Ei kukaan ole saari / No Man Is an Island (dvd)

Sonja Lindén: Ei kukaan ole saari / No Man Is an Island (FI 2006). Krister Lindén.

FI © 2006 Screenday Films. P+D: Sonja Lindén. DP: Peter Flinckenberg – shot on 16 mm – screening materials digital. M: Mahler, jazz. Loc: Saimaa. 40 min. Dvd (available also in English) viewed at home, Helsinki, 1 Dec 2008. – A masterpiece. – Four seasons during the last year of an old man's life. He lives alone with the cat Eino on an island at lake Saimaa, fully equipped, in daily telephone contact with his wife who is at hospital. He prepares to die, leaving humoristic instructions about everything, even preparing his coffin. In the last image he rows away into the lake and vanishes into the mist. – Beautifully shot, with full command of the natural light, fine scenes of nature, interesting close-ups, nothing fancy, just the mastery of simplicity. – Fine views of nature are challenging in this digital transitional age, but here they look good even on dvd and did on Digibeta projection at Orion, where I saw half of this two weeks ago.

FILM-MAKING AS A SMALL ENTERPRISE (SEMINAR)

Elokuvan pienyrittäjyys -seminaari. Organized by the cultural cooperative Kronoptikon / Martti-Tapio Kuuskoski. At Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 22 Nov 2008.
Mr. Martti-Tapio Kuuskoski, moderator
Mr. Anssi Mänttäri, film director and producer
Mr. Rostislav Aalto, film director and producer
Ms. Sonja Lindén, film director and producer
Mr. Aku Alanen, economist, researcher
An interesting three and a half hours on film-making as a small enterprise. 95% of the Finnish film companies are small enterprises. Mr. Aalto commented that until the 1990s Finnish documentaries were internationally highly regarded, but now since the financers no longer support 35mm, the visual quality is down, except Pirjo Honkasalo. Excerpts included:
Mongolialainen iltapäivä [A Mongolian Afternoon]. FI 2008. D: Rostislav Aalto. The sequence of the slaughter of a lamb.
Ei kukaan ole saari [No Man Is an Island]. FI 2006. D: Sonja Lindén. Shot on S-16mm, projected on Digibeta. The last 20 min of the 40 min film. My first encounter with the work of Sonja Lindén, I was impressed by the feeling for nature (Saimaa?) and the theme of the old man (her father) facing imminent death.