Cédric Ernoult, Saksa, Golden Baltic Herring winner 2024
Linus Mikuta, Liettua, film director
Jolene Mok, Hong Kong, experimental Raumars artist
14.00 Amateurs
16.00 Film students 1
19.00 Film students 2
21.00 Professionals
16.00 Amateurs
18.00 Film students 1
20.00 Film students 2
22.00 Professionals
AMATEURS
1. TURVASATAMA/ SAFE HAVEN
Jaakko Kelaranta, Finland, A, 3:39
The sea breeze can sometimes be quite brisk in the waves of life, but you can always anchor your heart in the safe haven.
2. GOD JUL MAMMA ÖNSKAR TOMTEN/ MERRY CHRISTMAS MOM FROM SANTA
Anders Köhler & Timmy Sundin, Sweden, F, 26:34
Linn does everything she can to arrange a memorable Christmas for her newborn son and family. But with her boyfriend’s family visiting, that is easier said than done. Will Santa Claus will liven up the evening?
3. AKVAARIO/ AQUARIUM
Jonathan Guzman Monet, Finland, Exp/ F, 15:52
Expressionist short film about being an outsider – and finding a connection. The reality of the film is a blend of something magical and something very ordinary.
4. DUELLEN/ THE DUEL
Johannes Törnquist, Sweden, F, 13:32
Two childhood friends reunite for a last day of camping, bathing in the old lake and tree climbing before a duel to the death.
5. TRAUMAPÄIVÄKIRJA/ TRAUMA DIARY
Joonatan Kaarre, Finland, F, 19:25
Osmo gets a knock on the door at night. His neighbour has sleepwalked out of his apartment only in his underwear. When they wait together for the housekeeper, both of their secrets are revealed.
6. PICK UP ARTISTI/ PICK UP ARTIST
Tuomas Lehtonen, Finland, F, 27:30
Teppo is a self-taught pick-up artist who believes success with women is all about psychology and practice. This mockumentary satirizes modern masculinity, toxic pick-up culture and the self-esteem traps of social media.
FILM STUDENTS 1
1. ÄRA OLE UHKE/ COME SIT WITH US
Elis Rumma, Estonia, F, 14:06/ Tallinn University, Baltic Film, Media and Arts School
Lola ends up sitting on a bench with local women on Midsummer Eve. As a result she begins to question her current perspectives and grows up with the country women in her own way.
2. MERENELÄVIÄ/ FISH RIVER ANTHOLOGY
Veera Lamminpää, Finland, A, 09:30/ Aalto University, ELO Film School Finland
The supermarket is nearing its closing time, and the last customers are queuing for their turn at the fish counter. The agonizing wait offers a chance for existential reflection and a little song.
3. HELLO…
Ivan Dubrovin, China, Germany, F, 08:41/ University of Television and Film Munich
A film about loneliness in a big city (Shanghai). The individual is a dot on a gigantic wall of other dots. Social media and certain ideas of masculinity make it almost impossible for young men to find someone for life.
4. SEEWETTER
Johan Korte, Germany, Exp, 09:09/ Berliner Hochschule für Technik
Ole’s life is shaped by everyday wild storms on the North Sea, but this time he has a strange feeling. The film is dealing with finite living space, supposed security and existential fear. A musical film for the choir piece of the same name.
5. OZEANOLOGIE/ OCEANOLOGY
Malin Gutschank, Germany, A, Exp, 01:23/ Kunsthochschule Kassel
Plenty of fish in the sea to study! You get a first row seat looking at a big coral reef and all the creatures that live there. A diverse mix of real and fantasy lifeforms invites you to explore.
6. HOLZLÄUFER
Philipp Krautschick, Germany, Exp/F, 15:00/ HfBK-Dresden, Class for Moving Images by Nicole Vögele
A wooden machine runs through a deserted, toxic world, powered by the energy of a tree it carries with it. It serves as a safe habitat for a tiny human. In the end the man and his artificial habitat does not survive, but the tree can finally dig its roots into the ground.
7. MENSCHEN UNTER WASSER/ PEOPLE UNDER WATER
Paul Galli, Germany, F, 18:00/ Hochschule Darmstadt
Melek, Lila and Pia set sail on a stand-up paddle to retrieve a time capsule.
8. MUISTOT LIIKKUVAT KUIN KAUKAISET SAARET/ MEMORIES MOVE LIKE DISTANT ISLANDS
Saarlotta Virri, Finland, D, 29:00/ Aalto University, ELO Film School Finland
A wetland archaeologist tracks groundwater levels in a drained mire. The emergency call center receives reports of a drifting island. As day turns to night, amid the fog appear mythical creatures that might have something to do with the creation of the mires.
FILM STUDENTS 2
1. KLÄNGE DER HEIMAT/ THE SOUNDS OF HOME
Christina Hausperger, Germany, A/Exp, 03:22/ Ostfalia Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften
Mixed media hybrid film about grief, loss, and fading memories exploring the emotional weight of departure, the fear of forgetting and the quiet traces left behind by those we have lost. Live-action footage and 2D animation.
2. VAIN YKSI VOI KELLUA/ THE ONE WHO FLOATS
Jasmin Gummerus, Finland, F, 16:02/ Aalto University, ELO Film School Finland
In this surreal comedy, two people named Unto meet in a floatation centre and discover they both have booked floatation tank session at 1:00 PM. Which Unto has reserved the session? The Untos gradually transform into soulmates, but in the end only one Unto can float.
3. PIENIÄ AJATUKSIA NAAPURUUDESTA/ SMALL NOTES ABOUT MY NEIGHBOURS
Anna Törrönen, Finland, D, 18:58/ Aalto University, ELO Film School Finland
A multi-vocal essay film about a yellow house, its neighbours, surroundings and growing up. Combining fragmented footage from one place, it approaches a shared place from unexpected points of view with the curiosity of a child.
4. ILLAN VIKA
Yasmin Najjar, Finland, F, 16:59/ Aalto University, ELO Film School Finland
27-year-old Mona works alone at a remote grill, studies again for the upcoming entrance exams and endlessly misses her spouse Helga, who is on a business trip. A new employee starts at the grill, 19-year-old lively and unbalanced Leo, who in all his likability makes Mona miss her past.
5. VIERAS/ A SUDDEN APPEARANCE
Arman Zafari, Finland, F, 22:00/ Aalto University, ELO Film School Finland
Short on money, Maija turns up at her son Mikko’s party uninvited. Not having seen his mother for years, Mikko is forced to welcome the new guest.
6. MEIDÄN KESKEN/ BETWEEN US
Sahra Jama, Finland, D, 10:20/ Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
In a multicultural environment, shared values and ways of life bring people together. In a discussion circle of Muslim student organizations, there is space for open dialogue to explore topics that matter to students. It also offers a glimpse of an often unheard community and their stories.
7. SEDIMENT ON THE SEAFLOOR
Laureen Laser, Italy, Germany, Exp/D, 06:04/ Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach, Germany
Manganese nodules in the Pacific deep sea are to be brought to the surface to produce batteries from their metals. But they produce ‘dark’ oxygen – completely without photosynthesis – will that be enough to save them? A worried letter is sent to the nodules from Tuscany, where relatives and perhaps contemporaries unexpectedly turn up. And also an astonishing amount of water.
8. KAARNAVENE/ TOY BOAT
Eeli Järvinen, Finland, F, 06:57/ University of Lapland
Young adults return to their childhood home, which awakens memories in the polarized youth. Suddenly they feel a longing for the unified values they shared in their childhood.
PROFESSIONALS
1. PASTORI JA RUMA JOULUKUUSI/ PRIEST AND THE UGLY CHRISTMAS TREE
Maarit Lalli, Finland, F, 29:00
A heartwarming Christmas tale about a pastor and a tree that the parishioners call ugly. While the pastor may be a positive optimist, his aesthetic eye is less refined. The ridiculed Christmas tree changes the landscape – especially the emotional landscape. A story from despair to contempt, even to joyfullness and belonging.
2. MORAL SUPPORT
Vuk Jevremovic, Germany, A, 04:21
The film evoques the echos of the first decades of the 20th century through artistic movements. It’s about the eternal fight between different political concepts and tragedy of the human victims behind it.
3. HAMMERTIME
Jan Mocka, Germany, F, 05:00
When an impulsive boy runs riot in the woods, his imagination spurs him on so seriously that his harmless childish play turns into bitter-first reality.
4. IDÜLL/ IDYLL
Rao Heidmets, Estonia, A, 10:00
There are good things and important things in life. And vital things. If you want to survive, you have to fight for your life long before the war reaches your backyard. And when the war is already in the yard, drawing the curtains won’t help, and it may happen that the most healthy advice comes from where you wouldn’t expect it – for example from a parrot with life experience.
5. RAKAS LIHAKANINI/ PET ON THE MENU
by 8MIR, Finland, D, 11:20
A family that raises meat rabbits invites viewers to follow the journey of bunnies from nest to pot. Would you have the guts to kill in order to eat meat? In today’s society, is it acceptable to eat a cute animal, or are concepts like utility pets and self-sufficiency merely relics of the past?
6. FEET UP
Olli Ilpo Salonen, Lithuania, Finland, F, 10:30
When gravity is flipped for all children and their world turns upside down, the ceiling becomes the floor and the floor becomes the ceiling!
7. VAUHTIPYRÄYS/ SPEEDING, OF COURSE
Anni Sairio & Joonatan Turkki, Finland, A/D, 04:00
70-year-old Timo makes the most of his short ride to work. Speeding up on a bicycle ends up in a ditch, but the adrenaline rush leaves a feeling of pleasure.
8. POMONA
Julia Dufek, Germany, A, 05:00
Pomona, a cautious but curious woman, discovers towering Greek statues of Mars, the god of war. Her initial awe turns to playful subversion, but when her increasingly bold acrobatics take an unexpected turn, Pomona must confront what these ancient symbols truly mean to her identity and future.
9. ZEIGE DEINE W_NDE/ SHOW YOUR WOUND
Matthias Daenschel, A/Exp, 03:02
Over 5,000 photos come together to form a fast-paced hunt through Berlin’s time tunnel – a restless search for cracks and open wounds of German history in the city.
10. ECHSENJAGD/ LIZARD HUNT
Matthias Daenschel, Switzerland, Germany, A/Exp, 03:00
A giant lizard is making Paris unsafe, but Trio Lézard sets out to catch it again. An animated music video to a tango by Igor Stravinsky set in Paris in the 1920s. A dadaist collage of historical photos, green screen shots and cut-out animation in a silent film aesthetic.
11. NIGHTWISH
Richard Feliz, Norway, Mexico, F, 16:30
A nocturnal prostitute navigates a night of violence and twisted desires, where his only hope for survival lies in opening his heart to love.
