Boris Vidović: When making this program I wanted to offer the Croatian audience a diverse overview of Finnish film production. I haven’t included any films by Aki Kaurismäki because they are the most well known Finnish films (and Mika has not made a good film in the last 10-15 years)
Very few people in Croatia will know the name of any Finnish director or actor apart from the ever present Aki i Mika Kaurismäki. Maybe several film historians will remember that Mauritz Stiller was a Jew from Helsinki and that he moved to Sweden in search of a better life or that Caspar Wrede, a director who spent most of his life in Great Britain, was a member of the Swedish minority in Finland (he was born in Finnish Viipuri, today Russian Vyborg, and died in Helsinki).
Today, Finland has just a few more inhabitants than Croatia and it is therefore to be expected that there are some similarities in the film production of the two countries. Of course, Finland is today much richer than Croatia and that can be seen in its cinema. One of the positive signs of the present situation in Finland is the return of viewers to domestic film. In Croatia more than 10 000 viewers in one weekend are regarded as a big success, but in Finland these numbers are around 50 000 and more. However, the most popular films in Finland have not necessarily become international hits. Finnish people like to watch stories with strong local colours. If we take a look at the list of the most popular films in the last ten years, on one side we will find a series of absurd comedies about the slacker Uuno Turhapur, and on the other films with themes from our recent past - WW II or nostalgic pieces set in the 1950s and 1960s, often filled with popular music from those times.
To summarize, the present state of domestic film in Finland is much stronger than that of Croatian film. As an example, we can point to the biography of the legendary skier and jumper Matti Nykänen that in one weekend in the middle of January was seen by 92 000 viewers. The second important difference is in the ratings (and production) of feature length documentaries, a film form that is largely neglected in Croatia, but very successful in Finland. One such film, Melancholian 3 Huonetta (The Three Rooms of Melancholia) by Pirjo Honkasalo, was shown and awarded at last year’s festival Zagreb Dox.
When making this program I wanted to offer the Croatian audience a diverse overview of Finnish film production. I haven’t included any films by Aki Kaurismäki because they are the most well known Finnish films (and Mika has not made a good film in the last 10-15 years). Films that I have selected represent the very best from Finnish film production in the last five years and have won many awards at international festivals. This year Klaus Härö’s melodrama about the evacuation of Finnish children in WW II, Äideistä parhain (Mother of Mine), is the Finnish representative for the Oscar. Härö, the new big hope of Finnish cinema, has another film in this program, his feature debut, Näkymätön Elina (As If I Didn't Exist ).
Pelon maantiede (The Geography of Fear ) and Paha maa (Frozen Land) are engaging stories from Finnish contemporary life. The first one is a feminist countdown with violence toward women, and the other is a fierce critique of modern Finnish society. Rijeka is a very interesting film, structured in episodes, such as some Altman’s films, with a strong dose of social criticism. But Finnish filmmakers do not only make gloomy and dark dramas, and therefore there are two comedies in this program, Nousukausi (Upswing), and the fantastic fairy tale, Pelikaanimies (Pelicanman).
I have to mention one more characteristic: in the last ten years in Finland there has emerged a generation of successful female directors. Therefore, half of the films in this program were directed by female authors. (Boris Vidović)