TURKU FESTIVAL OF FINNISH FILM 9-10 APRIL

The Turku Festival of Finnish Film took place 7-10 April at Cinema Domino. I got there on Saturday morning, 9 April. Memorable besides the events registered in the entries below:
1. VEIKKO AALTONEN presented his documentary film Työväenluokka (Arbetarklassen / The Working Class, 2004), part of his trilogy also including Maa (Jorden / Earth, 2001 - on farmers), and Paimenet (Herdarna, The Shepherds, 2005, on priests).
2. RAUNI MOLLBERG, VEIKKO AALTONEN, TUOMO KATTILAKOSKI at lunch at the Musta Rudolf restaurant by the Aurajoki river.
3. RAUNI MOLLBERG presented his television mini-series Siunattu hulluus (Välsignade galenskapen / Blessed Madness, 1975). In his ambitious tv drama productions Mollberg is at his best. This one was shown as a video projection.
4. KYLLIKKI FORSSELL, at 80, was in great form. In her first presentation she reminisced about her early years in the film industry, her participation in the 1960s new wave, and her work with Kaisa Rastimo. Her second presentation was about her theatre career. "There is no actor in Finland who cannot imitate Edvin Laine", she said. There were at the Finnish National Theatre the actors "belonging" to Kivimäki, Witikka, Ilmari, or Laine. She belonged to the Laine actors. Laine wanted to build actors by giving them different and ambitious roles. Forssell was one of the first to wear jeans in the 1950s. "Herra Jumala tuota Kyllikkiä kun se kulkee noin kireissä housuissa" ("My God, how that Kyllikki is wearing such tight pants"): this is where we heard Forssell do her Edvin Laine imitation. At Svenska Teatern, the Swedish Theatre of Helsinki, Forssell was asked to play in Gustaf III by Strindberg. As it turned out that she was offered the title role she asked to think it over. She studied the character, and the next day she said yes: "It turned out we have one thing in common: we both like boys".
5. VEIKKO AALTONEN presented Milka (1980), a film ahead of its time, he said, modern in its means. There were two trailers before the screening:
6. MAA ON SYNTINEN LAULU TRAILER (Jorden är en syndfull sång trailer / The Earth Is a Sinful Song trailer, 1973)
7. TUNTEMATON SOTILAS TRAILER (Okänd soldat trailer / The Unknown Soldier trailer, 1985)
8. LENI KATAJAKOSKI presented Kaks' tavallista Lahtista (Två vanliga killar / Two Ordinary Guys, 1960). She was a bright young blonde in the films of the 1950s and the 1960s. Found at a beauty contest, she came to the movies. "There were many funny incidents, which I cannot repeat here". Later she was 20 years an actress at the Seinäjoki Theatre, "which had a good ensemble", and she got to act the full range of different roles. Many of her films she now considers plain stupid.
9. OLLI SOINIO, TUOMO KATTILAKOSKI, and MATTI KUORTTI at lunch at the Bossa restaurant next to the Market Square. We discussed the various release versions of Mollberg's The Unknown Soldier.
10. TUNTEMATON SOTILAS TRAILER (Okänd soldat trailer / The Unknown Soldier trailer, 1956) 4 min - the trailer produced after the 1956 Berlin Film Festival, including some of its footage, many memorable scenes from the film for comparison with Mollberg's film