Merja Ritola

A hotel manager of the brand-new Hotel Helsinki, is found dead one day before the opening festivities, leaving behind him a suicide note.

Five years in the making, based on six lengthy interviews filmed on six different locations in Saint Petersburg, we meet an outspoken artist who covers here his entire life and prolific career. The locations were Sokurov’s own favourites, where he felt at home.

In Petersburg during perestroika there are two people, Alya and Nika. She is a little funny Petersburg intellectual; he is a French architect. They cannot live without each other, but they cannot together, either in the ancient Lyon castle, or in her communal apartment inhabited by colorful neighbors. Next to Alya is her childhood friend - Mitya, whose love she does not notice. He uses Ali's ridiculous mistake and Niki's jealousy to separate them for years.

Ingrid, an intelligent and beautiful 40-year old Western photojournalist, visits Sinai to finalise her photoshoot for her upcoming exhibition. She is kidnapped by terrorists and falls in love with one of the men.

A documentary film about Martta Koskinen, the last executed woman in Finland during the war in 1943. Martta was a Seamstress who lived in Helsinki during the Second World War. She was one of the post-civil war (in 1918) generation for whom the war had meant a disappointment in the system and failure in unity of the Finnish nation. The legacy of the civil war had left systems of persecution in place for those with socialist ideals. Martta and her fellow revolutionaries were determined to continue the resistance movement although they knew that at worst it could cost their lives. Martta was imprisoned twice before she was shot. She was an idealist, whose seemingly harmless, naive beliefs in peace and justice were the most dangerous traits a person could have at the time.

The Rosvola family – The Robbersons drive around the country in their pirate car robbing bypassing cars of their sweets, extra food and consumer goods. Life changes for the Rosvolas when they accidentally kidnap 10-year-old Vilja, a diligent school girl. Will Vilja succeed in escaping or will she become friends with the Rosvolas´ children Hele (12 years) and Kalle (9 years)? We are the Pirates of the Roads is a funny and crazy adventurous road movie for children.

The daughter of two famous writers, Helena upholds her late father's reputation, reciting his poems on various occasions and cherishing the memory of the legend. Relations with her mother have deteriorated since she moved to Sweden. Helena blames her mother for abandoning her father. Helena and her mother meet again as Helena's mental health deteriorates and in order to cope, she must face reality through her mother's memoirs. Helena becomes intensely involved in the story and relives it by imagining herself in her mother's place.

A film about Maija Isola, the designer of Finland’s most beloved fabrics. Her bold designs, which include classics like Unikko, Kivet, Kaivo and Melooni, were essential in creating Marimekko’s lifestyle universe. The film shows the secrets to the success of Maija Isola’s fabrics, the values at the heart of Isola’s globetrotter lifestyle, and the legacy she left us. The film is narrated by Maija Isola, as well as her daughter Kristina Isola. It takes us close to Maija as a person, artist, thinker and visionary through her letters. We also hear Armi Ratia’s thoughts on Isola both as an employee and as a friend.

A short film about a little boy Otto, whose parents had promised him a dog for his tenth birthday - before they suddenly passed away. When Otto sees a falling star the evening before his birthday, he wishes upon it one more time, but realises then that the bright object is falling into the forest behind his grandma's house. When the hatch of the rocket opens, a little dog exits with the name Laika engraved on his collar. But knowing that his grandma is wary of dogs, the worried child stays in the forest with the dog.

REFUGEE CONVERSATIONS / PAKOLAISKESKUSTELUJA is a 90-minute documentary film. Its themes are: refugees, racism, xenophobia, Islam, Christianity and compassion — or the lack of it. What is the meaning and role of these in Finland, a country which according to many studies is the happiest country in the world?

Julia travels to her new friend Anna's archipelago summer cottage on a late summer weekend. When Anna's husband JP unexpectedly returns to the island, Julia recognises him as her date rapist from fifteen years ago. Both Julia and JP keep it a secret from Anna that they know each other. Anna begins to feel growing insecurity about her husband's relationship with her new friend. Over the course of the weekend, tensions between the trio deepen.

The loneliest man in the suburbs opens his door to a stranger and gets caught up in the merry-go-round of love.

To avoid a forced marriage, 19-year-old Hala finds refuge across the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria at a military academy where, while learning to fight, she vows to fight to free all women.

A middle aged woman is an accountant and becomes addicted to gambling. She steals over 800 000€ from her customers and loses everything to the local gambling company on the small island where she lives.

Tatu Hokkanen ringed a nestling robin in Finland in the 1990s. The bird was later found shot dead in Brescia in Northern Italy. Years later, bird conservationists Katia and Paolo are at the forefront of fighting bird poaching in the Province of Brescia, where the bird Tatu had ringed in the 1990s was found. Poachers are still targeting robins. Set in two countries, the story is about conservation work and love for the little birds, transcending national borders.

Kaya is a seal trainer at a seal centre on the Baltic coast. Keeping it secret from the others, she decides to become a single mother through an IVF procedure with the sperm from an anonymous donor. She overcomes financial and ethical concerns, yet it turns out that it is too late – she is barren. Kaya faces a dilemma: should she adopt an egg cell of another woman?