Susan's Writings

Finnish film industry professionals gather on the 1st of February for the Jussi Awards, the annual celebration of the best in Finnish film.

THE WINNERS of the Jussi Awards (the Finnish equivalent of the Oscars) will be announced at the Kaapelitehdas in Helsinki on 1 February. The Jussi prize was founded by the Film Journalists’ Association and first awarded on 16th November 1944, earning it the title of Europe’s oldest film award.

Jussi nominees are selected by members of Aura Film, the Association of Finnish Film Professionals and by secret ballot. The Jussi Awards cover 14 categories: best film, best director, best actress in a leading role, best actor in a leading role, best actress in a supporting role, best actor in a supporting role, best script, best cinematography, best music, best editing, best sound design, best set design, best costume design and best documentary.

The highest amount of nominations went to The Home of Dark Butterflies/Tummien perhosten koti (10 nominations), Sauna (7 nominations) and Falling Angels/Putoavia enkeleitä (4 nominations).

My bet for best script would be Three in Love (Kolmistaan), directed by Peter Lindholm. The Jussi for best direction could well go to Mika Kaurismäki for Three Wise Men (Kolme viisasta miestä). As for best film, I would go for The Home of Dark Butterflies, the story of a troubled teen and his journey discovering inner-strength and self-acceptance.

SUSAN FOURTANE – HT

Tatu Hiltunen, View (videostill), 2007.

TATU HILTUNEN’S solo video exhibition Jamais Vu (never seen), often described as the opposite of déjà vu, deals with man in the modern world and his flirtation with art history, nature, society and the feeling of being confined in an open cage.

Action, movement and speed are all trademarks in the artist’s works. Hiltunen discovers and experiments new options for his works while toying with stop-motion animation and frame slowing, the two video techniques he combines with still photographs.

In the animations, Hiltunen is the main character representing the human civilisation of our time. In his work View, we can see how he exposes humanity, science and culture. Being naked symbolises being exposed in the open wild from the position of society. We witness nature and civilisation being divided by a fence, which represents the barrier human beings create themselves.

The exhibition is an exposé of the real human being, free from the cultural influence, a reunion with his true nature and his inner self. It makes us wonder if we are prisoners in our own civilised jail; encapsulated by social rules and laws. It is a journey to consciousness for those interested in exploring a view of humankind. What happens when we do not act in the way society has programmed us?

The viewer can enjoy the works by simply seeing a funny guy doing a boggy dance in his underwear in snowy Lapland during winter; or he can have deeper thoughts about humanity, his relationship with nature, society and himself. “The possibility of people having different views and reactions when seeing my art work makes me happy,” said Hiltunen of his work.

SUSAN FOURTANE – HT
Tatu Hiltunen – Image

French choreographer Latifa Laâbissi’s solo Self Portrait Camouflage can be seen at the Side Step festival. Nadia Lauro

Zodiak – Center for New Dance has prepared a versatile programme of the most interesting artists and trends in contemporary dance for spring 2009.

Zodiak begins its new season in January with Eeva Muilu, one of Finland’s young choreographers, who returns to the centre for three performances with her recent work Something is Somewhere. Her thought-provoking work, featuring five elderly people and one young dance artist, questions age, performing and the performing arts. It creates a unique possibility of dialogue between different ways of thinking and bodily existence.

The seventh international Side Step Festival’s theme of this year is “Choreographic Dreams of the 21st Century”. Organised by Zodiak, it focuses on social choreography, a cultural interplay based on the interconnectedness of art, creativity and social reality. The festival consists of international performances, performance lectures, artist dialogues, workshops and various performance events.

Side Step 2009 also includes interesting workshops on Social Dreaming by renowned group analyst Gordon Lawrence. Social Dreaming is a methodology that seeks to explore the unconscious dimensions of the social world through the sharing of dreams.

Susan Fourtane – HT

Zodiak:
Tallberginkatu 1, Helsinki
www.zodiak.fi
Eeva Muilu:
Cable Factory’s Pannuhalli from 29 Jan-1 Feb

Side Step Festival:
Cable Factory
from 30 Jan-8 Feb
www.sidestep.fi
Festival pass €40