Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy announces the first films from its 2019 line-up. The selection includes the Finnish premieres of Cannes favourites PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE and LES MISÉRABLES as well as screenings of Berlinale winners SYNONYMS and BY THE GRACE OF GOD. Starting today, the festival audience will have a chance to vote for their favourite film to be included in the outdoor preview screenings held in the beginning of September. The 32nd HIFF takes place on September 19th – 29th.

Two Cannes favourites will get their Finnish premieres at this year’s Helsinki International Film Festival. Winner of the Best Screenplay award at Cannes, French director Céline Sciamma’s masterpiece PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (Portrait de la jeune fille en jeu) paints a breathtakingly beautiful picture of a forbidden love between two women in 18th century Bretagne. The other Cannes favourite is the winner of the jury prize, another French director Ladj Ly’s debut feature LES MISÉRABLES, a no-holds-barred police story from the chaotic suburbs of Paris. Both films will be distributed in Finnish cinemas after the festival by Cinemanse.

The 32nd line-up of HIFF also includes the Berlinale winner SYNONYMS (Synonymes) – a category-dodging take on identity directed by Israeli Nadav Lapid – as well as French auteur François Ozon’s BY THE GRACE OF GOD (Grâce à Dieu). The latter shines a light on France’s side of the Catholic Church abuse scandal and depicts how victims of injustice can get together to bring down the walls of secrecy protecting the clergy. The festival is proud to present this year’s most awaited music documentary AMAZING GRACE, which transports its audience to 1972 to witness the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin in a legendary concert in Watts, Los Angeles. Cinema Mondo brings Amazing Grace to cinemas starting October 18th and By the Grace of God starting November 15th.

The beloved HIFF outdoor screenings will take place at the Lasipalatsi square on September 6th – 8th. This year the audience can vote a film to be included in the outdoor programme. The candidates are Concrete Night (2013), Easy Rider (1969), Moonlight (2016) and Shoplifters (2018). Voting begins today at: http://bit.ly/RAaanestys

The 32nd Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy takes place on September 19th – 29th. More films from the line-up will be revealed during the summer on the festival’s website and social media channels.