Love & Anarchy
17.–27.9.2026

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 2024 festival gathered approximately 55 000 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, Cristian Mungiu and Timothy Spall.

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.

With the following principles, we commit to making our spaces and events safer for everyone. Safe space means that everyone has the freedom to fully be themselves and participate in all activities without fear of scorn or discrimination. We understand that it isn’t possible to create a space that is completely safe for everyone, but it is vital for us to strive for that goal in all our actions.

• Everyone is treated equally and with respect. We intervene in any cases of discrimination, harassment or other unsuitable behavior. We do not accept racism, ableism or verbal or physical discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. When needed, the person behaving in an unsuitable manner will be removed from the space.
• We do not presume consent, but ask for it.
• Everyone has a right to self-determination. We do not generalize or make presumptions about anyone’s background, experiences, gender or sexuality.
• We understand that we come from different backgrounds, experiences, circumstances and that we can disagree on things. Still, we strive for respectful interactions.
• We acknowledge that all our spaces are not accessible for everyone. We develop the accessibility of our events.
• Our spaces and events are photographed. We inform the audience about this. If you do not want to be photographed, please let our staff know. If you take pictures in our events, please make sure that you have permission from the people who you are photographing.
• We are not perfect, and sometimes we fail. We encourage everyone to take responsibility for their words, actions and failures. Sometimes, an apology is necessary. 
• We promise to support you. In all our events, we have a dedicated person to whom you can report any harassment, discrimination or other unsuitable behavior. You can also give feedback about our events after the fact and anonymously through this form.
• You can give us feedback and suggestions for changes to these principles for safer space through an anonymous form here.

The festival staff and their contact information can be found on the Contact page.

The submissions for the 2025 National Competition closed on May 31.

The submission for the R&A Shorts National Competition is open for fiction, documentary and animated films that are max. 30 minutes long. The production or co-production country of the film must be Finland. The competition line-up is selected by members of the Love & Anarchy Ministry. An independent jury appointed by the festival will select the winners. The competition is organised by the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy. All films selected for the competition will be screened as part of the Love & Anarchy festival 18.–28.9.2025.

The main prize is the R&A Shorts Award which is a monetary award. The Finnish Film Foundation’s New Wave Award will be given to a new talent whose short film represents the bright tomorrow of Finnish film. The purpose of the award is to support the professional career of a promising new filmmaker working with the short film format. Established in 2021 in collaboration with AMPI, the Moving People and Images Award is sponsored by the Finnish Film Foundation. It is given to a filmmaker whose work emphasises inclusion and diversity. 

The Best Student Film Award is an accreditation to the Love & Anarchy festival and industry event Finnish Film Affair in 2026. Student films also compete for all the other prizes. In addition, all 2025 competition films will compete for the Audience Award, which is a product prize given to the director.

The National Competition, which has been organised since 2018, presents a wide range of top-quality Finnish short films, showcasing both professional and student works. In 2024, Elina Talvensaari’s documentary How to Please won the main prize.

Eligibility (2025)

• You can apply with a fiction, documentary or animation film that is maximum 30 min long. Music videos are not eligible.
• The film must have been completed after 1 January 2024.
• Only completed films are eligible.
• Premiere status is not required.
• Finland must be a production or co-production country (Finnish production company involved or part of the funding from Finland).
• The entry form must include a preview link for the completed film (subtitles are not mandatory in this version).
• The films selected to the competition must deliver the screening copy in DCP format with English subtitles (if not spoken in English).
• The festival does not pay screening fees for competition films.
• The film can be submitted only by the rights holder of the film (director, producer, distributor, sales) who by submitting the film gives consent to a possible screening of the film in the competition.

Film submission (2025)

• There is no submission fee.
• Please fill out the entry form carefully, information entered into the form will be used in festival publications.
• A confirmation message for successfully submitting the form will be sent to the contact person’s email address.
• The submission form is open from 15 March until 31 May 2025 at 23:59.

Selected films (2025)

• The festival will notify all the entrants of their selection or non-selection by 15 July 2025.
• The films selected for the competition must deliver the screening copy in DCP by 15 August 2025.
• The competition line-up will be published in August on the festival website.

Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy Association reserves the right to make changes.

Pulpettikino is the festival’s film education project that offers kindergarteners, pupils and their teachers in Helsinki the opportunity to learn about film by participating in Finland’s largest film festival for free. We offer a festival visit for thousands of children each year.

R&A films coming to cinemas after the festival

Premiere 24.9.
Eagles of the Republic (dir. Tarik Saleh)

Premiere 26.9.
E (ohj. Anna Eriksson)
Chuckin ihmeellinen elämä (dir. Mike Flanagan)

Premiere 3.10.
Gaucho, Gaucho (dir. Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw)

Premiere 17.10.
Sentimental Value (dir. Joachim Trier)
Rebellion for Future (dir. Saku Soukka)

Premiere 24.10.
Exit 8 (dir. Genki Kawamura)
What Does That Nature Say to You (dir. Hong Sang-soo)

Premiere 31.10.
Sorry, Baby (dir. Eva Victor)

Premiere 21.11.
Small Things Like These (dir. Tim Mielants)

Coming to cinemas, premiere to be announced:
Sirât (dir. Oliver Laxe)
Nouvelle Vague (dir. Richard Linklater)
It Was Just An Accident (dir. Jafar Panahi)
Sound of Falling (dir. Mascha Schilinski)
Romería (dir. Carla Simón)
The Little Sister (dir. Hafsia Herzi)

The following films from the 2025 Love & Anarchy programme can be seen after the festival on our partner Yle’s channels and Yle Areena! Find up-to-date information about the films’ availability on Yle Areena.

The Black Hole
Boy from Heaven
E
Eagles of the Republic
The End
Safe House
PMMP keikalla: Ei enää ikinä
Quiet Life