Iiris Härmä

Over 90 years old Ellen Vuosalo has lived many lives. First as a Finnish immigrant in Canada, then as a zoology student in California and finally as a mother of snow cranes in Iran. Iiris Härmä's Mother of Snow Cranes tells the story of an incredible woman's extraordinary life, from love to tragedy to revolution. It is a story about nature, humanity, and the role of women in both the West and Iranian culture. Or as Ellen herself says " What a life! What a world!"

A rough but beautiful documentary film about the crisis of a man in his forties and his desire for a better life; its a story of parenthood, alcohol, Finnish man and his desire for love. It is also an unusually intimate depiction of the relationship between the father and his son. Despite the seriousness of the topic the film includes black humor and situational comedy

The region of Lake Turkana, located in Kenya and Ethiopia, is considered to be “the Cradle of Humankind”. Among other finds, primate fossils from millions of years ago have been discovered in the region. But what about the region’s modern inhabitants and their relationship to their environment? Iiris Härmä, whose previous work includes the award-winning Leaving Africa, had the chance of joining Helsinki University’s researchers, Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares and Mar Cabeza, on their pre-pandemic trip to study the Daasanach people’s relationship to their environment through traditional animal tales. The researchers hope that storytelling would help to bridge the gap between people’s everyday lives and conservation efforts.

The film examines the painful relationship between fathers and sons through the eyes of one family. Four generations of men are featured in the film. Father to Son deals with the conflict between generations and their subjective memories, and the way different methods of raising children pass from one generation to the next. How often and to what extent do we repeat the behavioural patterns of our fathers; can we change or break these patterns or is repeating them inescapable, and how many generations are needed for change to occur? Are the values we have inherited from our fathers still valid in the modern world? One of the leading themes of this film is the sensitivity of a man and a boy, and its preservation and suppression.

Riitta and Catherine live together in Uganda. By day the two sixtysomethings provide sexual health and equality education for Catholics, Muslims and Anglicans alike. By night they smoke, do crosswords and don’t shy away from frank discussions. Riitta's long career empowering women in Africa is coming to a close, but Ugandan government is trying their best to shut down their sex-ed program during her last months in Africa.

A documentary film about singing and a young man in search of himself and his voice.

Katja is a young retiree. At 24, she is living in a circle of solitude, spending her days walking her dog and looking out of the window.

Artificial intelligence and new technologies are reaching our mental and physical existence like never before in the history of human kind. The film is a journey that leads us to the world of cyborgs, sex robots and Androids. It challenges us to face our values, ethics and rethink our position. The main character of the film is young researcher Dr. Michael Laakasuo whose work Moralities of Intelligent Machines has gained international recognition.

The Gypsies have lived in Finland for hundreds of years and they form a significant minority in country. Nevertheless, their every day life is not very well known by the majority and few people understand the issues young Gypsies struggle with.