Founded in 1988, the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy has been held annually ever since. The aim of Finland’s biggest film festival is to promote the artistry of filmmaking alongside inventive, controversial and visually stunning new films. The festival also seeks to screen films that would otherwise not be seen in Finnish theatres.

The festival programme consists of new films from well-known filmmakers and fresh talents alike. In its first few years the programme was heavily focused on Japanese and Hong Kong films. Since then, the programme has evolved; Asian films still play a part but films from all other continents feature too. The ideological masters of the festival aren’t too tough to pick out – Lina Wertmüller (Love and Anarchy, 1973), Wong Kar-wai, Spike Lee, Claire Denis, Peter Greenaway, Gaspar Noé, Kelly Reichardt, John Woo, David Cronenberg, Takeshi Kitano, Todd Solondz, Takashi Miike and Hayao Miyazaki are all names that pop up in the festival programme year and decade after another.

During its over 30-year lifespan, the Helsinki International Film Festival has expanded from two theatres to 18 screens and established itself as an 11-day homage to cinema. In 1988 the festival screened 26 films. In 2020, the programme consisted of 140 feature films and 170 short films. In 2018 HIFF launched its R&A Shorts National Competition.

The 2020 festival gathered approximately 29 000 visitors. A breathtaking figure – almost half of the normal attendance, although only a third of the seats were in use due to the pandemic situation. In 2021, the festival’s attendance rose to 40 000 visitors.

Each year HIFF invites important filmmakers to speak about their work and meet both audiences and industry professionals. In past years the festival has had the honour of welcoming guests such as Spike Lee, Danny Boyle, Tilda Swinton, Naoko Ogigami, Jan Kounen, Aleksandr Sokurov, Baz Luhrmann, Philip Ridley, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jacques Audiard, Lucile Hadžihalilović, Terence Davies and Cristian Mungiu.

The festival is organised by the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy association.

The festival is supported by the Finnish Film Foundation, the City of Helsinki and the European Union’s Creative Europe MEDIA programme.

The Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy association is the pioneer of Finnish film culture with the mission to celebrate the art of cinema – and to make the world a better place with some love and anarchy. Founded in 1991, the values of the association emphasise openness, social justice and diversity. The main event organised by the association is Love & Anarchy, the largest film festival in Finland.

The Finnish Film Affair (FFA) is HIFF – Love & Anarchy’s industry event. Held alongside the festival, the FFA offers its attending industry professionals a showcase of Finnish films and a networking platform. Nordic Flair was launched in 2017 as the talent sidebar of the FFA.

The Pulpettikino film literacy initiative offers local schools the chance to experience festival atmosphere and high quality films free of charge during HIFF.

The Love & Anarchy association is active year-round. HIFF – Love & Anarchy’s spring event Season Film Festival is held annually. Focusing on questions of identity, gender and diversity, the festival premiers cinematic highlights along with a bunch of festival favourites from across the world.

The association’s distribution initiative Love & Anarchy Tour offers audiences nationwide the chance to see a selection of films from the festival programme.

HIFF’s newest initiative is the Love & Anarchy @ Bio Rex special screenings, organised in collaboration with Korjaamo Kino. The series offers special screenings to cinephiles and Love & Anarchy enthusiasts in between the festivals.

You can ask for your lost and found at the Bio Rex Festival Centre (Mannerheimintie 22-24) during the opening hours.