Finnish Gems

Heta Jokinen:

Drawn in Water

Finland, 2025. 15 minutes.

We want to belong to families but how can you define one? Film is pondering the difficulty of defining things and at the same time demands to find the answers. The world around and inner dialogue meets in a fragile cutout world and in tactility of clay.

NanTung Lin:

The Peel
(褪皮 以及露出來的)

Taiwan, 2025. 6 minutes.

Niina Suominen:

Diabolus ex Machina

Finland, 2024. 8 minutes.

When the capabilities of technology are pushed over the limits, beautiful devils come out. Image sequences focused on white screens of consumer electronics were shot with handheld camera. Experimental piece made in the spirit of concretism and avantgarde animation.

Anni Sairio, Joonatan Turkki:

Speeding, of Course
(Vauhtipyräys)

Finland, 2025. 4 minutes.

70-year-old Timo makes the most of his short ride to work. Speeding up on a bicycle ends up in a ditch, but the adrenaline rush leaves a feeling of pleasure. The short film Speeding, Of Course combines documentary interview material, wild sound design, and exhilarating cutout animation playing with shapes into a joyful story about the charm of speed. The story offers the viewer a reminder of the simple joys of everyday life and the importance of taking pleasure in the small moments amid the ordinary days. Timo’s bicycle joyride inspires playfulness throughout life.

Jenny Jokela:

Dollhouse Elephant

Finland, 2025. 11 minutes.

In a world that demands community participation, individual desires inevitably collide. A group of neighbours, each focused on their own goals, must learn to communicate and consider one another. But when small, everyday actions trigger unexpected consequences, they are forced into interactions that challenge their independence.

Lau Rämö:

Contact

Finland, 2025. 8 minutes.

A pile of pictures from the sky appear on a phone that has been left outside. Elsewhere, slime trails shimmer in the fading evening. The animation, which progresses at the pace of a telephone conversation, deals with communication, wonder and the intersection of diverse lives.

Sanna Taikina:

Sauna People
(Saunojat)

Finland, 2024. 5 minutes.

A story about acceptance and cooperation. Clashing customs lead to disagreements, but a shared struggle, fueled by potatoes and a storm, brings understanding.

Tata Managadze:

Lights, Haze

Belgium, Finland, Georgia, Portugal, 2024. 8 minutes.

Utopian symbolic playgrounds from memories are interconnected through sharp, flickering lights. Description: Lights, Haze is a poetic documentary that explores the ambivalence of memory through the real locations on the outskirts of Tbilisi. The film uses light as a central symbolic element to express the complexity of these reflections. Crafted with a blend of 2D frame-by-frame animation—both digital and analogue—the film weaves in a cyanotype sequence, where frames were printed using real light, adding an experimental and dreamlike quality to the narrative. The film emphasizes extreme subjectivity within the genre of animated documentary.

Hanneriina Moisseinen:

Photographs Not Taken
(Valokuvat, joita ei otettu)

Finland, 2025. 11 minutes.

Photographs Not Taken highlights the intergenerational chain from a female perspective. At the same time, the animation explores the invisible in history: shame, power relations and insecurity in 19th century Finland.

Veera Lamminpää:

Fish River Anthology
(Mereneläviä)

Finland, 2024. 10 minutes.

The supermarket is nearing its closing time, and the last customers are queuing for their turn at the fish counter. The agonizing wait offers a chance for existential reflection and a little song.