Matka minuksi / Becoming Me

FI 2014. Documentary. PC: Avanton Productions. P: Sonja Lindén. D: Mina Laamo. DP: Päivi Kettunen, Tuomo Hutri. ED: Tuuli Kuittinen. S: Janne Laine. M: Karl Frid & Pär Frid. 75 min
    2K DCP. In Finnish with English subtitles by Jukka Sorsa.
    Tampere Film Festival, Thursday, 5 March 2015

The producer's motto: "Avanton Productions produces creative documentaries, which observe humanity and the world around us with a personal and sensitive touch."

Avanton Productions synopsis: "Becoming Me follows three young women who are struggling with the real and imagined demands and pressures of today’s society. The film is a journey from alienation towards the slow process of accepting yourself, reaching out for others and trying to find the lost feeling of belonging."

DocPoint introduction: "Three young women from different parts of Finland all have blogs where to share a specific part of their lives. Behind the screen they drift between their own thoughts and feelings and the expectations of the outside world."

"Elli has quit her blog because it idealised eating disorders. She believes that the blog dragged her even deeper into her illness. She has gradually overcome her eating disorder but mentally she is still unstable."

"Juulia does not simply drink her coffee but asks her mother to take a picture of the occasion first. Under the colourful shell is a business administration student who would rather avoid social situations. Her job is to produce pictorials of beautiful clothes and get buried under piles of makeup. It is interesting to see how one of the most renowned fashion bloggers in Finland describes the commercial cooperation of blogs and businesses."

"Laura who struggles with self-loath becomes anxious as she tries to eat healthy, ethically and ecologically. She hopes that everything will get better when she finally moves to Japan."

"This stylishly filmed documentary follows these three women as the seasons change, when everything seems close to crashing down and new hope rises. It reaches deep without becoming voyeurism." Aino Salonen / Translation: Anniina Hautakoski. DocPoint 2015

AA: Mina Laamo is on a journey to almost inaccessible layers of the human mind, delicate and fragile processes of shaping one's identity.

One of the fundamental changes of documentary film-making has been the one in attitudes to privacy. We talk about "the end of privacy" in discussing ubiquitous cyber surveillance such as documented in Citizenfour.

But this is also an age of a voluntary end of privacy, people revealing almost everything about their private lives on the internet. The three blogger protagonists of Becoming Me, Elli, Laura, and Juulia, discuss fashion, anorexia, and food, as means in their quest for identity.
 "I have often heard that one is a heap of diagnoses. [Disapproving chuckle.] [They call me] 'Diagnosis Elli'". "I function at the level of 56 [out of 100]." Three candles are burning: HOPE - LOVE - JOY.

There are original insights here about cyberworld and the popularity of self-portraits on the net. But Becoming Me is not a film about the internet, it is a film about the three young female protagonists. The intimacy is astonishing. There is even therapy session footage. No actress could be more impressive. The current generation has learned to portray self naturally in a documentary film. In the history of the documentary film that has been exceptional during previous generations. An element of narcissism may be involved, but there is more.

As is characteristic for Avanton productions, the film is visually ravishing. Päivi Kettunen and Tuomo Hutri are to be congratulated for the delicious cinematography. The film deals with depression, among other things, and the light and joy of the visuals are an essential counterweight. Life is beautiful, if we can only learn to make the most of it.

FILMIKAMARI PRESS INFORMATION BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK
FILMIKAMARI PRESS INFORMATION BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK

Pirkanmaan elokuvakeskus
MATKA MINUKSI
Ensi-ilta:     24.04.2015
Pituus:     75min.
Ikäraja:     -K12-
Ohjaus: Mina Laamo
Käsikirjoitus: Mina Laamo
Kuvaus: Päivi Kettunen ja Tuomo Hutri F.S.C
Leikkaus: Tuuli Kuittinen
Ääni: Janne Laine
Musiikki: Frid & Frid
Tuotanto: Avanton Productions Oy/ Sonja Lindén
Levitys: Pirkanmaan elokuvakeskus/Juha Elomäki

MATKA MINUKSI -dokumenttielokuva seuraa kolmea nuorta naista, joita yhdistävät omasta elämästä kertovat blogit sekä kamppailu itsen ja nyky-yhteiskunnan vaatimusten kanssa. Kuinka päästää irti epäonnistumisen pelosta ja kontrollista, ja löytää tie kohti oman epätäydellisyyden hyväksymistä?

MATKA MINUKSI on elokuva Juuliasta, Laurasta ja Ellistä, jotka pitävät omasta elämästä kertovia muoti-, masennus- ja pro-anoreksia-blogeja internetissä. Verkossa luotu kuvitteellinen minäkuva on pakoa arjen ahdistavuudesta. Päähenkilöiden sulkeutuneissa maailmoissa vallitsevat itsekontrolli, liian suuret itselle asetetut vaatimukset sekä itseinho. Onnellisuus ja itsen hyväksyminen alkaa vasta kun he uskaltavat päästää irti kontrollista, menneisyydestä ja täydellisyyden illuusiosta.

Nuorten naisten pahoinvointi jää usein piiloon, vaikka he tekevät itsemurhia Suomessa enemmän kuin missään muualla Euroopassa, ja neljänneksi eniten koko maailmassa. Tyttöjen ja nuorten naisten pitämät muoti- ja syömishäiriöblogit lisääntyvät jatkuvasti. Nuoret naiset ovat tietoisempia kuin koskaan siitä miltä he itse ja heidän elämänsä näyttävät ulospäin. Onko siitä tullut jo tärkeämpää kuin elämän omakohtaisesta kokemisesta? Mikä saa nuoret naiset olemaan niin armottomia itselleen? Voisiko onni loppujen lopuksi löytyä arjesta?