country focus 2 family matters

Our family makes us what we are. Whether we like it or not: It is a part of us and shapes our self-assessment. This block’s films approach different family formations from different vantage points. They tell about staying together, about loss, about change and comfort. The family does not necessarily have to be in the focus for that – it is always present in the background, inevitably forming the life of our protagonists.
(Großer Saal)
Volksbad Jena

a seat with a view

film still a seat with a view
Documentary Finland
direction: Kaisa El Ramly

Three children, driving through the city and through nature on the backseats of their parents’ bicycles. What do they experience, what are they thinking? This short documentary takes us with them on their ride.

on your lips

film still on your lips
Fiction Finland
direction: Joonas Rutanen

Twelve-year-old Viljami is at an amusement park and discovers the other sex for the very first time.

the date

film still the date
Fiction Finland
direction: Jenni Toivoniemi

Responsible cat owner Tino organises the first confrontation between Diablo, quality breed tomcat, and a cat. Which also tests his very own masculinity.

all hallows' week

film still all hallows' week
Fiction Finland
direction: Jussi Hiltunen

Someone runs amok in front of a night club. Both the sister of the victim and the bouncer witness the horrible crime and have to learn how to cope with their grief and their guilt feelings.

sirocco

film still sirocco
Fiction Finland
direction: Mikko Kuparinen

At the garbage bins of her apartment block, a lonely woman finds an abandoned infant child and takes it home with her.

no time for toes

film still no time for toes
Animation Finland
direction: Kari Pieskä

A small film about a simple fact: Being a father isn’t easy.

do i have to take care of everything?

film still do i have to take care of everything?
Fiction Finland
direction: Selma Vilhunen

A chaotic and stressful morning of a family with two children, plus the desperate cry: “Do I have to take of everything?”

mother

film still mother
Fiction Finland
direction: Juha Hippi

Mother’s Day reactivates a family’s tragedy: A couple has to find new ways of living together if they want to stay together.

remember?

film still remember?
Experimental Finland
direction: Sanna Liljander

Photographs fixate special moments of our lives, at the same time reminding us of their impermanence. “Muistikuva” is a look into an imaginary space of memories.