Finland from East to West

The Cuckoo(ru)

September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet Army, arrested by the Front Secret Police 'Smersh', has a narrow escape. They are soldiers of the two enemy armies. A Lapp woman Anni gives a shelter to both of them at her farm. For Anni they are not enemies, but just men.

Ukonvaaja(fi)

Ukonvaaja - The Hammer of Ukko - is a documentary film that focuses on ancient Finnish folklore and mythology.

Two Forces(fi)

Docudrama about the Soviet occupation of a Finnish village in the fall before the Winter War.

Wandering in the White(fi)

When two former top orienteers end up in a snowstorm in Lapland wilderness, they face an impossible orienteering task: how to reach your destination when you can't tell earth from sky?

World's Greatest Logging Site(fi)

A documentary short on logging during winter season.

Klyftan(sv)

A story about 10-year-old Ruth and her life in Jakobstad in the years 1917-1918, during the Finnish Civil War. Based on a novel by Anna Bondestam.

Kuuhun ja takaisin - keskioluen tarina(fi)

Documentary about medium strength beer in Finland.

Les Sous-marins de la France Libre(fr)

39-45 L'histoire des bases sous-marines(fr)

Santa's Wild Home(en)

Green lights dance across a star-filled sky, and snowflakes sparkle on the trees. It is little wonder Lapland is famous as a realm of elves and flying reindeer, the magical home of Santa Claus. This northernmost region of mainland Europe, however, is a real place, with real animals such as reindeer, Great Gray owls, wolverines, eagles, wolves, musk oxen and Brown bears who live out their lives in the tundra and forest.

Finlandia(fi)

A documentary from Erkki Karu, one of the earliest pioneers of Finnish cinema: This government-produced propaganda film introduces the nature, sports, military, agriculture and capital of Finland.

Sanoilla on hintansa - elokuva Juha Junnu Vainiosta(fi)

A dramatized documentary film about singer-songwriter and lyricist Juha "Junnu" Vainio from Kotka.

Maiden of the Lake(fi)

Two teenagers and their adventures in the breathtaking scenery of lake Saimaa.

Landet som icke är(sv)

A poem about the poetic pursuit that in a harmonious way longs for death to occur. Life's desires and worries have done much harm to the poetic self and the person sees death as a help to loosen a large weight from their shoulders.

The Players(fi)

The subject of this eventful documentary film is the ice hockey team of the HIFK multi-sport association, based in Helsinki. The team overwhelmed its opponents and easily won the Finnish Championship season of 1968–1969. The Players is not a conventional sports documentary, but a skilfully executed, musical experiment in form and rhythm.

A Day With the National Ice Hockey Team(fi)

This documentary by the Finnish Broadcasting Company covers the Finnish national ice hockey team preparing for the spring 1974 World Championships. The film crew is there at meetings, training sessions, tactical meetings and also visits the infirmary. Along with the coaches Kalevi Numminen, Raimo Määttänen and the team leader Teuvo Peltola we also see glimpses of Heikki Riihiranta, Juhani Tamminen, Lasse Oksanen, Stig Wetzell and Veli-Pekka Ketola.

Ice Hockey World Championship Jubilee in Tampere(fi)

The Tampere-based VipVision production company recorded the scenes of jubilation at the Tampere Central Square in the spring of 1995 when the Finnish national ice hockey team celebrated after winning the World Championships. The fight song Den glider in rings out more than once, and Pate Mustajärvi works the crowd into a singing frenzy.

Kuoleman lista(fi)

A dramatic documentary film that deals with the Nazi rise to power in Germany in the 1930s and the development of the persecution of Jews up to the Holocaust. The film tells about the attitude of the Finnish government to the request for the handover of the Finnish Jews presented by Heinrich Himmler in the summer of 1942. The main focus of the film is the life of Jewish refugees in Finland in the years 1938-1942 and the attitude of the Finnish government to their handover in the fall of 1942.

95(fi)

Set in the final weekend of the year 1995 Ice Hockey World Championships, 95 tells through overlapping stories why Finland became a ice hockey world champion and how it affected the whole nation.

The Dinosaur(fi)

Acclaimed Finnish director Rauni Mollberg made several scandalous yet widely appreciated films. Former co-worker Veikko Aaltonen’s eye-opening documentary The Dinosaur looks at the relentless, often disturbing directing techniques behind Mollberg’s art and success.