Friday of the festival began with a morning discussion, where director-screenwriter Stephané Brizé spoke about his personal history, family relationships and the importance of social issues in his films. He described his own family background as modest, and the perceived scarcity affected both the family’s livelihood and the emotional atmosphere. Brizé began his working life in electrical engineering until he was able to do an internship at a TV company. Moving to Paris to study theatre caused a rift with his family, as they did not accept the solution. Later, relations were restored, although sadly his father did not live long enough to see a single film directed by his son.
In the Film Sound workshop for children and young people, sponsored by Genelec, children aged 7–12 were able to try out making film sound effects. The workshop was led by Foley artist Heikki Kossi, who has created sound effects for Oscar-winning films.
In the afternoon, the discussion event Populism is on the rise – is civilization dying? organized by the Trade Union Pro, at Kitisen Keitaa, attracted the attention of the festival audience. The panel, led by journalist Tuomas Rantanen, was attended by Henrik Haapajärvi, Director of Public Relations at Pro, actor Tommi Korpela, Professor Emeritus Martti Koskenniemi and Executive Director of Espoo Ciné Tytti Rantanen. The panel discussed, from various perspectives, whether the rise of right-wing populism is a threat to civilization.
On Friday, the Yle 100 bus, which is touring Finland on Yle’s centennial tour, stopped by the festival area. The bus has various games on board, such as a word pyramid and an Yle 100 quiz, which can be played, for example, between film screenings. The bus will also broadcast the festival live on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. On Saturday evening, Aki Kaurismäki‘s Le Havre (2011) will be shown on Yle Teema at the same time as it is being shown at the film festival.
At the end of the screening of Finnish Short Film Premiers 2 in the early evening, film director Heikki Kujanpää interviewed Yasmin Najjar, director of the short film TJ28 (28 Days Left) (2026), which was shown at the screening. Najjar, who herself had previously volunteered at Sodankylä, told about how the film was inspired by her own military service. She also revealed that some of the characters in the film have their counterparts in real life.
At the same time in Lapinsuuu, director Marina Person answered questions from the audience after the screening of the film California (2015). Comments were heard from viewers leaving the hall that the work had reminded them of their own youth. Person described her desire to deal with the film’s growing up as a woman, the first menstruations and sexuality, in a time that was also overshadowed by the fear of AIDS. The director said that she was proud of the film’s soundtrack, which includes David Bowie, The Cure and Joy Division; obtaining the rights to these songs required a lot of work.
At 8 pm, Francis Ford Coppola‘s film The Conversation (1974) was shown in the School Hall. Sodankylä’s Carte blanche guest, emeritus professor of international law Martti Koskenniemi, said he had selected the film for the Sodankylä program because the work is politically important to him. Coppola’s film makes visible the moral responsibility which belongs to the individual who is doing the eavesdropping, and reminds us that technology is not neutral.
Meanwhile in the Red Tent, before the screening of the Jussi-awarded film A Light That Never Goes Out (2025), Samuel Kujala, playing the lead role, spoke about the film-making process. The film, which deals with the making of art, and the crisis that comes with it, was also shown in the festival’s program last year, as a surprise preview of the film Kotimaisena. For the main role, Kujala had to learn a lot of new things – learn how to play the flute and to speak the Rauma dialect. However, the first step was to learn to understand the Rauma dialect of director Lauri-Matti Parppei and the co-stars.
In the evening, the Big Tent was filled with festivalgoers who managed to get shelter from the rain to watch Victor Sjöström‘s silent film He Who Gets Slapped (1924) accompanied by an Italian quartet. The film concert began with introductions of the guest artists, after which the band, Agnusdei + Cavina + Pilia + Raia, was welcomed to the stage. A black-and-white film about the circus world and a band combining electronic music may not immediately sound like the most appropriate combination, but the quartet did well in connecting with the film’s great emotions, and lead us to follow the tragic story of a sad clown accompanied by an interesting soundscape.
Picture: Jacky Law / MSFF