New, brilliant additions to MSFF programme
Jauja by Lisandro Alonso will be one of the new films screened in Sodankylä.
Malgorzata Szumowska, winner of the Silver Bear for Best Director in Berlin Film Festival, as well as Miguel Gomes, one of the most eminent directors of Portugal, reinforce the list of international guests of Midnight Sun Film Festival 2015.
In 2014, Midnight Sun Film Festival was honored to host esteemed Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski. This summer, Malgorzata Szumowska (b. 1973), the leading female director of Poland and winner of Berlin Film Festival’s best director’s award, is going to arrive in Sodankylä.
Szumowska’s latest film, Body (2015), is a dark, humorous exploration of death and anorexia from the point of view of a widowed policeman, his daughter and a hoax therapist. In the Name Of (2013) is a thriller-like portrayal of purgatory of a catholic gay priest. Former works of Szumowska will also be screened in Sodankylä.
Miguel Gomes (b. 1972), an ex-critic and nowadays one of the most eminent directors in Portugal, will bring his latest work to Lapland. Arabian Nights (2015), a six-hour (!), three-part adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights, has been one of the talking points of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Meanwhile Tabu (2012), a homage to silent film, is a magically dream-like composition of love, memories and colonial history of Portugal.
MSFF 2015 starts with Peter von Bagh tribute matinee
The Count, Peter von Bagh's only full length fiction film, will be screened during MSFF 2015.
Midnight Sun Film Festival co-founder and director, the late Peter von Bagh, will be honored on the opening day of MSFF 2015. Kino Lapinsuu will host an international von Bagh tribute matinee on Wednesday 10th of June from 10am to 3:30pm.
A comprehensive set of von Bagh’s short films will be screened during the matinee, not to forget rare clips from von Bagh’s unfinished documentary film about Agit Prop, a 1970’s political singer group from Finland.
Perhaps the most certificated von Bagh experts, scholar Sakari Toiviainen and producer-director Jouko Aaltonen, will discuss film guru’s life and work in Finnish. In international sequence of the matinee, Bernard Eisenschitz and Olaf Möller will take center stage, led by festival’s artistic director Timo Malmi.
Also several other works of von Bagh will be screened during MSFF 2015, such as his only full length fiction film The Count. A brand new documentary film about von Bagh by Arto Kaivanto will receive its Finnish premiere during the festival.
Included in the long list of films screened in Sodankylä are several of von Bagh’s favorite films, presented by either “Petteri” himself or experts such as Aki Kaurismäki. Among some of Petteri’s hit list are Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings, Michael Powell’s A Canterbury Tale and John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate.
Award-winning Mike Leigh among top guests of Midnight Sun Film Festival
Seven-time Oscar nominee, Cannes and Venice film festival winner Mike Leigh is one of the distinguished guests of Midnight Sun Film Festival 2015. Also included in the list of esteemed international filmmakers in Sodankylä this summer are Christian Petzold (Germany), Nils Malmros (Denmark) and Whit Stillman (USA).
Mike Leigh (b. 1943), the winner of Cannes Palme d’Or (Secrets and lies, 1996) and best director (Naked, 1993) as well as Venice Film Festival’s Leone d’Oro (Vera Drake, 2004), is one of the most celebrated guests attending the 30th anniversary of Midnight Sun Film Festival.
Leigh, who portrays everyday situations and interpersonal collisions in human relations in humorous and masterful way, last brought the painter biography Mr. Turner (2014) to the silver screen. Among his most recent works are Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) and Another Year (2010).
Included in the category of main guests is also Christian Petzold (b. 1960), one of the leading figures of “Berlin School”, which was born in Germany in the 1990s. Petzold’s main works from last years are Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear winner Barbara (2012) and Phoenix (2014), which will receive its Finnish premiere in Sodankylä.
Whit Stillman (b. 1952) rose to prominence with his debut work Metropolitan in 1990. One of the most original directors in Scandinavian film, Danish Nils Malmros (b. 1944), will also be present. Included in the list of international guests are also the star of many of Leigh’s works as well as countless British TV-films, Marion Bailey, and French documentary filmmaker Auberi Edler, a director of the documentary of Aki Kaurismäki film Le Havre.
Included in the star cluster of Finnish guests are actresses Minna Haapkylä, Armi Toivanen and Kirsti Wallaswaara as well as directors Petri Kotwica, Anssi Mänttäri and Ville Suhonen. Also Aki and Mika Kaurismäki, who form the artistic committee of MSFF with artistic director Timo Malmi, will be present.
Additional information about guests, master classes, scholars, schedules and much, much more will be published later.
Stay updated with accommodation info!
Remember to stay updated with the accommodation info of 30th Midnight Sun Film Festival (June 10th – June 14th)!
New accommodation info will be updated to msff.fi webpage frequently. Stay tuned and follow the webpage: http://www.msff.fi/index.php/en/travel-accommodation
The Midnight Sun Film Festival receives the State Prize for Cinema
The National Council for Cinema awarded the State Prize for Cinema to the Midnight Sun Film Festival in Sodankylä for the high quality of its programming and the nurturing of the cinematic art. The year 2015 will mark the Festival’s 30th anniversary.
The State Prizes awarded by the National Arts Councils are given in recognition of the recipient’s meritorious work or long-term activity in support of the art form.
The National Council for Cinema Rationale
The Midnight Sun Film Festival is among the world’s most unique festivals. Next year the celebration of light, cinema and cinephilia has been held in northernmost Finland for 30 years already.
The Festival has carried out important and consistent work by placing both classic films and new cinema within the reach of the audience, and by providing unforgettable moments in the company of the most legendary filmmakers in the world.
The Midnight Sun Film Festival, “Sodis”, has raised and nourished already several generations of lovers of the cinematic art. Its reputation has spread around the globe, popularising not just cinema but also Finland and the Finnish culture. Another indication of the Festival’s uniqueness is that it is impossible to imitate: the inimitable magic of Sodankylä is born out of the location, the time of the event, the programming, and the people.
The National Council for Cinema wants to bestow the award to the Festival for its high-quality programming, uncompromising nurturing of the cinematic art, and its determined enthusiasm. The cinema, Finland and the world all need the Midnight Sun Film Festival.
Morning discussion with Olivier Assayas
Olivier Assayas. Photo: Annina Mannila
“I don’t remember what exactly was the first film I saw, but the film that made the strongest impression on me was maybe Ben-Hur or some Disney film”, said French director Olivier Assayas when asked about his early experiences with cinema. Assayas’ parents worked in the film business and cinema was always present at his home. The family was visited by great names of French cinema from René Clair to Abel Gance. Still, cinema was never discussed seriously in the family.
Morning discussion with Alain Bergala
Kuvaaja: Annina Mannila
”Listening to him, we realize what cinema is really about, what it is in cinema that needs to be saved.” This is how Peter von Bagh summarises the relevance of French director, critic, film educator and Cahiers du Cinéma veteran Alain Bergala in the field of cinema.
“The first film that made an impression on me was Cecil B. DeMille’sThe Ten Commandments and particularly the scene where they cross the Red Sea. Later I heard that many men of my generation experienced the same Big Bang when witnessing that scene”, says Bergala and adds that many films can be seen as generational experiences, although the phenomenon is not as prevalent during the era of television.
Morning discussion with Peter von Bagh and Aki Kaurismäki
Image: Saana Kotila
”There was a rumour he would interview me, but I will interview him.” This is how Aki Kaurismäki responded to questions concerning the nature of Sunday’s extraordinary morning discussion. Festival Director Peter von Bagh cornered director Kaurismäki with a slew of familiar choices: Hawks or Ford? Kurosawa or Ozu? Dostoyevsky or Kafka? Red or white wine? Wife or cinema? The hour-long discussion included a lot of debate and consensus on many great films and filmmakers. The topics of discussion were diverse: everything from Chaplin to Aarne Tarkas.
Morning Discussions with Pawel Pawlikowski and Alice Rohrwacher
Pawel Pawlikowski and Olaf Möller. Photo: Frank Rizzo
Peter von Bagh, Alice Rohrwacher and Olaf Möller. Photo: Frank Rizzo
“It all began when I got to know a circus family. I didn’t know any circus tricks so I had to find some other way to join them”, Alice Rohrwacher says. That other way she found in cinema. She created her first documentary film, Un piccolo spettacolo (2005), by doing, daring and experimenting.
Pawlikowski and Rohrwacher in Friday’s morning discussion
One more change in Friday’s morning discussion schedule: Alice Rohrwacher will replace Olaf Möller in the second interview.
10AM: Pawel Pawlikoski (Hosted by Olaf Möller)
11AM: Alice Rohrwacher (Hosted by Peter von Bagh)
