Festival Archive

A 40% drama that attracted attention at the Sundance festival and harvested awards like tequila agave. Jokes aside, Mexican actress Teresa Sánchez has rightly been praised for her role as hard-boiled tequila producer María, who runs the family business Dos Estaciones. When most other tequila companies have been bought up by international groups, she is the last woman standing. But how long can she hold out? Finances are bleeding and unexpected floods, and plant diseases make the situation incredibly stressful. By the way, did you know that a drink can only be called tequila if at least 51% of the mash comes from tequila agave from certain Mexican regions? For example. Jalisco, where the film takes place.

When the BBC asked 174 composers to list the most important composers of all time, Finnish Polar Laureate Kaija Saariaho, who sadly passed away this summer, came in 17th place, just behind Jean Sibelius. Not bad. (Bach came first.) After the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in the late 70s, studies followed at IRCAM in Paris – an institute for research into electroacoustic art music, which influenced her direction as a composer in that she liked to work with electronic sounds alongside classical instruments. In 2016, she became the first female composer in over a hundred years to stage an opera - L'Amour de Loin - at the Met in New York. A unique artistry already engraved in music history.

Two lonely strangers meet in the night in search of the first, greatest and only love of their lives. But a lot stands in the way of happiness. All the usual small and big obstacles of everyday life are amplified by things like alcoholism, lost phones and not even knowing each other's names. The winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes 2023 has been described as a warm blanket in a cold world.

Juulia is happily married to Matias, she thinks, until she finds out that he has been unfaithful to Enni for a year. In the midst of this crisis of trust, they decide to open up the relationship and try polyamorous living. Curious, honest, and with a twinkle in the eye, the film tells the story of how the couple tries new ground - all to save love. A drama comedy that manages to be both warm, heartfelt, and pointed. Where adults love relationships can be stormy and chaotic but also loving, edgy, and embarrassing.

Do you remember Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man? Here's the Finnish equivalent (minus the violent ending). Hannu's love for the lynx is as great as his own beard. Alone on a farm near Lake Köyhäjärvi in western Finland, he has settled down after a divorce and an accident. When he isn’t sweating and contemplating in the sauna, he crawls around the forest at night and checks the 23 cameras that capture fantastic images of lynxes and other animals. Hannu is deeply involved in the lives of the lynxes and has baptized them all; Joseph, Grumpy Girl, etc. He mixes deep knowledge with fairy-tale debauchery in a film that gives the animals the main role, and that through a unique visual material to say the least.

It is not always an option to be a refugee, to flee to the unknown and leave everything behind in search of safety. That's exactly what happens to 14-year-old Zina when a shell destroys the roof of her house in Syria. As a result, she gets to sleep under the stars for the first time. At the same time, she develops a great friendship with the neighbor boy Amer, who shares her dream of one day seeing the sea. Zina and her family are faced with a difficult choice: leave everything behind or stay. Which raises the question: is the real warmth in the walls of the home related to the place or to the presence of those we love? The film won the Audience Award at the Venice Film Festival.

Documentary-musical about Finnish care for the elderly seasoned with dark humor. The problem of Finnish elderly care being privatized has for a long time fallen on deaf ears with decision-makers sticking their heads in the sand. The director has a choir sing out the message, based on the testimony of the health workers. The song sounds like a thread through the film, where financial goals define an unsustainable work situation. The ethical dilemmas they face on a daily basis are debilitating. They are on their knees, the care recipients become a number and all human closeness and warmth must be rationalized away. Who will be able to work here and who dares to grow old in such a system? A warm story that gives voice to the unsung heroes of health care.

During a week's family vacation, the characters' insides and outsides are depicted here, side by side, in pictures more often than words. Mamma Mona, sweetly portrayed by Ramona Milano, directs dinners and celebrations to be able to put out the perfect holiday image while more or less all the different lives of the family members are hardly what they are trying to be on the surface. When are you an adult? When should one's parents stop having to give their permission so that you can spend the night as you wish? We get to follow the main character Renata's journey up close but without too much clarity or explanation. It is what it is, while a whole world seems to exist under the skin of each character. A film that vibrates with warmth, humor, and life.

Invite AI to compose and record an entire album? As well as being responsible for cover concepts, press images and music videos? Most musicians would gag at the mere thought. But American artsy electronica dance-pop band YACHT has always been on the front lines and gave AI a chance to take the helm when recording the band's seventh album. The journey in this highly topical film was certainly not without challenges, among other things, thousands of reference songs had to be entered. But considering that YACHT is an abbreviation for Young Americans Challenging High Technology, it was only for these LA hipsters, who were long at reputable DFA Records, to live up to the name.