Sing-along cinema has recently gained a foothold in other festivals and special events in Finland, but it got its first known start at Sodankylä. When the rillumarei hit of the very first festival, At the Rovaniemi Fair, was slated for a repeat screening at the 20th anniversary festival of 2005, Peter von Bagh had the idea of asking Kaisa Kukkola to lead a sing-along to the numerous tunes of the film at the Big Tent.
After several Finnish and international sing-along successes, we have the pleasure to present this special compilation screening, prepared for the Festival’s 30th anniversary, of the most memorable musical numbers in Finnish Cinema. Together with the National Audiovisual Institute, a medley of more than 20 scenes has been compiled, with the evergreens of the Finnish studio system era meeting the musical gems of later films.
The screening is based on scenes from the classic film selection compiled by the Institute for its own archive programme. They have been joined by some finds from the 1960’s and a generous helping of scenes from the films of Mika and Aki Kaurismäki. The order will be chronological. We will see some of the most beloved Finnish vocalists on the silver screen, from Tauno Palo to Rauli Badding Somerjoki, and with the aid of karaoke lyrics will get to sing evergreens from ”Kulkurin valssi” to ”Paratiisi”. As the selection criteria is the song’s Finnish origin – not too strictly though – we can let the song (and dance!) to waltz us away to the happy paradise of Finnish film music.
Timo Malmi