Klaus Heydemann

A quintet of cabbies in five cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.

Iris is a shy and dowdy young woman stuck in a dead-end job at a match factory, who dreams of finding love at the local dancehall. Finding herself pregnant after a one-night stand and abandoned by the father, Iris finally decides the time has come to get even and she begins to plot her revenge.

The ever-poker-faced Ilona loses her job as a restaurant hostess, as her tram driver husband, Lauri, also finds himself out of work. Together they must hit the streets of Helsinki, facing up to hardship and humiliation in their quest for survival, guided through the gloom by a ray of hope.

The Leningrad Cowboys, a group of Siberian musicians, and their manager, travel to America seeking fame and fortune. As they cross the country, trying to get to a wedding in Mexico, they are followed by the village idiot, who wishes to join the band.

Three penniless artists become friends in modern-day Paris: Rodolfo, an Albanian painter with no visa, Marcel, a playwright and magazine editor with no publisher, and Schaunard, a post-modernist composer of execrable noise.

World War II is around the corner, but the only thing Sally Bauer can think of is the ocean. Her dream is to swim across the English Channel.

After losing his job and realizing that he is alone in the world, a businessman opts to voluntarily end his life. Lacking courage, he hires a contract killer to do the job. Then, while awaiting his demise, he meets a woman and promptly falls in love.

Antti "Zombie" Autiomaa does two things well: play the bass guitar and drink. After several months' sleeping on the streets of Istanbul, he returns to Helsinki where he's called into the army but discharged on mental health grounds after adding turpentine to the officers' soup. Zombie lives bleary-eyed in an apartment off his parents' house where his lonely, unemployed father suffers from heart disease. His girl-friend Marjo has taken up with a hairdresser but comes back to Zombie. His friend Harri hires him as a roadie for his band "Harry and the Mulefukkers" then gives him a chance as a bass player. He has his girl and he has a gig, but can Zombie put the bottle down?

Parikka, the actor once called the Funniest Man in Finland, and his troupe are about to be executed for the atrocities committed during the Civil War in Finland. Jaeger Lieutenant Nyborg, an admirer of Parikka, suspects a definite miscarriage of justice. He wants to save the actors. The forthcoming visit of the German General von der Goltz to the prison island provides him with a suitable opportunity. Nyborg suggests that the actors prepare a comical performance for the visitor and not be shot. Instead, they will be given a new trial. Preparing a comedy in the horrible circumstances, in the midst of hunger and death, seems quite an overwhelming task. Only a handful of real actors are still alive, the rest of the troupe consists of stagehands. Parikka has to use all his inventive skills to be able to produce something funny.

Ana buys a recording studio in the Kill City neighborhood, whose former owner, "Lare," has disappeared. The studio is broken into the following night, and a tape disappears. Ana is taken in for questioning by the police, who tell her that Lare was last seen at a hotel in London, where a suitcase full of money was found. After this, Ana is beaten unconscious near Kill City and becomes entangled in the world of crime.

Markuss must adapt to a new life living with his granny in the countryside. After Emīlija – a neighbor’s daughter – throws some contemptuous remarks about the boy’s father, the boy decides to teach her a cruel lesson. This has severely negative consequences which resonate throughout the village. The only person Markuss can relate to is an old sailor living in the nearby woods. They inspire each other and keep each other’s secrets. It is only through an accidental turn of events that Emīlija’s mother’s intended sanctions against Markuss and the boy’s reputation in the eyes of the inhabitants of the village radically change.

On the verge of her marital life, a young woman makes a journey into the night to find out why she has lost her heartbeat and turned golden.

Katri's husband has died in the Finnish Winter War. When the Continuation War begins, Katri volunteers to work in a Helsinki military hospital. She is courted by a patient, a poetry-reciting countryman bound to be released from service. In the same time, she dates old school friend Eero who even goes AWOL to be near her. As the war continues, Katri has to make difficult decisions about her life.

Small-town boys Vähy and Hapa are best friends who swear an eternal blood oath. As they grow up, however, their paths drift apart and they both find themselves searching for their place in the world.

Living in the Herttoniemi suburb in Eastern Helsinki, 12 year olds Antti and Muhis have been best friends since kindergarten. Muhis is from a Somali background, and the boys’ friendship is put to test when a local racist lays his hands on Muhis. A struggle ensues, and Antti accidentally shoves the man off of a cliff, into the sea. The boys swear never ever to tell anyone and to take their secret to their graves. Changes is a life-affirming film about friendship, growing up, tolerance and courage.

Patrolman Loyan tries to find his place in the new police department while keeping his friend Warsame, newly released from prison, on the right track. Loyan's ambition is to get into detective training, but his supervisor Jokisalo thinks he'd be better off patrolling the familiar neighbourhoods with his partner Johanna. The patrol gets down to business when they start investigating what looks like a suicide. Antero Päiviö, a professional criminal and racial bigot involved in drug trafficking, has jumped from his balcony. The man who was first pronounced dead suddenly wakes up and is taken to hospital. Loyan finds it hard to believe the man's story and decides to find out the truth at any cost. As the plot unravels, it's hard to know who to trust anymore, when Warsame seems to be up to something behind Loyan's back.

One man's quest for revenge in a post-apocalyptic world

A 57-minute documentary of a Helsinki concert featuring the Leningrad Cowboys and the Alexandrov Red Army Choir and Ballet, who collaborate on a number of US Rock songs sung in English (like "Sweet Home, Alabama") as well as more traditional Russian songs like the "Volga Boatman."

During one spring day, nine people dreaming of life or running away from it, plus a dog on the run, either meet, pass or collide on a certain road. Sisters Seija and Sanna are on their way to the airport because Seija is moving to Canada. Silja and Ville are mourning the anniversary of their dead daughter. The comedy duo is off on a tour after a long break, the paramedics are looking forward to a quiz night and Anita is finally ready to scatter the ashes of her deceased loved one in the lake. A strange man hitchhikes along the highway.

Anna Kelanen is an ex-model, who just has been released from prison. She thinks back on her life, when she was a rather successful model, and on the things that went wrong.