National Competition: Just Between Us

On a dark autumn night, a rabbit and a squirrel set out to recreate an unexplainable phenomenon the rabbit had experienced at a house party. While making their way to a distant field, the rabbit recounts the events of the party shadowed by uncertainty, awe, and a longing for connection in the animation Interspace.

In Puolanka Pussy Rally as the long summer evenings stretch out, teenage boys celebrate their new driver’s licences by endlessly circling the same few streets, while an older generation of local gents, proudly known as The Parliament, has already parked itself permanently at the petrol station café. Here, hunting and the legendary “Pussy Rally” aren’t taboos but badges of cultural identity. The only mystery that seems unsolved: where have all the women gone?  

In the surreal comedy The One Who Floats, two people named Unto meet in the lobby of a floatation centre and discover that both have booked a floatation tank session at 1:00 PM. However, the system only has a reservation for one Unto. A frantic investigation begins to determine which Unto has actually reserved the session. As the situation unfolds, the Untos begin to appear more and more like one and the same person. The rivals gradually transform into soulmates, as the Untos discover both a physical and emotional connection.

In the military home, nothing suggests that it is 2025 and the world is on the brink of World War III. The sisters are once again eagerly preparing for the arrival of new conscripts. The jam machine is clicking, the dishwasher is roaring and the napkins are being folded. The army of sisters work with practiced skills and their own edgy style. The documentary film Killing Me Softly follows the military home sisters who do voluntary national defense work and the young conscripts who are the customers of the military home.

Ahmed is a university lecturer with an immigrant background who has built his position through careful adaptation and restrained behavior. Also from an immigrant background and working at the same university is Isse, a janitor who is loud and direct. Isse embodies everything Ahmed feels he cannot be in the Finnish academic environment. In Common follows Ahmed and Isse through a series of encounters across the campus and when a simple gesture finally triggers a powerful reaction in Ahmed, the tension that has been simmering beneath the surface erupts in a way that forces both men to confront each other in a new light.

In Mixed Sauna introvert Mikko is anxious that he won’t be able to come out of his shell during the weekend at his relatively new spouse’s cottage. His spouse Hanna is certain that Mikko will make a great first impression on her chosen family, the three friends that they are hosting.