At the Midnight Sun Film Festival, held from June 12 to 16, the latest films from Yorgos Lanthimos, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and Victor Erice will be seen in Finland for the first time. Film card sales start today, with individual ticket sales beginning on Thursday, May 30.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ new film Kinds of Kindness, which just premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, will have its Finnish premiere at the Midnight Sun Film Festival. A few months ago, Lanthimos’ previous film, Poor Things, garnered several Oscar nominations and awards. His latest work is a sharp and surreal anthology filled with dark humour, starring Cannes Best Actor winner Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, and Willem Dafoe in various roles. The film will be released in cinemas around Finland on July 5.
The festival will once again showcase some of the best finds of the cinematic year in the Gems of New Cinema selection. Spanish cinema’s miracle worker and 1995 Sodankylä guest Víctor Erice has made only four feature films in 50 years, and the latest, Close Your Eyes, is as masterful as its predecessors. Exploring themes of time and memory across three timelines, the film even includes a small tribute to the Midnight Sun Film Festival. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, who won an Oscar for his previous film Drive My Car, follows it up with his new enigmatic film Evil Does Not Exist, which addresses environmental issues. This film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, depicts the disruption of a small village’s natural harmony by plans for a luxury campsite. From the Nordics, the festival will feature Kalak, a new film by Swedish writer-director Isabella Eklöf, known for her screenwriting work on Border. This candid film empathetically follows a man dealing with the trauma of a difficult relationship with his father, having moved from Copenhagen to Greenland with his family.
The festival will also present three new high-quality films from France. French Guillaume Canet and Italian Alba Rohrwacher deliver memorable performances as former lovers in Stéphane Brizé’s tender and insightful story Out of Season. Screenwriter-director Anaïs Tellenne’s debut feature The Dreamer tackles the unique story of a muse, blending classic folklore with contemporary art concepts. Jérémie Périn’s animated Mars Express is a stylish, fast-paced sci-fi noir that combines gripping action with reflective questions on the moral implications of AI in the future.
Turkish filmmaker Selman Nacar’s courtroom drama Hesitation Wound paints a compelling portrait of a young female lawyer defending a man accused of murdering a factory manager. Vladimir Perišić’s Lost Country stands out as one of the best among countless films about the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, focusing on the relationship between a 15-year-old schoolboy and his politruk mother. Another Balkan film at the festival is Bulgarian Stephan Komandarev’s hard-hitting drama Blaga’s Lessons, which also tells the story of a determined older woman, complete with thriller elements and tragicomical twists.
The crime film genre is also represented at the festival. Only The River Flows, a Chinese film noir directed by Wei Shujun is character-driven and focuses on the Chinese society, with a touch of dark humor. Australian film Limbo by Ivan Sen tells a hypnotic, meditative detective story. Sen is a unique figure in the world of fictional filmmaking, responsible for the screenplay, direction, cinematography, editing, and music of his film.
The festival will also hold pre-premieres of other theatrical releases of the summer. Green Border, directed by European cinema giant and 1995 Sodankylä guest Agnieszka Holland, addresses the refugee crisis on the Poland-Belarus border with a touching documentary approach and won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Directed by Christian Petzold, who visited Sodankylä in 2015, Afire is a tragicomedy of manners set on the wildfire-ridden Baltic coast, awarded at the Berlin Film Festival. Legendary director Wim Wenders’ ethereal documentary Anselm explores the life of one of today’s greatest sculptors and painters, Anselm Kiefer.
The festival’s Finnish programme features Tiina Lymi’s powerful hit film Stormskerry Maja, which deals with feminism, selfless love, and death. Pauliina Punkki’s documentary Snowball Effect delves into political turmoil in the municipality of Kittilä. In addition to shorts Fabulous Cow Ladies and How to Please that were announced earlier, the screening featuring the best Finnish short films of the year will also include the dark Olympic comedy Oh No, Lasse Falls!, directed by Risto-Pekka Blom, and Heta Jäälinoja’s animated Nun or Never!, depicting events that shake up the everyday life of a nunnery.
The festival will also feature family-friendly programming, including Lauri Maijala’s colorful and charming Itty Bitty Princess. Other children’s screenings will feature short films about the beloved character Mimosa and the endearing dog Reksio. Additionally, a selection of classic animations from around the world will showcase lively animal adventures, including those of the beloved character The Little Mole.
Film card sales start today, Monday at 12:00 pm at msfftickets.fi! The schedule and film introductions will be released tomorrow, Tuesday, May 28, and advance ticket sales will begin online on Thursday, May 30, at 12:00 pm. The festival will take place in Sodankylä from June 12 to 16.
Midnight Sun Film Festival would like to thank our partners:
Ammattiliitto Pro ry, Finland Festivals ry, EU/Creative Media, Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas, Niilo Helander Foundation, The Ministry of Education and Culture (OKM), The National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI), Finnish Film Foundation (SES), The Sodankylä Municipality, Taike, YLE Teema, The French Institute in Finland, Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Helsinki, Embassy of Mexico