The final morning discussion of the anniversary year at the Midnight Sun Film Festival in Sodankylä fittingly featured none other than one of the festival’s founding members, the independent-minded director Anssi Mänttäri. Mänttäri’s film Katya’s Autumn (1991) was screened at Cinema Lapinsuu on Sunday morning, at 8:15 AM.
At the School, the audience was treated to the annual, beloved Film Panel, hosted by actor Ville Virtanen. This year, the panel critiqued short films with sharp humor, featuring Markus Leikola, Elina Knihtilä, Tuomas Rantanen, and Iida Simes.
In the afternoon, festival-goers enjoyed the last masterclasses. Athina Rachel Tsangari presented Robert Altman’s revisionist film McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1972), which is scored by Leonard Cohen’s music. Tsangari shared how the film has frequently inspired her work. Meanwhile, Olaf Möller introduced the Polish director Wojciech Marczewski’s Escape from the “Liberty” Cinema (1990) in his own masterclass.
The 2025 Midnight Sun Film Festival culminated in festival favorite re-runs: the audience had voted the films during the festival. The re-run screenings were held at Lapinsuu, School, and the Red tent. The re-runs were Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake (2013), Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language (2024), and Teemu Nikki’s 100 Litres of Gold (2025). The screening of Stranger by the Lake at Lapinsuu was preceded by Heikki Ortamo’s delightful short Sodankylä Film Festival (1987), which already made the audience laugh during the festival’s opening night.