Let's cry, damn it, and not whine

Report From the Domestic Programme Jury 2010

The New Finnish Documentary Films programme selection of the DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival received altogether 66 documentary film submissions, from which 15 films were selected for the programme. In addition, one domestic film was selected for the Special Screenings and one for the Arrivals programme. Nine films out of 36 submissions were chosen for the Documentary Films From Finnish Film Schools programme.

The films of the Finnish programme inspire faith in the power of Finnish documentaries. The selected films are powerful and personal works, and their makers know how to use the tools of the trade. It is difficult to find a common denominator for the films. They all have interesting characters, good topics, and well-written stories. We also wanted to present films that were personal and different.

Male topics dominate the Finnish programme. In Steam of Life by Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen, the national landscape and one of our national institutions, the sauna, provide the setting for an encounter of equals. The magical atmosphere of the sauna releases bathers from their everyday burdens, and in the sauna naked men talk honestly about themselves, confessing and opening up about their personal pitfalls. The film is unabashed and filled with brave and open  accounts, devoid of typical pity-mongering male figures. In Visa Koiso-Kanttila’s Portrait of a Man, the protagonist returns to the crime scene, the focal point where his father’s suicide and unresolved family relations meet. A modern Finnish man embarks on a journey to clear his heart and change the direction of his life.

These male films dive into the stories of individuals, but in the hands of their makers they grow larger than their subjects. Personal stories become common and shared. The curiosities of Finnish life disappear into the greater story of what and why we are. The festival’s Artistic Director chose Earth Evocation by Anastasia Lapsui and Markku Lehmuskallio for the Special Screenings programme. The documentary asks: Where do I come from, who am I? The film summarises the history of over 10,000 years of habitation in Finland into a single cinematic essay, and poses a philosophical question: What marks of this timeline do we still bear?

Another dominant theme of the Finnish programme is Finnish history. It is fascinating to notice that it is only now that we are able to examine these topics. In the Shadow of a Doubt chronicles five years in the life of a man at the pinnacle of power, who is declared a traitor. Pekka Lehto’s film about Alpo Rusi’s fight against the invisible power elite is also connected to the male theme. Its protagonist refuses to accept the punishment and shame meted out by his own community; instead he is able to maintain his self-esteem and even seek justice to clear his reputation. Finland is used to a quiet political elite that keeps its nest clean. Rusi will not lick his wounds in solitude but rather brings his story from the top level of power for all to see. This unique film provides a cross-exposure that depicts the untouchables of Finnish society. We would have liked to see more political films.

The affairs between Finnish women and German soldiers in Lapland are considered shameful events of the past and remain a painful topic. It would not have been possible to make Virpi Suutari’s film Auf Wiedersehen Finnland any earlier, and now it was finished at the last moment. The documentary brings a timeless portrayal of hopeless love from the past to the present. It makes understandable a person’s desperate clinging to a relationship that is already doomed by the devastating movements of world history. The last moments are also at hand in Pia Andell’s Göring's Baton: its protagonist, the legendary cinematographer Felix Forsman passed away in 2005, leaving behind numerous stories. One is that of Marshal Mannerheim’s return visit to Berlin, which Forsman filmed. These documentaries create their own personal depiction of historically important events with the voices of contemporaries and those who witnessed the events. Both A Man From the Congo River by Jouko Aaltonen and Iceberg Shadow by Antti Seppänen are built on very rare archival material, and tell stories of men fascinated by adventures far from home.

Finnish documentary films still seek answers to life's unpredictabilities. We even had to hold back the tide of lament for the dying mythical countryside; we would rather see contemporary documentaries that are in touch with the present. Jukka Kärkkäinen’s Tomorrow was Yesterday depicts our society’s considerable challenge: aging. Hopefully, in the future new topics will deal more strongly with the present day. The spectrum of submitted films already exhibited new topic choices. The Perfumer (44500 MAX) by Jari Kokko portrays an unusual man from Viitasaari, whose happiness is hard to dampen. Not even the bleak and reserved small town attitudes manage to suppress the creativity of Max Perttula. He is determined to conquer the world with his Viitasaari scent, and, according to the director, Max is now working on a Heinävesi perfume.

Arto Halonen’s The Magnetic Man offers a window to the magical world created by Pekka Streng. The film portrays an extremely sensitive person, whose imagination and creativity knew no boundaries.
Many submitted films aimed to control the conflicts in their makers' own mind. Fight of Fate, directed by Mohamed El Aboud, depicts the belief of a Muslim convert in the decline of Western society. It forces the audience to examine the time we live in. Have we really become so isolated that instead of seeking dialogue, we talk over one another and remain encapsulated in our belief in the superiority of our own lifestyle?

Magical Power defies the traditional documentary narrative. The mundane does not always provide classic dramaturgy, but instead energising encounters. Jean Bitar’s five-year long project produced a boisterous film. Children play the main parts, while adults try to rationalise the creative process. The children’s uncontrollable and unlimited will to experiment runs free in an art education project, the heroes of which are the brave and tireless kindergarten workers. We are, after all, only products of our culture, and are able to change the value systems imprinted on us.

The topics of the Finnish programme’s films are national. One exception is Kati Juurus’ Fingerprints, chosen for the Arrivals programme. It follows three immigrants who seek asylum in Finland and their fates as pawns in the EU immigrant policy game.

Out in the world, documentary filmmakers move in foreign cultures and mediate universal stories. As the rest of the world looks outwards, we believe in, trust in and want to record our own story. Special attention should be given to those young filmmakers of the Documentary Films From Finnish Film Schools programme who have courageously ventured out into the international field with their cameras. This has resulted in fresh new topics that liven up the Finnish Film Schools programme.

Translation by Senni Lähde

Jury for the New Finnish Documentary Films

Minna Joenniemi (b. 1971) is a journalist and television host. Joenniemi has worked for the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE: she has worked as a spokeswoman for TV2 and made cultural programmes for YLE Kulttuuri. Recently she has hosted YLE’s poetry programme Runoraati.