They are everywhere without us observing them. These ‘invisibles’ can only be seen on camera and only heard thanks to a microphone. Footage shot in public spaces shows people who seem non-existent to everyone else in the frame.
Somebody Should Do Something tells a story of insecurity and longing for freedom, of fear that drives people to poor choices. The main character, Elvis, falls for the new girl in class, Onerva. Seeking acceptance from his friends, Elvis lies and tells them he’s had sex with Onerva. Due to the lies and misunderstandings, the whole town is soon at a point where somebody should do something.
Rebekka and Aatos, stuck in the past, meet for the first time since their painful breakup at their treasured poetry slam. It’s easier to sing about longing than to talk about it.
A short film by Olli Ilpo Salonen.
It’s the past that defines you, Kari tells his therapy group. And indeed, after serving a lengthy prison sentence, he wants to become a better person. However, his former life as a ruthless debt collector catches up with him in a nightmarish way.
It's almost Christmas but these three people are still on the road. The products don't sell, the car is a wreck and the weather is freezing. Moreover there is a problem: how to cope with an emerging friendship?
Ossi desperately wants to be accepted by the office ski fanatics to be seen as one of the guys. He grabs his skis and hits the trail. “No perkele” is a comedy short about expectations of being a man in Finland.
In the aftermath of a death, a home is cleaned out; the accumulation of a life is removed in bags and recycle bins. But what becomes of the collection of books? Laura Rantanen’s resoundingly moving and wistful documentary reflects on the end of life, what lingers behind, and the moments when a book breaks through the monotony to open the world around us.
After the disappearance of his wife Juha has lost control of his life as well as the connection to his son. One morning a visitor comes to his door and the one-day love story following this encounter leads Juha to crossroads. We Have Heaven is a short film about old junk, nocturnal organ ballads and cosmic distances.
A Finnish family gathers together to spend time at grandparents’. When the night goes on, we realize that this is how things always go. With a warm and subtly humorous gaze, the film looks closely at the unspoken structures and norms inside a family.
Waste Land is a tragicomic ensemble film about a bunch of kids squatting an abandoned seaside hotel. The shabby hotel offers a life outside the society, at least momentarily. The house is more than a house – it is a utopian space for love, partying and freedom. But can the days of ease last when the squat is confronted both by outside forces and by internal conflicts?
Janika takes advantage of her pregnancy by smuggling amphetamine from Tallinn to Helsinki with her brother.
Nesting is a story about Veikka (20), who is about to leave his work place - a construction site owned by Kari (50) - to start a new life in the big city. Veikka thinks the goodbyes will go smoothly, but gets interrupted by a rare situation: there’s a baby in the crane. The surprising problem is an annoyance at first, but in the end it opens up communication between the employees in a way that has been difficult in the past.
The summer ahead is long and hot but the burden of shame from the past is haunting Joonas, 24, and driving him to solitude. A sudden phone call changes the direction of his summer and brings Joonas to an old manor for a summer job, forcing him to open up to his new workmates and to face his shame. Joonas works hard under the burning sun, driven by his past mistakes, whilst the others lounge under the calming shade of trees. On the last day the group loses track of time and misses the last bus home. They are left at the old manor and a magical midsummer night begins.
The supermarket is nearing its closing time, and the last customers are queuing for their turn at the fish counter. The agonizing wait offers a chance for existential reflection and a little song.
After her father's funeral, Maarit plans to return to Thailand. On the day of the departure, she finds her mother Sylvi and her father’s taxidermy badger in a bar and Sylvi makes a revelation that may change Maarit’s departure plans.
Where light breaks into shards is a poetic short film about an encounter between a human and a bladderwrack on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The theme is intepreted through the memories of the sea and it invites the viewer to contemplate ones own relationship towards other species.
In this short, shown in the student category at IDFA, the compelling, dramatised story of a pedophile is told. He hasn’t opened up about his orientation to even those closest to him, nor would he ever hurt a child.
