory 

of our past and the human being in his spiritual and 

physical space. 

Rinnekangas has published over twenty works: 

books of photographs, novels, short stories and essays. 

He has made several documentary films and held 

over forty private exhibitions in Finland and abroad. 

44


46


( L E N G T H 3 5 M I N U T E S O R L E S S ) 

47




Director, script, editor: 

Mervi Junkkonen 


Tuomo Hutri 

Sound design: 

Esa Nissi 

Music: 

Girilal Baars 

Producer: 

Kimmo Paananen 

Production: 




Aarne 

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. 

Mervi Jukkonen 

Mervi 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. 

48



Stereo | 17’28” 

Director, script, 

cinematography, editing: 

Tonislav Hristov 

Sound design: 

Juha Hakanen 

Producer: 

Pekka Aine 

Production: 

Oy Todellisuus Ab 


AVEK 



Hercules 

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 dangers 

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 moving 

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. 

Tonislav Hristov 

Tonislav 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. 

50


2005 | Digibeta | 16:9 | 

Stereo | ~20’ 

Director, script, editing: 

Jaana Puhakka 

Music: 

Ilari Edelmann 

Producer: 

Jaana Puhakka 

Production: 

Kuvani Ky 





My Economic Life 

[ T a l o u s e l ä m ä n i ] 

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. 

Jaana Puhakka 

Documentary filmmaker and film worker. 

Born in 1963. 

52


2005 | Digital Betacam, Beta SP | 

16:9 Anamorphic | Stereo | 12’38’’ 


Kimmo Yläkäs 


Tahvo Hirvonen 

Editing: 

Kimmo Kohtamäki, Kimmo Yläkäs 

Sound design: 

Janne Jankeri 

Producer: 

Hannu Oksanen 

Production: 

Oksanen Töölöstä Oy 

Produced as part of 

The Other Finland project: 

executive producers 

Ulla Simonen / AVEK, 

Iikka Vehkalahti / 

YLE TV2 Documentaries, 

Timo Korhonen / The Other Finland 


AVEK 


YLE Co-productions 

The Queue 

[ J o n o ] 

In Vaalimaa, the Finnish-Russian customs and border, hundreds of trucks wait to cross the border 

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. 

Kimmo Yläkäs 

Kimmo 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. 

54




Directors, script, editing: 



Heikki Färm 

Sound design: 

Anne Tolkkinen 

Music: 

Timo Hietala 

Producer: 

Cilla Werning 



Production: 

Kinotar Oy 




YLE 

Spring 

[ K e v ä t ] 

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. 











56



Stereo | 6’ 

Directors, script, editing: 



Heikki Färm 

Sound design: 

Anne Tolkkinen 

Producer: 

Cilla Werning 



Production: 

Kinotar Oy 




YLE 

War 

[ S o t a ] 

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. 











58


Festival contacts 

for all titles: 


Kanavakatu 12 

FI-00160 Helsinki 

Tel. +358 9 6220 300 

Fax +358 9 6220 3060 

ses@ses.fi 

www.ses.fi 

Contacts 

Art Films Production AFP Oy 

Merimiehenkatu 10 


Tel. +358 9 4159 3640 

Fax +358 9 4159 3690 

info@artfilms.inet.fi 

www.artfilmsartohalonen.fi 

Bad Taste Ltd. 

Rahapajankatu 3 C 19 


Tel. +358 50 5853 663 

pekka.hako@welho.com 

Blind Spot Pictures Oy 

Kalliolanrinne 4 


Tel. +358 9 7742 8360 

Fax +358 9 7742 8350 

spot@blindspot.fi 

www.blindspot.fi 

Fantasiafilmi Oy 

Tallberginkatu 1 A / 141 


Tel. +358 9 5407 850 

Fax +358 9 5407 8530 

nina.koljonen@fantasiafilm.com 

www.fantasiafilm.com 

Giron Filmi Oy 

Lapinlahdenkatu 29 A 10 


Tel./Fax +358 9 685 4429 

Illume Oy 

Palkkatilankatu 7 


Tel./Fax +358 9 1481 489 

illume@illume.fi 

www.illume.fi 

60

Ilokuva, Naukkarinen & Co. 

Palotie 23 B 

FI-02760 Espoo 

Tel.+358 9 8554 860 

Fax +358 9 8813 592 

ilokuva@ilokuva.fi 

www.ilokuva.fi 

Katharsis Films Oy 

Pohjoinen Hesperiankatu 37 B 31 


Tel./Fax +358 9 3422 121 

Mobile +358 40 7257 707 

hiltunen@kaapeli.fi 

www.kafi.fi 

Kinotar Oy 

Vuorikatu 16 A 9 


Tel. +358 9 1351 864 

Fax +358 9 1357 863 

kinotar@kinotar.com 

www.kinotar.com 


Nahkatehtaankatu 2 

FI-90100 Oulu 

Tel. +358 8 8811 623 

Fax +358 8 8811 624 

klaffi@klaffi.com 

www.klaffi.com 

Kuvani Ky 

Sillanmäki 10 

FI-06100 Porvoo 

Tel. +358 40 5426 277 

Fax +358 19 5348 535 

jaana.puhakka@kolumbus.fi 

Making Movies Oy 

Linnankatu 7 


Tel. +358 9 6213 828 

Fax +358 9 6842 7870 

mamo@mamo.fi 

www.mamo.fi 

Marianna Films Oy 

Punavuorenkatu 5 A 2 


Tel./Fax +358 9 6221 614 

office@marfilm.pp.fi 

www.mikakaurismaki.com 

Media Center Kotka Oy 

Kymenlaaksonkatu 10 

FI-48100 Kotka 

Tel. +358 5 215 217 

Fax +358 5 2184 672 

pasi.riiali@mediacenter.fi 

info@mediacenter.fi 

www.mediacenter.fi 

Of Course My Films 

Nordenskiöldinkatu 3b A 11 


Tel. +358 40 5441 213 

Fax +358 9 2417 233 

ofcoursemyfilms@luukku.com 

61


Festival contacts 

for all titles: 


Kanavakatu 12 


Tel. +358 9 6220 300 

Fax +358 9 6220 3060 

ses@ses.fi 

www.ses.fi 

Oksanen Töölöstä Oy 

Kymenlaaksonkatu 10 

FI-48100 Kotka 

Tel./Fax +358 5 2250 800 

hannu.oksanen@mediacenter.fi 

www.mediacenter.fi 

Petfilms Oy 

Pitäjänmäen asema 


Tel. +358 9 5617 800 

Fax +358 9 5617 8010 

petfilms@petfilms.fi 

www.petfilms.fi 

RT Documentaries Oy 

Runeberginkatu 28 B 11 


Tel. +358 400 507 280 

Fax +358 9 490 692 

rtd@saunalahti.fi 

Silva Mysterium Oy 

Pulttitie 16 (3. kerros) 


Tel. +358 9 7594 720 

Fax +358 9 7594 7240 

mika.ritalahti@silvamysterium.fi 

www.silvamysterium.fi 

62

Editor: Satu Elo | Translations: Broadcast Text | Layout: Maikki Rantala, Praxis Oy | Printed by: Erikoispaino Oy, Helsinki, 2005 | ISSN 1795-9977 

Oy Todellisuus Ab 

Suomenlinna C 83 A 8 


Tel. +358 400 604 239 

pekka.aine@todellisuus.inet.fi 

Videomakers Oy 

Svinhufvudinkatu 23 

FI-15110 Lahti 

Tel. +358 3 7512 286 

Fax +358 3 7512 287 

hannu.niikko@videomakers.fi 

www.videomakers.fi 

Wide Management 

42 bis, rue de Lourmel 

FR-75015 Paris 

France 

Tel. +33 1 5395 0464 

Fax +33 1 5395 0465 

wide@widemanagement.com 

www.widemanagement.com 

Zen Media / Zen and Trading Oy 

Arabiankatu 2 


Tel. +358 9 8775 9160 

raalto@uiah.fi 

www.zenmedia.fi 

Front cover: Along the Road Little Child by Susanna Helke & Virpi Suutari | 

Back cover: The Nesting Tree by Ilkka Riihijärvi & Ulla Turunen, Sonic Mirror by Mika Kaurismäki, The Horse Effect by Jolle Onnismaa, Memories Denied by Imbi Paju, Family of One by Mia Halme | 

Page 3: Revolution by Jouko Aaltonen | Page 25: Y in Vyborg by Pia Andell | Page 47: The Queue by Kimmo Yläkäs 

The Finnish Film Foundation | Kanavakatu 12 | FI-00160 Helsinki | Tel. +358 9 6220 300 | Fax +358 9 6220 3060 | ses@ses.fi | www.ses.fi 

63



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Finnish Documentary Films 2006

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