The 41st Midnight Sun Film Festival, which concluded on Sunday, was celebrated in a joyful atmosphere filled with cinema, discussions, and encounters.
The festival once again demonstrated that its unique combination of high-quality film programming, international guests, and the atmosphere of the Northern summer night continues to bring audiences together from across Finland and around the world.
During the five-day event, approximately 32,000 visitors attended the festival. Although attendance fell slightly short of last year’s record-breaking 40th anniversary figure of 34,000, the organizers are pleased with the result, as it is in line with attendance levels of recent years.
“The attendance figures for the Midnight Sun Film Festival remain at a strong and stable level, and the feedback we have received from audiences has been highly positive,” says Ari Lehtola, Executive Director of the Midnight Sun Film Festival.
This year’s international filmmaker guests included Mauritanian-Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako, American director Susan Seidelman, French filmmaker Stéphane Brizé, German director İlker Çatak, and Brazilian filmmakers Gabe Klinger and Marina Person. The festival also welcomed a surprise guest, French actress Dominique Sanda, who was revealed on the opening day as the special guest accompanying the Italian surprise screening. Sanda also visited the festival last year.
Festival audiences showed particular interest in the films of Abderrahmane Sissako, whose screenings were consistently full throughout the festival. Susan Seidelman’s films also attracted large audiences and received an enthusiastic reception. Other audience favorites included the karaoke screenings of Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, as well as the traditional silent film concerts.
Among the highlights of the New Cinema Gems section were Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend (2025), Sergei Loznitsa’s Two Prosecutors (2025), and Sophy Romvari’s Blue Heron (2025). The Finnish surprise preview screening featured Erol Mintaş’s Maan laulu (Earth Song).
The Carte Blanche section also returned to the program. This year, Martti Koskenniemi, Professor Emeritus of International Law, presented two of his favorite films: Francis Ford Coppola’s paranoid classic The Conversation (1974) and Terence Davies’s masterful family drama The Long Day Closes (1992) – both directors having visited Sodankylä.
Ticket sales were brisk and proceeded smoothly both at festival sales points and through the online store. The staggered opening of ticket sales ensured that visitors arriving early in the morning had an equal opportunity to obtain tickets for the most popular screenings.
One of the festival’s most significant innovations this year was the new tiered seating structure in the Big Tent, the festival’s largest screening venue. Previously used by Circus Finlandia, the seating greatly improved viewing comfort while simultaneously increasing audience capacity.
“Thanks to the new seating arrangement, even more festivalgoers were able to enjoy screenings in the Big Tent. The feedback has been extremely positive,” Lehtola says.
Audiences also showed strong interest in the festival’s side events, primarily hosted at Kitinen Oasis tent. Particular attention was drawn to the Friday panel discussion organized by the Trade Union Pro and the traditional discussion among Finnish filmmakers held on Saturday.
After a hiatus, the Festival Club returned to the renovated and expanded Hotel Sodankylä. Festival audiences were entertained by Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha, Pola Ivanka, and Tuomari Nurmio & Luupäät.
As tradition dictates, the festival culminated on Sunday with audience-choice encore screenings. The three selected films were Abderrahmane Sissako’s Bamako (2006), Mika Kaurismäki’s Amongst the Birds (2026), and Marina Person’s Califórnia (2015).
Experience the festival atmosphere through our photo gallery: media.msfilmfestival.fi
The Sodankylä Film Festival thanks its partners:
Sodankylä Municipality, Finnish Film Foundation, Trade Union Pro, Kemijoki Oy, Ministry of Education and Culture, Genelec, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas Oy, EU Media Creative, Tähtikuitu Oy, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Goethe-Institut Finnland, Institut Français de Finlande, The Nordic Culture Fund, The Finnish Arts and Culture Agency (Kuvi), Finland Festivals Association and Yle
Header photo: Markus Pentikäinen / MSFF