Jussi Awards 2026

 

Best Ensemble: Pirjo Lonka and Elina Knihtilä in 100 litraa sahtia (100 Litres of Gold). Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / Yle.

Audience Favourite: Cancel, starring Henry Weckström (Weksi), Niko Meuronen (Niko) and Santeri Hänninen (Santtu), directed by Tuukka Temonen (on the right). Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / Yle.

2026 JUSSI NOMINEES:

Jossain on valo joka ei sammu / A Light That Never Goes Out (10)

100 litraa sahtia / 100 Litres of Gold (6)

Valitut / Rörelser / Liikheitä / Raptures (5)

Orenda (4)

Sisu 2 / Sisu: Road to Revenge (4)

E (3)

The Helsinki Effect (3)

Elämä on juhla / Summer Is Crazy (2)

Huutamisen taito / How to Shout (2)

Teräsleidit – kuin viimeistä päivää (2)

Aurinko laskee Lemmenjoella / The Last Misfits by the Golden River (1)

Backwood Madness (1)

Ei koskaan yksin / Never Alone (1)

Fleak: Kekseliäs ystäväni (1)

Kapina elämän puolesta / Rebellion for Future (1)

Kesäkirja / The Summer Book (1)

Palava maa / Burnt Earth (1)

Tonttu / The Elf and the Christmas Wonder (1)

Uhma / Defiant (1)

SHORTS 

Huoneet

My Name is Hope

Underdog. 

WINNERS & NOMINEES

VUODEN ELOKUVA / BEST FILM

WINNER: Jossain on valo joka ei sammu – tuottaja Ilona Tolmunen / Elokuvatuotantoyhtiö Made

NOMINEES

100 litraa sahtia – tuottajat Jani Pösö / It’s Alive Films

Orenda – tuottajat Misha Jaari, Mark Lwoff / Bufo

Sisu 2 – tuottaja Petri Jokiranta / Subzero Film Entertainment Oy

Valitut – tuottajat Andreas Emanuelsson, Tony Österholm / Iris Film

VUODEN OHJAUS / BEST DIRECTOR

WINNER: Lauri-Matti Parppei – Jossain on valo joka ei sammu

NOMINEES

Teemu Nikki – 100 litraa sahtia

Jalmari Helander – Sisu 2

VUODEN ENSEMBLE / BEST ENSEMBLE

WINNER: Pirjo Lonka, Elina Knihtilä – 100 litraa sahtia

NOMINEES

Bruno Baer, Aamu Milonoff – Elämä on juhla

Glenn Close, Emily Matthews – Kesäkirja

VUODEN PÄÄOSA / BEST PERFORMANCE FOR AN ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

WINNER: Samuel Kujala – Jossain on valo joka ei sammu

NOMINEES

Jonna Järnefelt – Huutamisen taito

Jessica Grabowsky – Valitut

VUODEN SIVUOSA / BEST PERFORMANCE FOR AN ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

WINNER: Ville Tiihonen – 100 litraa sahtia

NOMINEES

Pirjo Lonka – Teräsleidit – kuin viimeistä päivää

Sanna-Kaisa Palo – Teräsleidit – kuin viimeistä päivää

VUODEN LÄPIMURTOROOLI / BEST BREAKTHROUGH ROLE

WINNER: Anna Rosaliina Kauno – Jossain on valo joka ei sammu

NOMINEES

Bruno Baer – Elämä on juhla

Ona Huczkowski – Uhma

VUODEN KÄSIKIRJOITUS / BEST SCREENPLAY

WINNER: Lauri-Matti Parppei – Jossain on valo joka ei sammu

NOMINEES

Teemu Nikki – 100 litraa sahtia

Josefina Rautiainen – Huutamisen taito

VUODEN KUVAUS / BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

WINNER: Max Smeds – Orenda

Matti Pyykkö – E

Jarkko T. Laine – Palava maa

VUODEN MUSIIKKI / BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

WINNER: Lauri-Matti Parppei – Jossain on valo joka ei sammu

NOMINEES

Anna Eriksson – E

Rebekka Karijord – Valitut

VUODEN ÄÄNISUUNNITTELU / BEST SOUND DESIGN

WINNER: Juuso Oksala, Yngve Leidulv Saetre – Jossain on valo joka ei sammu

NOMINEES

Yngve Leidulv Saetre – The Helsinki Effect

Jan Alvermark – Orenda

VUODEN LEIKKAUS / BEST FILM EDITING

WINNER: Markus Leppälä, Arthur Franck – The Helsinki Effect

NOMINEES

Anna Eriksson – E

Frida Eggum Michaelsen – Jossain on valo joka ei sammu

VUODEN LAVASTUSSUUNNITTELU / BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

WINNER: Vilja Katramo, Okku Rahikainen – Valitut

NOMINEES

Maria Hahl – 100 litraa sahtia

Nanna Hirvonen – Jossain on valo joka ei sammu

VUODEN PUKUSUUNNITTELU / BEST COSTUME DESIGN

WINNER: Eugen Tamberg – Ei koskaan yksin

NOMINEES

Mimosa Kuusimäki – Jossain on valo joka ei sammu

Jaanus Vahtra – Orenda

VUODEN MASKEERAUSSUUNNITTELU / BEST MAKEUP

WINNER: Salla Yli-Luopa – Sisu 2

Aleksanteri Jaakkola, Ari Savonen – Backwood Madness

Saara Räisänen – Valitut

VUODEN VISUAALISET TEHOSTEET / BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

WINNER: Jussi Lehtiniemi – Sisu 2

NOMINEES

Jussi Ditmer – Fleak: Kekseliäs ystäväni

Tony Alamo – Tonttu

VUODEN DOKUMENTTIELOKUVA / BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM

WINNER: The Helsinki Effect – ohjaaja Arthur Franck, tuottajat Sandra Enkvist, Oskar Forstén, Arthur Franck / Polygraf

NOMINEES

Aurinko laskee Lemmenjoella – ohjaaja Juho-Pekka Tanskanen, tuottaja Isabella Karhu / Danish Bear Productions

Kapina elämän puolesta – ohjaaja Saku Soukka, tuottaja Oona Saari / Illume Oy

VUODEN LYHYTELOKUVA / BEST SHORT FILM

WINNER: My Name is Hope – ohjaaja Sherwan Haji

NOMINEES

Huoneet – ohjaaja Antti Lempiäinen

Underdog – ohjaaja Marjo Levlin

BETONI-JUSSI / CONCRETE JUSSI (for life achievement)

Juha "Jussi" Mäkelä

KANSAINVÄLINEN LÄPIMURTO / INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH

Jalmari Helander

YLEISÖN SUOSIKKI -KUNNIAKIRJA / AUDIENCE FAVOURITE

Cancel

NORDISK FILM AWARD

Elina Knihtilä, Pirjo Lonka

The 98th Academy Awards | 2026 (honoring movies released in 2025)

 

The 98th Academy Awards | 2026. Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, Sunday, March 15, 2026. Photo © 2026 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The 98th Academy Awards | 2026

Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Honoring movies released in 2025

WINNERS & NOMINEES

Actor in a Leading Role

Winner: Michael B. Jordan / Sinners

Nominees

Timothée Chalamet / Marty Supreme

Leonardo DiCaprio / One Battle after Another

Ethan Hawke / Blue Moon

Wagner Moura / The Secret Agent

Actor in a Supporting Role

Winner: Sean Penn / One Battle after Another

Nominees

Benicio Del Toro / One Battle after Another

Jacob Elordi / Frankenstein

Delroy Lindo / Sinners

Stellan Skarsgård / Sentimental Value

Actress in a Leading Role

Winner: Jessie Buckley / Hamnet

Nominees

Rose Byrne / If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Kate Hudson / Song Sung Blue

Renate Reinsve / Sentimental Value

Emma Stone / Bugonia

Actress in a Supporting Role

Winner: Amy Madigan / Weapons

Nominees

Elle Fanning / Sentimental Value

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas / Sentimental Value

Wunmi Mosaku / Sinners

Teyana Taylor / One Battle after Another

Animated Feature Film

Winner: KPop Demon Hunters – Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong

Nominees

Arco / Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman

Elio / Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina and Mary Alice Drumm

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain / Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago and Henri Magalon

Zootopia 2 / Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Yvett Merino

Animated Short Film

Winner: The Girl Who Cried Pearls – Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

Nominees

Butterfly / Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens

Forevergreen / Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears

Retirement Plan / John Kelly and Andrew Freedman

The Three Sisters / Konstantin Bronzit

Casting

Winner: One Battle after Another – Cassandra Kulukundis

Nominees

Hamnet / Nina Gold

Marty Supreme / Jennifer Venditti

The Secret Agent / Gabriel Domingues

Sinners / Francine Maisler

Cinematography

Winner: Sinners – Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Nominees

Frankenstein / Dan Laustsen

Marty Supreme / Darius Khondji

One Battle after Another / Michael Bauman

Train Dreams / Adolpho Veloso

Costume Design

Winner: Frankenstein / Kate Hawley

Nominees

Avatar: Fire and Ash / Deborah L. Scott

Hamnet / Malgosia Turzanska

Marty Supreme / Miyako Bellizzi

Sinners / Ruth E. Carter

Directing

Winner: One Battle after Another / Paul Thomas Anderson

Nominees

Hamnet / Chloé Zhao

Marty Supreme / Josh Safdie

Sentimental Value / Joachim Trier

Sinners / Ryan Coogler

Documentary Feature Film

Winner: Mr. Nobody against Putin / David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin, Helle Faber and Alžběta Karásková

Nominees

The Alabama Solution / Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman

Come See Me in the Good Light / Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro and Stef Willen

Cutting through Rocks / Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni

The Perfect Neighbor / Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu and Sam Bisbee

Documentary Short Film

Winner: All the Empty Rooms / Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Nominees

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud / Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo

Children No More: "Were and Are Gone" / Hilla Medalia and Sheila Nevins

The Devil Is Busy / Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir

Perfectly a Strangeness / Alison McAlpine

Film Editing

Winner: One Battle after Another / Andy Jurgensen

Nominees 

F1 / Stephen Mirrione

Marty Supreme / Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

Sentimental Value / Olivier Bugge Coutté

Sinners / Michael P. Shawver

International Feature Film

Winner: Norway / Sentimental Value

Nominees

Brazil / The Secret Agent

France / It Was Just an Accident

Spain / Sirāt

Tunisia / The Voice of Hind Rajab

Live Action Short Film

Winner: The Singers / Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt

Winner: Two People Exchanging Saliva / Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Nominees

Butcher's Stain / Meyer Levinson-Blount and Oron Caspi

A Friend of Dorothy / Lee Knight and James Dean

Jane Austen's Period Drama / Julia Aks and Steve Pinder

Makeup and Hairstyling

Winner: Frankenstein / Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey

Nominees

Kokuho / Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu

Sinners / Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry

The Smashing Machine / Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein

The Ugly Stepsister / Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg

Music (Original Score)

Winner: Sinners / Ludwig Goransson

Nominees

Bugonia / Jerskin Fendrix

Frankenstein / Alexandre Desplat

Hamnet / Max Richter

One Battle after Another / Jonny Greenwood

Music (Original Song)

Winner: Golden / from KPop Demon Hunters; Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park

Nominees

Dear Me / from Diane Warren: Relentless; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

I Lied To You / from Sinners; Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson

Sweet Dreams Of Joy / from Viva Verdi!; Music and Lyric by Nicholas Pike

Train Dreams / from Train Dreams; Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave

Best Picture

Winner: One Battle after Another / Adam Somner, Sara Murphy and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers

Nominees

Bugonia / Ed Guiney & Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone and Lars Knudsen, Producers

F1 / Chad Oman, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers

Frankenstein / Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber, Producers

Hamnet / Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, Producers

Marty Supreme / Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Anthony Katagas and Timothée Chalamet, Producers

The Secret Agent / Emilie Lesclaux, Producer

Sentimental Value / Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar, Producers

Sinners / Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler, Producers

Train Dreams / Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer and Michael Heimler, Producers

Production Design

Winner: Frankenstein / Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau

Nominees

Hamnet / Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton

Marty Supreme / Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis

One Battle after Another / Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino

Sinners / Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne

Sound

Winner: F1 / Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta

Nominees

Frankenstein / Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern

One Battle after Another / José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor

Sinners / Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker

Sirāt / Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas

Visual Effects

Winner: Avatar: Fire and Ash / Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Nominees

F1 / Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson

Jurassic World Rebirth / David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould

The Lost Bus / Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin

Sinners / Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Winner: One Battle after Another / Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Nominees

Bugonia / Screenplay by Will Tracy

Frankenstein / Written for the Screen by Guillermo del Toro

Hamnet / Screenplay by Chloé Zhao & Maggie O'Farrell

Train Dreams / Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Winner: Sinners / Written by Ryan Coogler

Nominees

Blue Moon / Written by Robert Kaplow

It Was Just an Accident / Written by Jafar Panahi; Script collaborators – Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian

Marty Supreme / Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie

Sentimental Value / Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

Source: © 2026 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Simone Veil. Mes sœurs et moi / Simone Veil. My Sisters and I (2026 exhibition at le Mémorial de la Shoah)

 

The book to the exhibition. David Teboul (coordination éditoriale):  Simone Veil : Mes soeurs et moi : L'exposition. Éditions Les Arènes 380 pages, 5 février 2026. Publicity: "Ce livre propose une immersion visuelle exceptionnelle dans le plus vaste fonds d’archives jamais réuni sur Simone Veil. La mise en page, radicalement contemporaine et sensible, met en lumière plus de 1 400 documents : photographies d’archives, objets, albums de famille, lettres inédites, images personnelles jamais publiées… Grâce au concours exceptionnel du Mémorial de la Shoah, partenaire de l’ouvrage, ce trésor iconographique prend vie sous nos yeux."

Simone Veil. Mes sœurs et moi

Exposition mardi 10 février 2026 – jeudi 15 octobre 2026

Commissaire de l’exposition : David Teboul

Coordination générale :

Agence Eva Albaran : Tatiana Titli, Louise Riou

Mémorial de la Shoah: Clara Lainé, Sophie Nagiscarde

Scénographie : Cécile Degos

Graphisme : Eric Pillaut

Programmation autour de l’exposition : Julie Maeck, Pauline Dubuisson, Louise Gurman-Dessauce

    Mémorial de la Shoah, 17, rue Geoffroy l’Asnier, 75004 Paris. Le Mémorial de la Shoah est ouvert du dimanche au vendredi. L’accès au Mémorial est gratuit sans réservation.

    Visited on Sunday, 15 March 2026

OFFICIAL: " Simone Veil. Mes soeurs et moi plonge au coeur de l’intimité de la fratrie Jacob, dont le destin fut bouleversé par la guerre. On y découvre une Simone Veil souriante et insouciante, loin des représentations figées de la femme d’État. "

" Conçue par David Teboul et inspirée de l’ouvrage et du film éponymes qu’il a réalisés, l’exposition prolonge le travail de l’auteur autour de la mémoire et de la transmission. Elle repose sur des extraits de correspondances, journaux intimes et récits et dévoile des photographies issues des archives des familles Jacob et Vernay. "

" Les trois soeurs Jacob, Madeleine (dite Milou), Denise et Simone grandissent à Nice, dans les années 1920, au sein d’une famille juive française. Leur enfance heureuse est peu à peu bouleversée par les crises économiques et politiques des années 1930, puis par l’Occupation et les persécutions antisémites. "

" Denise s’engage dans la Résistance et sera déportée à Ravensbrück. Simone, Milou, Jean et leur mère Yvonne sont arrêtés. Les trois femmes sont déportées à Auschwitz au printemps 1944. Yvonne meurt à Bergen-Belsen ; Milou revient affaiblie, Simone survit. Leur père André et leur frère Jean, déportés en 1944 par le convoi 73, ne reviendront pas. "

" À travers les écrits et les photographies conservés par la famille, les entretiens réalisés par David Teboul, et les voix des comédiennes Isabelle Huppert, Marina Fois et Dominique Reymond, l’exposition restitue le parcours des sœurs Jacob, de l’insouciance niçoise à la reconstruction d’après-guerre. "

" Ces archives personnelles éclairent l’expérience de la Shoah à travers le regard de jeunes femmes et interrogent la manière dont se tissent mémoire intime et histoire collective. "

" Réalisateur et photographe, David Teboul est l’auteur du documentaire Simone Veil, une histoire française et du livre Simone Veil, Mes sœurs et moi. Son travail explore la mémoire et la transmission à travers des récits personnels. "

DENISE VERNAY (la sœur de Simone Veil, née Denise Jacob) :

" Tout a commencé lorsque Simone me dit un jour : " Mais, au fond, qu'est-ce que tu as fait, dans la Résistance ? " J'ai pensé que vous non plus, vous n'en saviez pas grand-chose, et qu'il était temps pour moi de vous raconter un peu de cette guerre, la vraie guerre, pas la " guerre des étoiles " à laquelle vous assistez aujourd'hui.

" Ma " guerre se déroula entre 1939 et 1945. "

Denise, Paris, 1988

AA: Simone Veil (1927–2017, born Simone Jacob) was a French national heroine. As Minister of Social Affairs, Health and Urban Issues, she championed women's rights and pursued the 1975 law legalising abortion, known as Loi Veil (the Veil Act). In 1979, she became the first woman elected President of the European Parliament. She also served at France's Constitutional Council, the highest legal authority of the country and as president of the Foundation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah. She was a member of the Académie Française, received the grand cross of the Légion d'honneur and was interred at the Panthéon together with her husband Antoine Veil.

The exhibition explores the story of the family Jacob, the happy days of the four siblings, Madeleine (Milou), Denise, Jean and Simone in Nice. The family Jacob was openly Jewish but atheist. They were proud of their identity as the people of the Book. During the Nazi occupation of France, the family stayed in Nice, which became a part of the Italian occupation zone. Gradually the Jacobs had to split up and live under assumed names. Denise joined the armed resistance in Lyon. In 1943, Germany took over the Italian occupation zone. Simone still managed to pass her baccalauréat under her real name in March 1944. The next day, the members of the family Jacob were arrested by the Gestapo. Simone's father and brother were deported to the Baltic states and never seen again. Denise was sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Simone, Madeleine and their mother arrived at Auschwitz from where they were sent on the death march to Bergen-Belsen, after which the mother died but the sisters survived.

The exhibition tells an engrossing story about the twentieth century, a genocide survivor growing up to become a builder of modern France and a reborn Europe. The story of the Occupation and the experience of the concentration camps is horrible, but the most bitter moment for me is the homecoming. People are shocked that the sisters have returned. The remaining family is not warmly welcomed. Simone looks at herself in a broken mirror. 

Under the direction of David Teboul, the balance of the exhibition is dominated by love, not hate. The love, the joy and the happiness of the Jacob family give them the strength, the willpower and the life force to survive. Based on a rich trove of family correspondence, authentic words dominate the experience, much in the voice of Simone Veil, complemented by the actresses Isabelle Huppert, Marina Fois et Dominique Reymond reading the testimonies of Denise and Madeleine.

Leonora Carrington (2026 exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg, Paris)

Journal de l'exposition: Leonora Carrington (2026). Cover art: a detail from: Leonora Carrington: Levitasium (1950). Huile sur toile. 55,2 x 30,1 cm. Frahm Collection.

Art in the poster: Leonora Carrington: Le Bon Roi Dagobert (Elk Horn), 1948 © Estate of Leonora Carrington / ADAGP, Paris.

Hermann Landshoff: Portrait of Leonora Carrington in her apartment at Greenwich Village around 1942. © BPK Berlin, dist. GrandPalaisRmn, image Archiv Landshoff.

Exhibition catalogue: Leonora Carrington. Musée du Luxembourg, Paris. Relié plein papier (PP). 21,5 × 28 cm. 208 pages. 160 illustrations. Ouvrage collectif, sous la direction de Tere Arcq et Carlos Martin. Only in a French edition. EAN : 9782711881550. Référence : EC408155. Cover art: a detail from: Leonora Carrington: Dando de comer a una mesa (1959). Huile sur toile, 57 x 70 cm. Collection particulière.

Roland Penrose: Four Women Asleep (Lee Miller, Ady Fidelin, Nusch Éluard, Leonora Carrington). At Lambe Creek, Cornwall, 1937. Print from colour reversal film. © Roland Penrose Estate, England 2020. Photo from: Roland Penrose – Objektiv Press (2024).

Leonora Carrington (exhibition from 18 February to 19 July 2026).

Co-organized by GrandPalaisRmn and Mondo Mostre. Curators: 

    Tere Arcq – Art historian, specialist in Surrealism in Mexico, and author of numerous exhibitions and publications on women Surrealists.

    Carlos Martín – Art historian, specialist in modern art and Surrealism, former curator at Fundación Mapfre (Madrid).

    Musée du Luxembourg, 19 rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris.

    Visited on Saturday, 14 March 2026

OFFICIAL: "Artist, feminist and avant-garde environmentalist, woman, mother, migrant, marked by mental illness and spiritual quest, Leonora Carrington left behind a legacy as extraordinary as it is radical."

"Born in 1917 in Lancashire, England, Leonora Carrington forged her identity through travel, both internal and external. From Florence to Paris, from the South of France to Spain, and finally to Mexico, where she became a cult figure, her extraordinary path nourished a body of work at the crossroads of surrealism, mythology, and esotericism."

"This exhibition, bringing together 126 works, is the first major exhibition in France devoted exclusively to Carrington’s work. It presents Carrington as a “Vitruvian Woman”: a total artist representing a model of harmony and innovation. Her creations merge human and animal, masculine and feminine, giving form to a world where metamorphoses and symbols respond to each other."

"Through a chronological and thematic approach, as well as a unique presentation of her diverse visionary creations, the exhibition explores the artist's main themes and interests: her discovery of classical Italian art in Florence during her adolescence, her fascination with the Renaissance, her Celtic and post-Victorian origins, and her involvement in surrealism during her stay in France."

"The exhibition thus highlights the exceptional legacy of this perpetual traveler, always in search of self-knowledge."

AA: The first monograph exhibition of Leonora Carrington in France is a major event. It has been mounted with loving care by the curators Tere Arcq and Carlos Martin at the Musée du Luxembourg.

The journey is chronological and geographical, and it takes us from the milieu of grand bourgeoisie in Lancashire to the circle of the surrealists in London, Saint-Germain-des-Près in Paris and Ardèche in Southern France. During the Nazi Occupation, Carrington escapes to Spain. A gang rape by Franco's soldiers leads her to a psychotic condition. She is confined to a mental hospital in Santander at the request of her parents. In 1942 she moves to Mexico with her husband Renato Leduc. In 1968 she and her sons move to the United States. She becomes a citizen of honour of Mexico City and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. She is buried in the British cemetery of Mexico City.

But this exhibition is above all an inner journey, starting in the core of surrealism. Two years ago the centenary of surrealism was celebrated, prominently in Brussels in two giant exhibitions: International at the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique and Belgian at Bozar. In both, a male bias of the movement was evident, especially in the beginning. Female artists like Jane Graverol and Rachel Baes were acknowledged from the 1940s onwards.

The grand Leonora Carrington exhibition is for me a belated third part to the centenary celebration. She draws from her own dream world and is inspired by soulmates from art history including Botticelli and Bosch. She studies the Tibetan Book of the Dead and occult images from the fields of magic and alchemy, constantly expanding her imagination. She also becomes a devoted eco-feminist pioneer.

This is my introduction to Carrington, and I'm impressed by the grand arch of her development, the consistency and willpower in exploring the secret reaches of the imagination, constantly discovering something new while remaining true to herself, the resolve in fighting madness, violence and discrimination. I don't particularly care for the tarot universe. Some of the colour solutions feel forced. Among my favourites is Snake Bike Floripondio (1975, oil on canvas, 59,5 x 80 cm, Colección Pérez Simon), a subtle and haunting dream apparition.  Not all the best works are in the exhibition, for instance The House Opposite (1945, tempera on wood, 82 cm, West Dean College). I look forward to the next Leonora Carrington exhibition to see it and more.

The exhibition catalogue and journal are excellent keepsakes. The introductory texts are superb and the quality of the illustrations is high. After the formidable exhibition full of wild images it is a relief to meditate at the Salon de thé, Mademoiselle Angelina. 

OFFICIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

"Figure majeure de l’art du xxe siècle, Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) a traversé frontières, continents et mouvements artistiques, laissant une œuvre aussi foisonnante qu’insaisissable. Née en Angleterre, formée entre Londres, Florence et Paris, elle rejoint l’avant-garde surréaliste avant de connaître l’exil, de l’Espagne à New York, puis de s’établir définitivement au Mexique, où elle est reconnue aux côtés de Frida Kahlo et de Remedios Varo. Entre mythes fondateurs et récits intimes, Carrington explore la métamorphose, le féminin sacré, la magie, l’alchimie et l’écologie, élaborant une cartographie intérieure nourrie de mythes celtiques, d’ésotérisme européen et de traditions spirituelles du monde entier. Ce catalogue accompagne la première grande rétrospective consacrée à l’artiste en France et offre une traversée sensible et éclairée de son œuvre, guidée par des spécialistes internationaux. Un voyage fascinant au cœur d’une imagination indomptable, libre et visionnaire."

SOMMAIRE

Carlos Martin: Nostalgie des rivages : une première maturité artistique

Tere Arcq: Le voyage de l’héroïne : une cartographie de l’âme

Gabriel Weisz Carrington: À la recherche du fantôme intérieur

Leonora Carrington: Animal humain femelle

    CATALOGUE DES ŒUVRES EXPOSÉES

Aux origines d’un Grand Tour intérieur

La Mariée du Vent : un voyage transnational à travers le surréalisme

Dépaysement : mémoire des origines, nostalgie des rivages

Le voyage de l’héroïne

L’obscurité lumineuse

La cuisine alchimique

    Susan L. Aberth: Percer le voile : les manœuvres rituelles

    Kristoffer Noheden: Leonora Carrington et le nouveau mythe

    Karla Segura Pantoja: Humour hyénique et transgression féministe

ANNEXES

Chronologie

Bibliographie

Liste des œuvres exposées reproduites

My Name Is Hope

Sherwan Haji: My Name Is Hope (FI 2025). The reflection of the missile in the eye.

Sherwan Haji: My Name Is Hope (FI 2025). The reflection of the missile in the eye. My screenshot.

FI 2025. Aalto University ELO Film School. P: Kari Ahotupa & Hadi Nikzad.

    D+SC: Sherwan Haji. Cin: Máté Papp – colour – scope 2.39 – 25 fps – 3800 x 1800 – release format: 4K DCP. Set design: Ville Väisänen. Cost: Katri Koppanen. VFX: VFX Helsinki / Lasse Kilpiä. M: Oliver Wegmüller. S: Saku Anttila – Dolby Atmos / 7.1 / 5.1 / 2.0. ED: Jette Keedus.

    CAST:

1. Rozelina Ahmad – Amal (Hope)

2. Hassan Alssaleh – Old Janitor

3. Mazen Aljibaee – Old Guard

4. Jalal Hajali – Young Janitor

5. Youssef Alkhatib – Gheiath

6. Mao Mohammed – Rebel leader 

7. Kardo Shiwan – The Prisoner

8. Simon Al-bazoon – Officer 

9. Mazdak Nassir – Sheikh 

Mao Mohammed (rebel leader), Soroush Seyedi (young prison guard), Joudi Chikho (young woman on motorbike), Ramithawi (young man on motorbike), Nour Chikho (soldier carrying missile 1), Hadi Nikzad (soldier carrying missile 2), Ebraheem Abu Smra (voice of soldier carrying missile 1), Shareef Askar (voice of soldier carrying missile 2), Waad Mahmood Abed (prison soldier 1), Juan Haji (prison soldier 2), Shareef Askar (rebel 1), Radouane Al-Zoudali (rebel 2), Abdelkader Gharbi (rebel 3), Delberin Muhammed (rebel 4), Sebastian Granskog (rebel 5)

    21 min

    Language: Arabic. Subtitles: English (by Said Dakash), Finnish.

    Master of Arts diploma work.

    Genre: war.

    Tampere Film Festival 5 March 2025 – Golden Shade Equipment Rental Prize for Cinematographer Máté Papp.

    Love & Anarchy Helsinki International Film Festival 18–28 Sep 2025 – R&A Shorts main prize.

    Viewed at the Aalto University ELO Film School Student Film Screening, Bio Rex, Helsinki, 20 Dec 2024. (Embargo).

    Revisited in November 2025.

    2026 Jussi Awards Nominee: Best Short.

    Vimeo link for Jussi Awards viewed at home in Paris, 27 Feb 2026    

ONE LINER IN ENGLISH

"You are alive as long as someone remembers your name."

ONE LINER IN FINNISH

"Olet elossa niin kauan kuin nimesi muistetaan."

SYNOPSIS IN ENGLISH

"A student is locked in a Syrian prison, where he observes the absurd routine of a senior janitor training a recruit. As the flames of the Arab Spring fade, prisoners keep alive the dim light of resistance in a world that has chosen to forget them."

SYNOPSIS IN FINNISH

"Syyrialainen opiskelija tarkkailee eristyssellinsä ruokaluukun kautta kahden talonmiehen omituista arkea ja päätyy lopulta todistamaan maansa tuhonnutta valtataistelua pienoiskoossa."

IMDb: "A short film capturing the timeless struggle between oppressor and oppressed in an era where forgetfulness becomes the deadliest weapon against freedom."

AA: Having seen Sherwan Haji's Master of Arts piece / masterpiece My Name Is Hope in December 2024 at the Aalto ELO Film School autumn screening I ranked it among the best films of the year 2024 but was not allowed to write due to an embargo.

Set in a Syrian prison, My Name Is Hope is based on the concept of limited vision. It takes place in darkness, literally and metaphorically. What little we see is through a narrow hatch.

The film is also based on a principle employed by Fritz Lang in M: in portraying events of unspeakable horror, the best way is not to show. The impact is greater.

The janitors see the writing on the prison wall. As the inmates have no pens, they use their own blood. They are intellectuals, scientists and artists, more than in any university. "Our task is to erase what they have written". The janitors use hydrogen peroxide, as taught by a chemist who used to be there. Those who think are in prison. Those who don't stay free. Curiosity is dangerous.

"My name is" is a refrain. It is banned to identify oneself. A prisoner about to be taken to the "amusement park" shouts: "I have a name! I'm Gheiath!" He is kicked and beaten to pulp. When the prison guards leave, fellow inmates start to shout: "Husam Alwaar!" "Juan!" "Ayman!" "Mishaal!" "Fares!" "Munir!" "Murad!" "Abdelbaset!" "Sultan!" "Adam!" The impact is that of "I'm Spartacus!"

A tremendous attack of the liberators is followed by total silence. A woman 9 months pregnant (kept there to put pressure on her father) gives birth. “My name is Amal (Hope)”. The baby seems stillborn but finally announces itself in the way babies do.

Excellence in all departments: acting, cinematography, sound design.

Sherwan Haji displays poetic insight in the opening images of an extreme close-up of an eye and a long take of a missile piercing the darkness. The dimension of poetry is again enhanced in the moving finale.

The most important element in a movie is energy. That My Name Is Hope has. Its charged imagery moves along on a quiet and assured power drive like the missile lighting up the darkness.

20 December 2024 was the date of the film's first screening. On 8 December, the Assad regime had fallen, making the movie appear as if prophecy fulfilled.

Huoneet

 

Antti Lempiäinen: Huoneet (FI 2025). My screenshot from the finale.

Documentary.

    FI © 2025 Superreel Productions Oy. P: Eliel Kilkki, Antti Lempiäinen.

    D+SC+Cin: Antti Lempiäinen. In colour and black and white. Mobile phone photography: Janne Poutiainen.  Colour grading, DCP, TV mastering: Whitepoint Digital. Graphic design: Kai Seppänen. M: K155A, Ville Huhtanen, Petrus Rapo. S+mixing: Petrus Rapo. ED: Hanna Kuirinlahti. Voice actor: Joona Mäkelä.

    Featuring Janne Poutiainen.

    Acknowledgements: VVA ry: Tupa-yksikkö, Hietaniemenkadun palvelukeskus, Pelastusarmeija: Pitäjänmäen asumispalveluyksikkö.

    37 min

    Loc: Helsinki, Imatra.

    Language: Finnish. English subtitles: Tiina Kinnunen.

    DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival 2025: winner of the National Short Film Competition.

    2026 Jussi Awards Nominee: Best Short.

    Vimeo link for Jussi Awards viewed at home in Paris, 26 Feb 2026

A film about homelessness.

AA: Antti Lempiäinen's Huoneet [literally: Rooms] is a documentary diary of the four year period of Janne Lempiäinen, a father of five, who falls to the bottom following divorce and cannot even manage alimony. The film is held together by a first person commentary. Janne wanders around in Helsinki by foot and on tram 3, sleeps in rock crevices, park benches, public lavatories, sheltered corners and under the open sky. He collects bottles to get a bite to eat. He is helped by VVA ry (Vailla Vakinaista Asuntoa ry / No Fixed Abode NGO), Hietaniemen palvelukeskus / Hietaniemenkatu Service Centre of the City of Helsinki and the Salvation Army's Asumispalveluyksikkö / Housing Service Unit, all fighting homelessness. A threat of violence is ubiquitous. He hardens himself by just walking and keeps a diary to clear his mind. There is a happy end, or at least a promise of better days. Janne gets an apartment and starts to write.

Antti Lempiäinen evidently shares the vision of the Salvation Army which pursues the principle of "residence first" for social rehabilitation. A residence is the starting point of getting one's life back. Watching this movie we live the part of the homeless and meet the existential insecurity in the city jungle. It is a desolate detour outside society, away from basic humanity. 

In cities like Helsinki and Paris I increasingly face outcasts of the society, beggars asking for money and food, too many to help individually, but I do my modest share via organizations and as a taxpayer. It is not a good society where this condition becomes more common.

A startling outsider perspective to society.

Underdog (2025, Marjo Levlin)

Marjo Levlin: Underdog (FI 2025). My screenshot. Do click on the image to expand it.

Documentary, experimental.

    FI © 2024 Marjo Levlin. Year of release 2025.

    A film by Marjo Levlin. Script, camera, editing and voiceover: Marjo Levlin. Black and white – double screen. 8 mm film scanning: Mutascan. Color grading by Freebird: Patricia Wiklund. Editorial assistance: Ilkka Pitkänen.

    English translation by Mongulator / Susan Heiskanen.

    Archival materials: Puolustusvoimain katsaus 76: koira asevelvollisena (FI 1943), American Philosophical Society, Leon Whitney's Experimental Farm (Connecticut), Levlin Family archives.

    Loc: USA, Finland.

    30 min

    Languages: Finnish and Swedish. English subtitles by Susan Heiskanen.

    Festival premiere: DocPoint 2025: Special Jury Mention in National Short Film Competition.

    Tampere Film Festival: Main Prize (Suudelma-patsas) in National Competition of Films Under 30 min.

    Also available as a two-channel video installation.

    2026 Jussi Awards Nominee: Best Short.

    Vimeo link for Jussi Awards viewed at home in Paris, 26 Feb 2026

ELONET SUMMARY: "Underdog on kokeellinen dokumenttielokuva, joka tarkastelee koirien ja ihmisten maailmaa rinnakkain. Mustavalkoinen elokuva käsittelee tekijän lapsuuden kokemuksia yhteiskuntaluokkien ja kulttuurien törmäyksistä, ja rinnastaa koirien jalostuksen ongelmat ihmisten monikulttuuriseen elämään."

AA: Marjo Levlin's Underdog is an essay film based on the double screen format, which enables parallels, discrepancies, associations, and poetic connections on a journey through family history on two continents, the worlds of humans and dogs, and the scary legacy of eugenics with implications both for  animals and regimes based on racism. In special focus is Leon F. Whitney, who does not have a Wikipedia page, but who rose to prominence with his book The Case for Sterilization (US 1931), admired by Adolf Hitler.

Palava maa / Burnt Earth

 

John Webster: Palava maa / Burnt Earth (FI 2025).

John Webster: Palava maa / Burnt Earth (FI 2025). The protagonists I. My screenshot.

John Webster: Palava maa / Burnt Earth (FI 2025). The protagonists II. My screenshot.

John Webster: Palava maa / Burnt Earth (FI 2025). The protagonists III. My screenshot.

Eldens rike.

    Documentary.

    FI 2025 Yellow Film & TV Oy. PC: Yellow Film & TV Oy, Ventana-Film GmbH, J. W. Documentaries Oy. P: Eveliina Kantola, Marko Talli.

    D+SC: John Webster. DP: Jarkko T. Laine – colour – release format: DCP. M: Pessi Levanto. S: Pietari Koskinen. ED: Niels Pagh Andersen, John Webster.

    Featuring: see three screenshots from the end credits.

    Loc: Coimbra, Nelas, Ourém (Portugal).

    102 min

    Languages: Finnish, Portuguese, English. Finnish subtitles: Tiina Kinnunen.

    Premiere: 26 Sep 2025 – distributor: SF Studios.

    2026 Jussi Awards Nominee: Best Documentary.

    Vimeo link for Jussi Awards viewed at home in Paris, 26 Feb 2026

OFFICIAL SUMMARY: "John Websterin ohjaama dokumenttielokuva Palava maa seuraa Portugalin laajoja ja tuhoisia maastopaloja sammuttamaan lähteneitä suomalaisten pelastuslaitosten pelastajia. Palojen voimakkuus ja arvaamattomuus on sellaista, jota Suomessa ei voi kokea, ja pelastajat oppivat äärimmäisissä työolosuhteissa paljon. Vahva yhteisöllisyys ja kaverien auttaminen ovat oleellisia asioita rankassa tiimityössä."

AA: John Webster's Palava maa is a powerful record from the frontline of the ecocatastrophe. It is also the masterpiece of the director, surpassing even the devastating Eye to Eye (FI 2020).

It is a sober documentary constructed like an instruction manual. A Finnish team of firefighters is sent to Portugal to join Portuguese veterans who are experienced in wildfires many times more devastating than have been seen in the North yet. The Finns are sent to participate and learn. A fire like this is like a wild animal who can surround you and surprise you with a rear attack all of a sudden. We learn about techniques such as fighting fire with fire. (Burning an area ahead of the fire in order to rob it from fuel.)

Palava maa is a movie about team spirit, in fact, two team spirits. In danger, you have to know and trust your partners instinctively. The Finns in Portugal are like huge bears, but a smaller fighter can be more agile. A recurring comic feature is about the Portuguese speaking a lot and Finns saying nothing although listening with attention. Howard Hawks might have liked Palava maa.

Palava maa is a catastrophe movie and an action movie in the documentary idiom. A film about calamity, topical and metaphorical. Apocalypse Now all the time. It would be natural to panic, but the fighters stay calm and collected. John Webster's assured touch is also in well-judged contrast to the alarming scenery. He knows the wisdom of great action cinema of alternating action with contemplation.

From Portuguese veterans we learn how wildfires have grown worse. An enormous change has taken place during the last 20 years. What took a week to burn flashes past now in two days. An area the size of the European Union burns globally every year.

In charge of the superb cinematography is Jarkko T. Laine, building on a vision of extreme contrast. He captures both the divine beauty of the nature and the horror of the hell fire razing it to the ground. Supporting him in adrenaline-rushing ways is footage from firefighters' helmet cameras. They contribute the urgency of the subjective experience, the first person viewpoint, the most direct kind of cinema.

A frightening, necessary and magnificent movie and a celebration of a team spirit that is our only salvation. Obrigado!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Pelastusopisto.

Portugalin kansallinen hätä- ja pelastusviranomainen (ANEPC).

Portugalin pelastustoimen erikoisyksikkö (FEPC).

Suomen maastopalomuodostelma FI GFFF.

Sisäministeriö.

FEPC-tukikohdat: Almeirim, Sobreira Formosa, Trancoso.

Pohjois-Savon Pelastuslaitos: Iisalmen pelastusasema.

Etelä-Karjalan pelastuslaitos: Luumäen pelastusasema.

Pohjois-Karjalan pelastuslaitos: Joensuun pelastusasema, Lieksan pelastusasema, Nurmeksen pelastusasema.

Kymenlaakson pelastuslaitos: Haminan pelastusasema.

Euroopan komissio, ECHO-pääosasto.

Euroopan komissio, JRC.

Helsingin VPK.

Etelä-Savon pelastuslaitos: Kangasniemen ja Mäntyharjun pelastusasemat.

Kymenlaakson pelastuslaitos: Kouvolan pelastusasema.

Pohjois-Savon pelastuslaitos: Neulamäen pelastusasema.

Nurmeksen terveysasema.

Kapina elämän puolesta / Rebellion for Future

 

Saku Soukka: Kapina elämän puolesta / Rebellion for Future (FI 2025).

Documentary.

    FI © 2025 Illume Oy. P: Oona Saari. EX: Jouko Aaltonen.

    D: Saku Soukka. SC: Maria Rannanheimo & Saku Soukka. DP: Saku Soukka – colour – digital – release format: DCP. M: Eero Pulkkinen. Soundtrack: see below. S: Kirka Sainio. ED: Antti Tuomikoski.

    Featuring: Jakob, Ville, Joel, Ida, Vincent, Otso, Otto, Kajo, Georg, Eeva, Temo, Tiina, Riku, Pekko, Kai, Valpuri, Pessi, Aino, Eerik, Tuulia, Vilja, Sandra, Jukka, Emma, Wilhelm, Noia, Matilda, Aada, Joni-Matti, Miika, Topi-Matti, Theo, Merri, Jennu, Milo. Acknowledgements: see below.

    Loc: Helsinki city center, Stansvik (Laajasalo, Helsinki), Viiankiaapa (Sodankylä, Lapland).

    80 min

    Language: Finnish. Subtitles: English.

    Distributor: Pirkanmaan elokuvakeskus.

    Festival premiere: 23 Sep 2025 Love & Anarchy, Helsinki International Film Festival.

    Premiere: 17 Oct 2025.

    2026 Jussi Awards Nominee: Best Documentary.

    Vimeo link for Jussi Awards viewed at home in Paris, 26 Feb 2026

OFFICIAL PROMOTION:

"Miltä maailma ja yhteiskunta näyttävät elokapinalaisen silmin? Saku Soukan dokumenttielokuva vie meidät tapahtumien ytimeen".

"Valokuvataiteilijana tunnetun Saku Soukan esikoiselokuva Kapina elämän puolesta kuvaa Suomen Elokapina-yhteisön sinnikästä kamppailua elinkelpoisen maapallon puolesta. Elokuvan päähenkilö on kollektiivinen liike, josta muutama aktivisti on enemmän esillä. Pitkä dokumenttielokuva seuraa tapahtumia tiiviisti kahden vuoden ajan niin Lapin aapasuolla kuin Helsingin kaduillakin. Elokuvassa Elokapina vaatii oikeudenmukaisempaa elämää, jossa osa ihmisistä ei taloudellisia voittoja tavoitellessaan riistäisi muilta mahdollisuutta kestävään tulevaisuuteen. Elokuvan henkilöt peräänkuuluttavat vastuunkantoa ilmastokriisiä ja luontokatoa eniten kiihdyttäviltä. Esimerkiksi suomalaisia metsäjättejä he vaativat kohtuullistamaan puidenhakkuumääriä."

"Kapinallisilla on vaikeuksia yhteensovittaa omaa moraaliaan ja lakipykäliä ilmastokriisin ja luontokadon kiihtyessä uhkaavasti. Pyrkiessään saavuttamaan tavoitteensa Elokapinalla on yhtenä keinona väkivallaton kansalaistottelemattomuus. He käyttävät omia kehojaan, joilla he blokkaavat tehtaita, tuotantovälineitä ja katuja. Elokapina saa elokuvassa osakseen kritiikkiä, ja raivokkaitakin reaktioita tulee esiin. Katsoja pääsee arvioimaan erilaisia kannanottoja. Virkavalta asettaa rajat mielenosoituksille paikoin koviin otteisiin turvautuen. Kapinalliset kokevat, että heidän mielenosoitusoikeuttaan rajoitetaan liikaa, jotta yhteiskunta voisi jatkaa häiriöttömästi kuten ennenkin – ”business as usual” -tyyliin."

"Putkaan ja oikeuteen joutuminen on osa kapinallisten strategiaa, koska siten he saavat enemmän huomiota esiinnostamilleen epäkohdille. He toimivat kansalaistottelemattomuuden perinteen mukaisesti omilla nimillään ja kasvoillaan yrittämättä paeta. Välillä on epäselvää, että mikä on lainmukaista mielenosoittamista, ja mikä kansalaistottelemattomuutta. Kiinniotot, putkareissut ja sakot eivät ole kapinallisille helppo juttu. Varsinkaan kun he lisäksi joutuvat välillä raivoamisen, uhkailun ja lopulta myös väkivallan kohteeksi. Mitä tämä kaikki tekee tulevaisuudesta huolestuneiden nuorten ihmisten psyykkeille?"

Elonet: "Saku Soukan esikoisohjaus Kapina elämän puolesta (2025) on toivoa herättävä dokumenttielokuva Elokapinaliikkeen aktiivisista jäsenistä. Dokumentissa seurataan liikkeen aktivistien elämää sisältäpäin muutaman vuoden ajalta. He laittavat itsensä likoon pyrkien vaikuttamaan metsäkatoon väkivallattoman kansalaistottelemattomuuden keinoin, mikä johtaa kahnauksiin virkavallan kanssa."

AA: The title of Saku Soukka's movie Kapina elämän puolesta means in literal translation "Rebellion for Life". That is also the literal translation of the Elokapina movement, internationally known as Extinction Rebellion. I prefer the Finnish expression. The rebels fight for life.

The matter is of the greatest importance. There has never been anything as important. It is so overwhelming that most prefer to live in denial. Perhaps we all do at least part of the time. 

Our psyche is not equipped to consider the possibility of the end of life on Earth, and so every day we live like there is no tomorrow.

The rebels are violently evicted by the police and brought to trial. Newspapers publish spreads on the trial in which rebels are accused of traffic disturbances. 

The media forgets to mention that what the rebels try to prevent is the crime of crimes, a crime for which no punishment would be enough. In the cases on display in this movie (Stansvik, Aapasuo), there are actually even specific legal statutes of conservation which powers-at-be intentionally hasten to break anyhow to create a fait accompli. The rebels try to prevent the crime, but only the rebels are brought to trial.

Soukka joins a distinguished legacy of Finnish Elokapina relevant movies, including Virpi Suutari's Havumetsän lapset (FI 2024) and the Poikkeustila team's 10 Letters to the Future (FI 2024). An earlier Viiankiaapa movie is Petteri Saario's The Activist (FI 2017), about Riikka Karppinen from Sodankylä. Georg Grotenfelt's The Dissident (FI 2018) is a portrait of Pentti Linkola, the pioneering Finnish ecocatastrophe prophet.

In a larger context, Elokapina belongs to a noble lineage of passive resistance, inspired by Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Cinematic visions include Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, Ava DuVernay's Selma, Terence Malick's A Hidden Life and Ville Suhonen's Ikuiseen rauhaan.

The montage of police violence against peaceful demonstrators is alarming. The great challenge is to stay calm, build momentum and invite everybody. After a slow build-up a wide awakening will take place. I am an optimist.

SOUNDTRACK:

On syy

es. Vimma

säv. Aino Kallio, Pessi Jouste, Kalle Outila

san. Eeva Rajakangas

Huomenna alkaa jälleenrakennus (Kapina-anthem)

es. Elokapinan Kapinaorkesteri

säv. Lukas Kristo

Map and the Territory – Transparency

säv. Eero Pulkkinen, Sunny Seppä / Natural Sciences 2020

Map and the Territory – SOS

säv. Eero Pulkkinen, Sunny Seppä / Natural Sciences 2020

W – Susiovet 5

Säv. Eero Pulkkinen / True Aether 2018

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Elokapina / Extinction Rebellion Finland, Demos Helsinki, Greenpeace.

    Mikko Aaltio, Ivar Sundman, Ella Kiviniemi, Eerika Huilu, Lauri Autere, Tuuli Talvinko, Erkki Koskimäki, Sini Hormio, Viktor Beloff, Joon Tervakari, Janne Laine, Kaapo Kamu, Frans-Anton Flander, Karoliina Tuukkanen, Antti Lempiäinen, Liisa Karpo, Elena El Founti, Aarni Vaarnamo, Kirsi Mattila, Elina Kauppila, Tuomas Haimakainen, Pelle Venetjoki, Vilppu Rantanen, Eliel Kilpelä, Annamaija Hakama, Minka Virtanen, Anna Rombach, Eero Mel, Johannes Heikkilä, Amos Wallgren.

ELOKAPINA DECLARATION:

"The world is burning and everything we love is at stake."

"Elokapina – Extinction Rebellion Finland declares a climate emergency in Finland. We are living in the midst of an accelerating climate collapse and are prepared to act with the seriousness the situation demands. We present four demands to the government, the media, and society as a whole. We use civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action – alongside other democratic means – to bring about the necessary systemic changes in society. We are part of a global movement, Extinction Rebellion, and our activities are based on the movement's shared values and principles."

Richard Attenborough: Gandhi (GB/IN 1982). "They won't step on us if we lie down". Please click on the image to expand it.

Aurinko laskee Lemmenjoella / The Last Misfits by the Golden River

Juho-Pekka Tanskanen: Aurinko laskee Lemmenjoella / The Last Misfits by the Golden River (FI 2025).

Documentary. 

    FI © 2025 Danish Bear Productions. P: Isabella Karhu. Co-P: Dirk Manthev.

    D+SC+DP: Juho-Pekka Tanskanen. M: Erik Michelsen. S: Janis Grossmann-Alhambra. ED: Markus Leppälä.

    Soundtrack: "Les Feuilles mortes" comp. Joseph Kosma. "Onni jonka annoin pois" comp. Toivo Kärki, lyr. Reino Helismaa. "Sulle salaisuuden kertoa mä voisin", comp. George de Godzinsky, lyr. Eine Laine. "Konzert f-Moll" BWV 1056, comp. J. S. Bach. "Kun kukkii kirsikkapuut" comp. Pentti Viherluoto, lyr. Aimo & Kaarlo Viherluoto. "Tähdet kertovat" comp. Toivo Kärki, lyr. Reino Helismaa. "Konzert für Oboe und Orchester d-Moll (Marcello)" BWV 974, arr. J. S. Bach. "Le Cygne" comp. Camille Saint-Saëns.

    Featuring: Nils-Emil Kalla, Raimo Kanamäki, Kai J. Rantanen, Anne-Marie Kalla, Pekka Itkonen, Pirjo Lainesalo.

    Loc: Lemmenjoki, Lemmenjoki National Park, northern part of Finnish Lapland.

    80 min

    Premiere: 4 April 2025 – distributor: Pirkanmaan elokuvakeskus.

    2026 Jussi Awards Nominee: Best Documentary.

    Vimeo link for Jussi Awards viewed at home in Paris, 25 Feb 2026

OFFICIAL SUMMARY: "Aurinko laskee Lemmenjoella on elokuva sukupolvien välisistä kuiluista, maan syvyyksistä ja maailmojen loppumisesta. Elokuva seuraa viimeisiä Lapin erämaassa eläviä ja työskenteleviä kullankaivajia."

"Aurinko laskee Lemmenjoella seuraa kullankaivajayhteisön elämää kaukaisessa Lapin erämaassa teiden ja puhelinverkkojen tuolla puolen. Elokuvan keskiössä ovat yhteisön nuorin Nils-Emil ja vanhin jäsen Rami – he ovat osa menneisyyttä ja nykyisyyttä, jotka ovat samanaikaisesti olemassa erämaassa. Kaikki elävät elämäänsä aivan kuten ennenkin: etsien kultaa, pelaten korttia ja golfia, kunnes hiljaiselon rikkoo kaivoslaki, joka uhkaa lopettaa kullankaivun alueella. Tämä heilauttaa heidän elämänsä uuteen, tuntemattomaan suuntaan."

"Maalauksellinen, katkeransuloinen, universaali ja vinksahtanutta huumoriakin sisältävä elokuva seuraa näitä ihmisiä ison muutoksen keskellä. Muutos on läsnä niin uuden sukupolven ajatuksissa, maaperässä itsessään kuin kaivajien elämäntavan mahdollisessa päättymisessäkin." 

 AA: The name of Juho-Pekka Tanskanen's Aurinko laskee Lemmenjoella means in direct translation "Sunset at Lemmenjoki". Lemmenjoki is in the far north, north of Lake Inari, 300 kilometers to the north from the Polar Circle. The name "Lemmenjoki" is today interpreted as "the River of Love", which sounds great but is not the original meaning. Neither is "Golden River", but it would be accurate because in its tributary Morgamoja gold has been found.

The record of the last gold-diggers is blatantly undramatic. Nothing happens, everything ends, like in a Chekhov play, only even less impressively. Legislation is changing, there is no legal future for classic gold panning, and the professional equipment is gradually cleared away. Rides are taken in all-terrain vehicles (ATV's, in Finnish mönkijä) and motorboats. The sauna is heated, golf is being played, fishing is pursued in every season.

But like in all (great) Lapland films, we enter a world of transcendence. The light itself conveys grandeur. The purest air in Europe enables a view to infinity. The horizon looks different, everything is more radiant in a subtle way. Every film-maker and cinematographer registers this in Lapland.

The spectacle consists of rainbows, drizzling rain, gorgeous skies, daunting clouds, swinging weathercocks, ravishing riversides and car rides in the darkest night.

There is a home movie approach, but the high intensity in the vision of the air, the light and the colours elevates the movie towards the divine.

Watching the movie I was reminiscing the director-cinematographer Virke Lehtinen (1940–2022), the avid Lapland goer who devoted to his favourite landscapes a cycle of films including Poro, Margaritana, Muurahaispolku, Kolme miestä and Morsiuskivi.

Rörelser | Liikheitä | Valitut (Raptures)

 

Jon Blåhed: Rörelser | Liikheitä | Valitut (Raptures, SE/FI 2025).Jakob Öhrman (Teodor), Jessica Grabowsky (Rakel).

Jon Blåhed: Rörelser | Liikheitä | Valitut (Raptures, SE/FI 2025). Main title. My screenshot from Vimeo.

Rörelser (svensk titel)

Liikheitä (meänkielinen nimi)

Valitut (suomalainen nimi)

Raptures (English title)

    SE/FI © 2025 Iris Film AB, Oy Rabbit Films Ltd, Filmpool Nord AB och SVT AB (Sveriges Television). P: Andreas Emanuelsson, Tony Österholm (Iris Film).

    D+SC: Jon Blåhed. DP: Mimmo Hildén – colour – scope – release format: DCP. PD : Okku Rahikainen. Cost: Viktoria Mattila. Makeup: Saara Räisänen. VFX: Dupp Film. M: Rebekka Karijord. S: Christoffer Demby. ED: Nina Ijäs.

    CAST:

Jessica Grabowsky / Rakel

Jakob Öhrman / Teodor

Maria Issakainen / Elsa

Samuli Niittymäki / Toivo Korpela

Alma Pöysti / Lisa

Anton Raukola / Anton

Saaga Salo / Ebba

Julius Karjalainen / Antonin ja Lisan poika

Isak Rantatalo / Antonin ja Lisan poika

Elina Knihtilä / Tyra Viola

Hannu-Pekka Björkman / Karl

Eevi Mäkinen / Tyra Violan tytär

Ellen Hölttä / Tyra Violan tytär

Rebekka Baer / Jorinda

Hannes Suominen / Valdemar

Erling Fredriksson / vanhin tukkimies

Jakob Granqvist / tukkimies Sixten

Adam Huuva / tukkimies Paulus

Markus Krunegård / tukkimies Markus

Alex Laine / tukkimies Lennart

Andreas Kundler / koulutarkastaja Werner

Tom Blåhed / pappi

Sampo Sarkola / Hannes

Dag Malmberg / rotubiologi Herman

Emil Gustavsson / valokuvaaja Nils

Elle Lind / tyttö koulussa

Jonas Öhman / toimittaja

Antti Saarikallio / talonmies Kiirunassa

Kalle Manner / poliisi Kiirunassa

Sakari Kuosmanen / Rakelin isä

Kati Outinen / Rakelin äiti

Aimo Jolanki / mies perunapellolla

Isabella Aikio-Hite / nuori korpelalainen

Ingemar Raukola / tulkki

Bengt Braskered / viskaali Georg

Lenni Koski / Jorindan lapsi

Albin Grenholm / poliisin ääni

    Loc: Suvanto, Pelkosenniemi (Finnish Lapland).

    Languages: Meänkieli, Swedish, Finnish. 

    Subtitles: Finnish, Swedish, English.

    110 min    

    Genre: period draama, religious drama.

    Swedish distributor: TriArt Film.

    Nordic distributor: Scandinavian Film Distribution.

    International distributor: Picture Tree International GmbH.

    International Film Festival Rotterdam, Rotterdam 2025: Big Screen main prize.

    Guldbagge 2026: best female lead: Jessica Grabowsky; best score: Rebekka Karijord.

    Finnish premiere: 21 March 2025 – released by B-Plan Distribution Oy.

    Swedish premiere: 2 May 2025. 

    2026 Jussi Awards Nominee: Best Film, Best Performance in a Leading Role (Jessica Grabowsky), Best Score, Best Design.

    Vimeo link for Jussi Awards viewed at home in Paris, 25 Feb 2026

JON BLÅHED: A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR: “Tornionlaaksossa kasvaneena papin poikana minua ovat aina kiehtoneet korpelalaisuus ja paikallisen lahkon taustalla toimineet mekanismit. Elokuvan päähenkilö Rakel muistuttaa monella tapaa ankaran uskonnollista lestadiolaista isoäitiäni. Rakelin tekemät valinnat saattavat nykymaailmassa tuntua vaikeilta ymmärtää, mutta hänen toimintansa perustuu 1930-luvun tositapahtumiin. Vaikka tämä tarina juontaa juurensa menneeseen, kokevat naiset vielä tänäkin päivänä sortoa, joka saattaa pohjautua uskonnon kieroutuneisiin tulkintoihin. Valitut on ensimmäinen meänkielinen pitkä elokuva. Meänkieli on yksi Ruotsin viidestä virallisesta vähemmistökielestä, ja sitä puhutaan lähellä Suomen rajaa. Suomessa meänkieltä pidetään murteena, ja ennen kuvauksia suomenkieliset näyttelijät harjoittelivat meänkieltä kuukausien ajan."

"Tuotanto toteutettiin poikkeuksellisen tiiviinä yhteistyönä Ruotsin ja Suomen välillä, ja se nosti hyvin esille maidemme yhteistä historiaa. Valitut kuvattiin pääosin Suomen puolella läheisessä yhteistyössä suomalaisen tuotantoyhtiö Rabbit Filmsin ja tuottaja Tiina Pesosen kanssa. Myös suurin osa elokuvan näyttelijöistä ja työryhmästä koostuu suomalaisista."

"Olen halunnut kertoa tämän tarinan jo pitkään, ja elokuvan kautta sain ainutlaatuisen tilaisuuden työskennellä isovanhempieni kielen parissa ja kertoa tämän kiehtovan tarinan, josta olen kuullut kuiskuteltavan ihan pikkupojasta saakka. Valittujen tarina perustuu uskomattomiin tositapahtumiin ja käsittelee aiheita, joiden uskon vetoavan moniin katsojiin taustaan katsomatta.” — Jon Blåhed

AA: Jon Blåhed's Raptures is the first feature-length Meänkieli movie. Meänkieli is a Fennic language spoken in Swedish Lapland by the Finnish border.

The action takes place in a Laestadian community. Still thriving, Laestadianism has been the biggest pietistic revivalist movement in the Nordic countries.

The focus is on an aberration: the Korpela movement, an apocalyptic and orgiastic sect led by Toivo Korpela from 1928 till 1934. After his departure, new leaders such as this movie's Teodor, kept it going. A plausible real life model for Teodor is Sigurd Siikavaara.

The initial belief was that a flying ark would bring true believers to Palestine for the Second Coming of Christ and the Apocalypse. When the physical ark failed to materialize, it was replaced by the spirit of Jesus Christ. The basis of the faith was an old Bible translation. The new Bible was rejected and copies of it physically torn apart en masse as abominations.

Blåhed stages startling scenes of religious hysteria and ecstatic dancing. The orgiastic aspect seems to mean exclusively that all women are at Teodor's disposal in his alcoholic and psychotic rampages. He commits everything in the open, bringing untold shame to his wife Rakel and daughter Elsa. When minors are abused, the police appears and arrests dozens of true believers.

Jakob Öhrman plays the role of the charismatic and lunatic preacher with abandon, inviting comparisons in Nordic cinema to film adaptations of Selma Lagerlöf's Jerusalem, the revivalist preacher Helgum played with electrifying power by Conrad Veidt in Gustaf Molander's Ingmarsarvet (SE 1925) and Sven-Bertil Taube in Bille August's Jerusalem (SE 1996).

As for Lars Levi Laestadius himself, Michael Nyqvist gave a formidable interpretation in Nils Gaup's The Kautokeino Rebellion (DK/NO/SE 2007). 

Finns have not been lazy on this front, either. Rauni Mollberg covered religious ecstasy in The Earth Is a Sinful Song (FI 1973). More recently, Zaida Bergroth has been busy with the true story of Maria Åkerblom in Maria's Paradise (FI 2019).

The subject is far from being a historical curiosity. Apocalyptic Evangelicalism, including televangelicalism, is fueling record-breaking populist movements involving presidents from Brazil to the United States and beyond. Ecstasy and charisma bypass rational thought. We are living like there is no tomorrow – and thereby merely following the prophecy of the Apocalypse. It is the end of the world, but Jesus saves us in the next one.

The counterweight in Blåhed's movie is Rakel (Jessica Grabowsky) who finally liberates herself from the pseudo-religious mumbo-jumbo. She speaks out and throws out those who try to revive the movement after Jacob has been taken to a mental hospital.

Grabowsky interprets her role with subtle nuances of silent suffering until the hour of freedom brings true catharsis.

I love the cinematography of Mimmo Hildén, bringing out the luminous splendour of the Northern light in four seasons. I like her sophisticated definition of colour. I am always the biggest fan of aerial and drone cinematography, and in this movie even more than usually. It has the symbolic weight of an eagle's eye view. And God's. God is absent from the quasi-religious abomination, but S/he is present in the cinematic vision.

The stunning, abrupt finale is a shot of a formation of bomber planes over the sublime Lapland landscape. The perspective of the Apocalypse is no longer an idle phrase. The longing for salvation in the 1930s appears as a reaction to the real agony in the years of the Great Depression and the rise of Fascism. 

Among the themes is Nordic colonialism against indigenous minorities of the ancient Sami tribes and the more recent minority of Meänmaa. The racist attitudes of the authorities share unhappy affinities with Nazism.

I make a note that this is another Nordic film with a lumberjack motif.