Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy has announced its full programme. The 136 feature films and 114 short films featured in this year’s lineup offer audiences everything from biting social commentary to dreamy coming-of-age tales, from imaginative animations to trips to the uncanny valley. The biggest and most anticipated film event of the year will take place from 17 to 27 September.
The hottest tickets of the season will be screened in the Spotlight Selection, which includes Nicholas Winding Refn’s sci-fi thriller Her Private Hell, Paolo Sorrentino’s abundant Roman drama La Grazia, James Gray’s New York crime saga Paper Tiger and Kasper “Kalle” Skovsbøl’s horror-tale No Rest for the Wicked, in which queer love defies death. Even bigger cinematic events will be seen in the Gala screenings, and the annual, high-level R&A Shorts: National Competition will continue the celebration of cinematic talent.
Childhood and youth are depicted on film in the Kids These Days -series. A young boy is forced to cover up his “cursed” blue eyes in The Boy With the Light-Blue Eyes, a film that has been read as a queer allegory. In the gory, romantic and joyous Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Love & Anarchy -darling Jane Schoenbrun takes a more head-on approach to queer themes.
The Live, Laugh, Love & Anarchy -series offers more joy, in the form of a secret Swedish dance therapy group (The Dance Club) and Charli XCX partying in the streets of Warsaw (Erupcja). And what could be more joyous than sex! Although, the feature films in the Let’s Talk About Sex -section also tackle darker subjects: in Blue Film, a sex worker meets his old teacher. The short films in the selection seek pleasure in, for example, an intergalactic singles cruise (Cosmonauts).
In the Animated Dreams -section, Jim Queen transports audiences to a Paris that has been reimagined as a riotous testosterone-capital, where a virus is turning gay men heterosexual. The short films in the selection include Baltic animation highlights. The Nordic Gems -series also includes talent from our neighbouring countries. Àrru, a stirring debut from Sámi director Elle Sofe Sara, explores the mining industry and family secrets in the form of a joik-musical. The short film screening Laughing in Swedish brings humour to the series, with Lukas Moodysson among the filmmakers providing the laughs.
This year’s programme includes films from over 80 countries. In the East Side Stories -series, audiences can pay a visit to Kosovo, where the Sundance-winner Shame and Money, an exploration of a family facing hard times, is set. The United States of Indie -selection travels from the Mexico-area (Olmo) to a small town in Maine (Their Town), finding yearning teenagers in both places. The bountiful Asian Cuts -section offers riches ranging from a Korean conversation film (The Day She Returns) to a crime thriller by Love & Anarchy -favourite Sabu (Arrested Memory) and a beautiful Nepalese debut, set within the trans community and the middle of the woods inhabited by wild elephants (Elephants in the Fog).
Trees, sea creatures and chickens join the aforementioned elephants in the More Than Human -selection. Another perspective comes from Canadian polar bears who witness human interest towards and power over other animals. Films in the Fight the Power -series see people rise up against the powers that be. The authentic documentary Everybody to Kenmure Street depicts how an entire block in Glasgow came together in defiance of immigration authorities raiding a neighbourhood. Echoes of protest can also be heard in Love & Anarchy’s music films. The Power of Music -series includes Soldiers of Song, a fiery documentary about Ukrainian musicians caught in the crossfire of war.
Conflicts continue in the Rewriting History -series. The stylized, black and white The Red Hangar depicts the first day of the 1973 Chilean coup through the eyes of one officer. In the Crime & Punishment -series, Palestinian director Rakan Mayasi’s stifling drama Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep depicts two sisters who are forced to carry the weight of their brother’s actions.
Love & Anarchy wouldn’t be Love & Anarchy without a healthy dose of weird. The Next Level -selection features films where rules and expectations of storytelling get shattered. In Double Freedom, Lisandro Alonso breaks these conventions by means of slow cinema, as he depicts a recluse farmer changing his way of life. Matti Harju’s Nox, on the other hand, builds on improvisation and drifts from the ruins of a buddy comedy towards an existential revenge tale. Fans of all things weird should also take a peek at the Uncanny Valley -selection. Marion Cotillard is an actress who is afraid to die in the middle of shooting a sci-fi-film in Roma Elastica, and in the sci-fi-satire The End of It, Rebecca Hall plays an artist in the future who grows tired of eternal life and decides to end it all.
Festival nights should end in nightmares. In the Midnight Mayhem -section, the unhinged Ghost in the Cell mixes a prison tale with body-horror levels of violence, whereas the Swedish Dawning, a tale of three sisters at a summer cabin, is psychological horror by way of Ingmar Bergman.
Encounters with festival guests enrich the film experiences. American filmmaking couple John Adams and Toby Poser will be discussing their atmospheric horror film Mother of Flies, while Swedish filmmaker Julia Thelin will shed light on the background of her black comedy The Patron, set in the art world. A whole group of filmmakers is arriving from the Baltics, including Meel Paliale, who directed the slacker film Rolling Papers.
The Love & Anarchy experience is further enriched by events ranging from film quizzes to discussions and live performances. A discussion organized in collaboration with the online media outlet The Ulkopolitist will explore themes from The Red Hangar – a film depicting the 1973 military coup in Chile – and apply them to current global politics. One of the screenings of the jazz film Everybody digs Bill Evans will be followed by a performance by the Juha Valjakka Trio, featuring pianist Valjakka’s own compositions as well as music of Bill Evans. Love & Anarchy is also teaming up with Tatskatytöt: they’ll help singles find their perfect matches!
And those perfect movie matches you can find here!