Fear Beyond the Wall (seminar)

In memory of the 60th anniversary of the deportations in the Baltic countries and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall.
Organized by the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Embassies together with National Audiovisual Archive, WSOY, Sofi Oksanen, and Imbi Paju.
At Cinema Orion, 17.00-21.00
Moderator: Ms. Iivi Anna Masso

GREETINGS
Ms. Merle Pajula, Ambassador of Estonia
Mr. Einars Semanias, Ambassador of Latvia
Ms. Halina Kobeckaité, Ambassador of Lithuania
Ms. Anna Zigure, author, ex-Ambassador of Latvia

ADDRESSES
Mr. Toomas Hiio (International Commission of History, Estonia): Management of the Past in Estonia by Historical Research
Mr. Martin Arpo (Security Police, Estonia, ex-researcher of war crimes and crimes against humanity): Deportations as a Crime Against Humanity
Prof. Seppo Zetterberg: The Estonian Historiography from the Viewpoint of a Finnish Researcher

INTERVIEW
Mmes Imbi Paju and Sofi Oksanen, editors of the anthology book Kaiken takana oli pelko (Fear Was Beyond Everything, WSOY 2009) interviewed by Iivi Anna Masso

PRESENTATION
AA: Gulag and the Cinema - the Fear Beyond the Wall retrospective [the first retrospective in Finland on the theme, curated by Sofi Oksanen and Imbi Paju]

MUSICAL EVENT
the original presentation of
Jüri Reinvere: Requiem
presented by the Scotch flautist Richard Craig and four singers from the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
combined with a film on Digibeta by Catherine Jarvis, compiled from rare Estonian footage from 1911-1945
text written by Jüri Reinvere, recited by Catherine Jarvis

The cinema was packed, the atmosphere was calm and intensive, and there had already been the book presentation two hours earlier at the Mediatori at Sanomatalo. - There was great media attention, but, alas, half of it was devoted to a bizarre demonstration of a group of 15 (misled to believe that the film The Soviet Story was being shown).

Myrsky

Stormen / Stormheart. FI (c) 2008 Stormheart. D: Kaisa Rastimo. SC: Rastimo, Marko Rauhala - based on an idea by Rauhala. DP: Tuomo Virtanen - digital intermediate - 35mm film print. M: J.S. Bach: Cantata 147 part 10; Pelle Miljoona. LOC: Hämeenlinna. Starring Ronja Arvilommi (Muru), Laura Malmivaara (mother), Janne Virtanen (father), Sara Tammela (Minttu), Antti Väre (Romppu). In Finnish, some scenes in German and Russian, with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Markus Karjalainen. [After the relentless onslaught of several previews of forthcoming digital animations I was already exhausted.] Released by Buena Vista International Finland. Viewed at Kinopalatsi 1, Helsinki, 16 August 2008. - The digital intermediate look partly disappointing. - A strong and original idea for a film about childhood. In 1989, as the Berlin Wall falls, thousands of Caucasian Shepherd Dogs are executed, but one little puppy is rescued into a Finnish family. Called Storm, it becomes the pet of the little daughter Muru. But as it grows into its full size, following its nature, it obeys only Muru and becomes the menace of everybody else. - The connections between the family world and the world of history are effective, with scenes in the beginning in Berlin, and the ovcharka scenes towards the end in the Caucasus. - In the most startling scene of the film, the family home becomes a mini-East-Berlin, with little Muru as the guard in front of the Wall, complete with an East German military cap. - There are two excellent films to compare with: Cujo, based on the novel by Stephen King (the car siege is included also here), and The White Dog directed by Sam Fuller, where the young girl also faces the shocking truth about a dog bred to kill. Kaisa Rastimo does very well in the comparison. - "Good night, all dead animals of the world".