Mark Lwoff

The Human Part

Pekka Malmikunnas is a bankrupt, penniless man, who has convinced his family that he is still the CEO of a large IT company. Maintaining this façade in order to save face has become something of a full-time job for him. When Pekka’s parents unexpectedly come for a visit, he throws a lavish family dinner party in order to dispel any doubts. The soirée is a success until Pekka’s god-daughter gets run over by a car. The reckless driver becomes a mutual enemy for the family. The driver tries to atone for his actions, but the situation spirals out of control and Pekka attacks the man. Pekka realizes things have gone too far and decides to tell his family the truth. It does not hurt as much as Pekka thought, bringing the pieces of a once broken family back together.

Punaista lunta

There's nothing worse than loneliness during Christmas - except your own family.

Orenda

Orenda means an invisible force, a life spirit that inhabits everything living and lifeless: people, wind, birds, rabbits, stone. The one who serves Orenda and sings to it may receive its power. Exploring the themes of guilt and grace, the destinies of two women intertwine into a tense emotional thriller set on a remote island.

Little Siberia

A pastor's faith turns upside down when a meteorite lands in his small Finnish town, its impact stirring up chaos and criminal intentions.

Shadowland

Director Otso Tiainen’s fascinating study of an esoteric community hidden within the French Pyrenees begins by exploring the seekers drawn to this place, supposedly the home of the Holy Grail. However, it is the appearance of charismatic film director Richard Stanley that truly ignites the story. Before long, accusations about his conduct surface, and the residents find themselves caught in a battle for their very souls. The dangers of blind faith and the magnetic pull of certain personalities are put under the microscope in this breathtaking examination of a small microcosm of society forced to confront who they are when everything they believe is challenged. A vital film that urges us to scrutinize our heroes, SHADOWLAND is a must-see—not only to contextualize the inner battles we all face but also to finally see the truth laid bare.

Not Withholding Anything from You

How do artists view their own work? How does actor Esko Salminen immerse himself in his roles, how does the writer/director Saara Turunen create a whole new world for the stage, and why does musician PK Keränen pick up his guitar time and time again? Is creativity a conscious or subconscious process, a pleasure or a compulsion? Veikko Aaltonen’s documentary takes us straight into the heart of creativity with artists from different fields and generations. Celebrating the various forms of passion and creative work, the film presents a compelling case for the significance of art.

8 Views of Lake Biwa

On the shimmering shores of Europe’s otherworldly edge, two teenage girls, Hanake and her best friend are discussing their first love interest while gazing out at yachts sailing to Kyoto. They whisper prayers and poems, the language of their longings. But the magic is fading in their isolated fishing village as they’re dealing with a recent disaster, with some indulging in erotic art, some in spiritual spells. It becomes clear that intimacy alone won’t help them process their loss.

Power of Love

Saara and Robert are living a love that is free from traditional conventions and role models. They set off to an extensive summer holiday on a lonely island in the Finnish archipelago where the tension between them escalates and becomes a fight for survival.

Fallen Leaves

In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.

Fallen Leaves

In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.

Let the River Flow

During summer 1979, Ester moves to Alta in Northern Norway to begin teaching at an elementary school. Like many Sámi at the time, she is ashamed of her heritage and conceals her ethnicity. Ester goes to great lengths to fit in, even joining in with the derogatory jokes. When her cousin Mikkhal takes her to a camp by the Alta River, where people are demonstrating against the building of a dam, Ester learns how the fight for the river is also a revolt against the years of brutal racism and discrimination against her people. After a major confrontation with the police, Mikkhal and some other Sámi decide to go to Oslo to hunger strike in front of the Parliament. Knowing what is at stake, Ester realises it is time to make a stand…

Cairo Conspiracy

A fisherman's son is offered the ultimate privilege to study at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the epicenter of power of Sunni Islam. Shortly after his arrival, the university’s highest ranking religious leader, the Grand Imam, dies and the young student becomes a pawn in a ruthless power struggle between Egypt's religious and political elite.

Memory of Water

Centuries in the future, world's freshwater supplies are running out. Wars are waged over water, and China rules over Europe, including the Scandinavian Union. Far in the north, young woman, Noria, is learning to become a Tea Master, like her father. Tea Masters alone know the location of hidden water sources, including the natural spring that Noria’s father tends, which once provided water for her whole village. After her father dies, the military moves in to watch over the village -- and Noria. Refusing to give in her freshwater spring, Noria digs in deeper into her family’s secret. Within the Tea Masters’ books, she finds information that the government’s power is based on lies, that there still might be fresh water left for everyone. She risks her own life and sets out on a dangerous journey to find out if this is true.

The Gravedigger's Wife

Guled and Nasra are a loving couple, living in the outskirts of Djibouti city with their teenage son, Mahad. However, they are facing difficult times: Nasra urgently needs an expensive surgery to treat a chronic kidney disease. Guled is already working hard as a gravedigger to make ends meet.

The Innocents

Four children become friends during the summer holidays, and out of sight of the adults they discover they have hidden powers. While exploring their newfound abilities in the nearby forests and playgrounds, their innocent play takes a dark turn and strange things begin to happen.

The Dinosaur

Acclaimed Finnish director Rauni Mollberg made several scandalous yet widely appreciated films. Former co-worker Veikko Aaltonen’s eye-opening documentary The Dinosaur looks at the relentless, often disturbing directing techniques behind Mollberg’s art and success.

Night of the Living Dicks

A woman who has had enough of anonymous dick pics finds eyeglasses that give her the ability to see which men are the real dicks – but the dicks can also see her.

Donner - Private

Jörn Donner’s entire production can be considered as a self-portrait, a life-spanning performance. Whilst others have painted one image or another of Donner, John Webster’s interpretation differs in that it pulls most of its material from Donner’s last-intended interview in December 2019, and an immense never-before-seen collection of photographs from albums simply labelled “Donner – Privat”. As a result, the film morphs into an epilogue of sorts, of Donner’s life story.

The Last Ones

Tundra of Lapland, Finland. Rupi, a young man who fills his days dealing and drinking, works in a mine hoping to raise enough money to escape the desolate village where he lives.

Goodbye Soviet Union

A humoristic coming-of-age story of Johannes who is born prematurely to a very young single mother. His destiny is to be always separated from his loved ones, to be “different”, to lose his hair because of pollution and to fall in love with a Chechen girl. All this during the turbulent times of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Psychosia

Viktoria is an odd and extremely self-disciplined researcher in the field of suicide. She is invited to a psychiatric ward to treat the suicidal patient Jenny. Through intimate night conversations, they form a tight bond. Viktoria slowly opens up to experience closeness with another person for the first time in her life, but the closer the two women get, the more it becomes clear that something is not as it seems.

Two Bodies on a Beach

A woman wakes up on a beach tied in a plastic press wearing only underwear and high heels. “Not again”, she sighs and decides to track down the enemy and strike back. She gets a companion from an older woman, who has been pushed to the borders of society. During their journey through classical cinematic landscapes these nameless women from different generations struggle to connect and understand each other’s perspectives while their passion for men and male attention gets in away.

Void

Eero’s career as an author is spiraling down: he just can’t get started with his new novel. The ambitious actor Pihla is about to get her international break. Neither of them is willing to sacrifice their career even though their relationship is doing worse than ever. Void is a comedy-drama about the price of success and the agony of failure, and about situations where your partner just doesn’t get it.

It Came from the Desert

New Mexico, present day. Brian and Lukas are off to the desert to join a kegger party and to celebrate Lukas’ victory in a motocross competition. His winning prize includes meeting The Deathinator, the biggest action star in the world. The party gets started under the hot desert sun, but Brian isn’t in the mood, so he wanders off and is soon joined by his friend, Lukas. They discover something strange in the desert which leads them into a secret military laboratory, where they discover the disturbing truth of what the government has been doing. Secret experiments on ants and spiders using DNA found in a meteorite which fell to Earth in 1951 has given birth to mutated giant ants which have overrun the facility. Now, it's up to Brian and Lukas to save the world from a giant ant invasion!

The Memory of Ingmar Bergman

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Ingmar Bergman the Finnish writer and director Jörn Donner shares his memories of his friend and collaborator. The movie is based on two as yet unpublished TV interviews with Bergman which Donner filmed in 1975 and 1987.

Helsinki Mansplaining Massacre

One woman’s desperate struggle to survive a horde of men with frail egos, who just want to explain everything to her. But the biggest horror may be closer to her than she thinks.

The Other Side of Hope

A restaurateur befriends a Syrian refugee who has recently arrived in Finland.

Armi Alive!

Armi Ratia is the woman behind the legendary design company Marimekko and a worldwide celebrity. A theatre company has taken on the task of trying to portray the life and work of this complex person. The sets mainly consist of the well-known patterns that we all have grown to love. Armi is a brave, risk-taking businesswoman and her passion for her company repeatedly takes its toll on her employees, finances and family. The company grows while Armi's personal life is shaken by suicide attempts and turbulence. In Armi Alive!, Oscar-nominated film producer and director Jörn Donner portrays a fascinating woman with fervent ideas about the new Finnish man, her company, fabrics and clothes.

The Swedish Moment

Pop singer Kari and his girl dump a tightly wrapped mattress on a frozen lake. Things don’t quite go as planned, and the two go to Kari’s old drummer friend for help. Paranoia, jealousy and a series of increasingly absurd events ensue.

Korso

Stuck in the suburbs of Helsinki, 20-year-old Markus plans on moving to New York, his sights set on pursuing streetball fame. With little money behind him, he turns to the local loan shark - and when he discovers that Markus has no plans to repay him, things take a turn for the worse.

Concrete Night

A 14-year-old boy in a stifling Helsinki slum takes some unwise life lessons from his soon-to-be-incarcerated older brother.

Lisa Limone and Maroc Orange: A Rapid Love Story

Main hero is a singing boat refugee – orange boy Maroc. He dreams about freedom. Lemon girl Lisa collects singing seashells and dreams about love. Lisa’s father is a businessman, owner of a ketchup factory and tomato plantation. He loves money. And so the opera begins: Poor Maroc escapes from his homeland and defying stormy waters take a boat across the sea to the “promised land”. Upon arrival he is forced into being a slave worker in a tomato plantation instead of freedom, democracy, wealth and parties he had hoped for. Despite the initial let down our orange boy is destined to gain happiness – selfish Lisa falls in love with him and sets him free. We see an orange revolution – houses are blown up and tomatoes are made from ketchup, all in the name of democracy! Movie that is full of rebellion and love has happy ending – we will see sour-sweet culmination of lemon girl’s and orange boy’s love.

Twisted Roots

In this stylish Finnish drama, the secrets and desires of a family can no longer be suppressed. Mikko turns out to have a hereditary illness. Since then he has been worried. How long can he continue to run the family business that he and inherited from his father, just like his illness? And how does he tell his teenage daughter and adult son that they might have the wrong genes? The imaginative eight-year-old Lumi, adopted from China, also cannot get away from her roots.

Redoubt

Affected by the powerful images in the pamphlet Om kriget kommer (If war comes), farmhand Karl-Göran Persson begins fortifying his house. Through years of harvesting scrap-metal, he transforms the house into a fortress, meant to protect him and his neighbors when the enemy attacks. As the task progresses, reality and the threat of future destruction become intertwined, and construction becomes an obsession for the lonely Karl-Göran.

The Squirrel

Pasi, a lonely but kind-hearted designer of artificial animals who accidentally discovers the world's last living squirrel. Pasi decides to defy society's rules and help the squirrel, but things turn out differently than Pasi had planned - the squirrel gets depressed, and Pasi falls in love.

Täyttä hepreaa

Nissim wants to mend his relationship with his son and won't let small obstacles like his own death stand in his way.

Le Havre

In the French harbor city of Le Havre, fate throws young African refugee Idrissa into the path of Marcel Marx, a well-spoken bohemian who works as a shoe-shiner. With innate optimism and the tireless support of his community, Marcel stands up to officials pursuing the boy for deportation.

The Good Son

When his mother takes a shine to a man at a party, a young man begins to lose his grip on reality.

Bad Family

The story of an overly protective and controlling father who suspects incest is taking place between his own son and daughter. These growing suspicions and concerns cause the father to become delusional and unrelenting in his quest to end the love affair between his children.

The Interrogation

Finnish Kerttu Nuorteva is spying for the Russians in Helsinki during World War II. She is arrested and interrogated in the hope that she will uncover the Soviet Union espionage tactics.