Love & Anarchy film festival, which ended on Sunday, achieved its highest attendee numbers of the 2020s. This year, film lovers were drawn to devils and samurai, sex and concrete, as well as popstars and award-winning filmmakers. Impressive works will also be screened next weekend at the Love & Anarchy Afters where Finnish audiences will have their first chance to see NAZA, the documentary which won a Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and angered the Israeli government.
This year’s Love & Anarchy, which drew to a close yesterday, attracted over 59,000 attendees. In addition to the sold-out Gala films, the most popular films of the year were the period detective story The Samurai and the Prisoner, the documentary The History of Concrete, horror classic The Devils and the Charli XCX vehicle Erupcja. KitKatClub – Kinks of Berlin, a documentary about the patrons of a fetish club, and No Good Men, an Afghan social commentary wrapped in a rom-com, were also among the top ten most-seen films. Nearly one in three Love & Anarchy screenings was sold out.
The films’ appeal was increased by the presence of filmmakers. Several international filmmakers attended the festival, the best-known among them being Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, who won the Palme d’Or this spring.
Audiences were also drawn to events at this year’s festival. Love & Anarchy held two screenings of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar at Musiikkitalo, in collaboration with Vantaa Orchestra. The orchestra performed Hans Zimmer’s breathtaking score while the film played at two sold-out events, and they were joined by the film score’s original organist Roger Sayer. Love & Anarchy will collaborate with Vantaa Orchestra again next year.
Cinephiles were also interested in the R&A Talks events, such as the LUX Audience Award panel discussion, where the conversation focused on equality in filmmaking and film funding.
Festival CEO Pauliina Ståhlberg says that the joy of communal events and cinematic experiences seen radiating from the festival audiences once again acts as a reminder of the way culture can move people. “People aren’t just looking for entertainment. Love & Anarchy once again brought socially conscious, dynamic and challenging cinema to the screens of Helsinki, and it was in high demand. Our audiences are intelligent and socially aware people.”
Striking cinema is also on offer this coming Saturday, October 3, at Bio Rex Lasipalatsi. R&A Afters kick off with NAZA, a documentary by Oscar-winning Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. It premiered in Venice Film Festival where it received a nearly 25-minute standing ovation – the longest in the festival’s history. The film has become one of the major stories of the year. In it 24 anonymous Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers are interviewed; they describe the calculated murders of Palestinian civilians. In the home country of the directors, the documentary has not been received with enthusiasm. Members of the country’s government have spoken of treason and proposed stripping the directors of their citizenship.
NAZA is screened in collaboration with B-Plan Distribution. “We hope that this collaborative screening will help draw wider attention to the film in Finland and that, despite its difficult subject matter, the experience of watching the film in a cinema can offer a sense of collective strength,” says Helena Mielonen, Head of Distribution at B-Plan. When purchasing a ticket, you can also add a donation to Doctors Without Borders. The organisation operates, among other places, on the ground in Gaza, where it has 1,480 staff members.
Adult audiences can also continue to enjoy the Love & Anarchy atmosphere after the festival. Already on Saturday 3 October, Bio Rex Lasipalatsi will host the official Love & Anarchy Afters. The final tickets left on your serial card can be used to purchase tickets to encore screenings of Erupcja and The Samurai and the Prisoner. The night will conclude with an R&A Afters x Yle Teema screening of Levoton Tuhkimo.
International filmmaking professionals and children gathered in the cinemas of Helsinki
The industry event Finnish Film Affair once again filled Helsinki with a record number of international film industry professionals. Over 630 professionals visited Helsinki to expand their networks and showcase their projects: 38 new film projects were pitched on the Showcase Day for new films and television series. The prize for Best Fiction Project went to Naima Mohamud’s Halima, while Norway’s Emilie Beck won for Best Nordic Project with 11 Hours. Many other awards were handed out at the event, for example to producers, documentary projects and genre projects. The other industry event, Söderlångvik Masterclass, saw Nordic film professionals gather at Kimito Island for a mentoring event, led this year by director Zaida Bergroth.
One of the participants at Söderlångvik Masterclass was Yasmin Najjar, whose film TJ28 was awarded the main prize in R&A’s National Competition on the following Thursday. Many other awards were handed out to the short films in the National Competition. Some of the films that competed can be seen after the festival via the Cyon.media viewing platform, for 3,99€/film. The profits will go to the filmmakers.
The film education project Pulpettikino drew the youngest audiences of the festival. The 17 free screenings aimed at daycare and school-aged audiences gathered an audience of thousands. Pulpettikino screenings will continue throughout the school year.
Next year Love & Anarchy turns 40 years old. Go ahead and mark your calendars for the party in September 2027!