Finnish Film Affair

In Power of the People we follow the extraordinary young Finnish activist and poet Laura Eklund Nhaga as she embarks upon a journey to the US to meet fellow activists in Chicago. She also encounters Heather Booth, leading activate for ‘organization’ and the processes needed to transform words into action. Director Mervi Enqvist discusses her film with Business Doc Europe.

In Iiris Härmä’s latest documentary, two well-meaning environmental scientists travel to the ‘Cradle of Humanity’ in Kenya to reintroduce the culture of storytelling to nomadic tribes people. But they soon find out that the needs, practices and indeed frailties of the local villagers are not so dissimilar to those of people living elsewhere in the world. The filmmaker talks to Business Doc Europe.

In Susanna Helke’s cleverly provocative and often very moving documentary, the beautifully hypnotic sound of Anna-Mari Kähärä’s music plays in poignant counterpoint to the words, comments and confessions posted by carers for the elderly in Finland between 2019 and 2021, and sung by a choir up of fellow, exhausted nurses.

“Finland is known for its dedicated documentary talent, and we want to serve that,” says Head of Finnish Film Affair & Nordic Flair Maria Pirkkalainen. Eight feature documentaries and nine doc projects, as well as a series of debates and masterclasses, will be presented 21-23 September during Finnish Film Affair, the industry event of Helsinki International Film Festival.

Eight feature documentaries and nine doc projects to be presented between 21-23 September during Finnish Film Affair, the industry event of Helsinki International Film Festival. The three-day event will welcome execs from industry giants such as Netflix, TrustNordisk, and Cannes, Venice, and Berlinale film festivals. In co-operation with German Films, German producers interested in co-productions will also journey to Finland.