Thursday dawned with a traditional morning discussion with legendary French director Leos Carax. The director shared with the audience about his own relationship with the playfulness, vibrance and physicality typical for his films. Carax highlighted that cinema as a form of art is like a world that is alive and where you are allowed to have fun.
In the afternoon filmmaker guest Michelangelo Frammartino charmed the audience in the Q&A session held after the screening of The Gift (2003). The director’s own grandfather plays the main role and according to Frammartino, he was very happy with the role as he thought it would make him popular with the women in his town. When the star heard the booming applause at the premiere, he decided that he probably should make another movie.
Frammartino speaks beautifully about Calabria where the movie was filmed. It is the most important place in the world for him: “I cannot say what is the future of the suffering Calabria, I can only say that I love it enormously.”
In the full Cinema Kitinen, Barbara Wurm apologises that the director of Mother and Daughter, or the Night Is Never Complete (2023) Lana Gogoberidze could not make it to Sodankylä for her high age of almost 96 years. Touching on Gogoberidze’s Friday screening Some Interviews on Personal Matters (1978), Wurm gave an intense lecture on Gogoberidze’s family background, the Gulag system of Soviet Union, Georgian contemporary history and the country’s film industry.
The silent film concert with four classic short films was accompanied on piano by British composer and author Neil Brand. The films included in the screening were Edgar Kennedy’s From Soup to Nuts (1928), Buster Keaton’s Cops (1922) and Harol Lloyd’s Never Weaken (1923).
Brand is known as a passionate silent film accompanist so the quality was guaranteed. His work on the keys was dazzling and dynamic, and it complemented the comedic rhythm of the films. Brand’s excitement was apparent and resulted in fireworks of pointed comedy and music for friends of both.
In the evening Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera (2023) enchanted the audience. Rohrwacher presented the movie and among other things, shared more about the unlucky main character Arthur. Rohrwacher raised the question if you can love a protagonist, even if you cannot identify with them. The beautiful Italian scenery, love and the director’s humoristic touch raised the atmosphere through the roof in the Big Tent.
Director Adilkhan Jeržanov presented the screening of A Dark, Dark Man (2019) in Cinema Lapinsuu. The director talked about the origins of the film and its themes; he wanted to examine feelings of guilt and make a movie about a man that kills someone. Yerzhanov notes that the criminal culture in Kazakhstan is an excellent setting for a police film as it is difficult to catch criminals when the police are among them. Kazakhstan’s crime scene and corrupted law enforcement offer chances for endless plot twists.
The sold-out screening of Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) captured the audience for the authentic atmosphere in the hot and sweaty Cinema Kitinen that fittingly reminded of the sunny beaches of the film. Olaf Möller’s meandering introduction helped the audience to get into the spirit as they shouted excitedly their answers to the curator’s greeting and laughed at the jokes baked into the fact-rich presentation. With his emphasised words and immersed way of speaking, Möller got the hold of his audience. He paid homage to one of the founders Peter von Bagh, by dedicating the screening to his memory. Among the audience, there was at least one mosquito that probably found its way in based on the Finnish translated name referring to its kind.
The packed Cinema Lapinsuu enjoyed the first Alfonso Cuarón film in the programme Y tu mamá también (2001). After the movie Cuarón told that the young men playing Julio and Tenochi, Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal had known each other since childhood. According to Cuarón the chemistry you see on the screen is real.
In the karaoke screening the intimate and surprising portrait of Madonna’s golden years captivated the wild audience. Alek Keshishian’s In Bed with Madonna (1991) took the festival guests back to the early 90s, and behind the scenes of the pop diva’s eventful world tour. The audience members eagerly waiting for Madonna’s hits were not let down but the documentary also included deeper themes of the downsides of fame and the LGBTQ+ struggle for equal rights.
The lead singer, actress Oona Airola warmed up the chilly night’s atmosphere. At midnight the audience of hundreds of singers sang Vogue and Like a Virgin, leaving a mark in the history of the greatest moments of the Midnight Sun Film Festival.
In the late evening at the School, the classic action thriller The French Connection (1971) was introduced lively by English film critic Mark Kermode who left the audience wanting more than ten minutes he had timed. Kermode knew his topic inside and out as Friedkin is his favourite director. The audience was entertained with trivia of the films making. For example, after a challenging shoot Friedkin declared: “Well I think we got away with it, but it’s not gonna win any awards.” In the end the film received five Academy Awards including for the Best Picture.
In addition to the programme of features, new Finnish short films were showcased in the full Cinema Kitinen. Directors Mia Halme and Elina Talvensaari were present at the screening to introduce their work.
Thursday night changed into Friday morning in the bright light of the sun and cinema. Carax’s musical Annette (2022) gave Sodankylä’s night rhythm as the captivating music by the Spark brothers echoed until half past three in the morning.