Orenda, Sudden Outbursts of Emotions and other Finnish films in Göteborg
The new film from Pirjo Honkasalo travels to Göteborg’s competition straight from Rotterdam. The Swedish festival takes place Jan 24 – Feb 2, 2025.
Image: Orenda, Max Smeds / Bufo
Update Jan 14: added information about the film In My Hand.
Orenda, written by Pirkko Saisio and directed by Pirjo Honkasalo, is the only Finnish film in Göteborg’s Nordic Competition. Its world premiere is in IFF Rotterdam which shares its timing with the Swedish festival. The main award of the Nordic Competition is 400,000 SEK (approx. 38,000 euros). Orenda is produced by Bufo.
The story of Orenda unravels on a small lighthouse island in a remote archipelago, where two women (Alma Pöysti and Pirkko Saisio) and their mutual past is about to collide. The women offer each other both guilt and redemption, all bound by love, faith, and violence. Orenda is Honkasalo’s fifth feature fiction film in theatrical distribution. Honkasalo is also known for her documentary films such as Ito – A Diary of an Urban Priest (2010), The 3 Rooms of Melancholia (2004) and Atman (1997).
Two minority co-productions in competition
Kevlar Soul
Production company Bufo has another feature in the Nordic Competition, minority co-production Kevlar Soul. Finnish Film Foundation has supported the production of the Swedish film directed by Maria Eriksson-Hecht. The film tells the story of two brothers who have a magnetic relationship.
Another minority co-production supported by the Foundation is in the Nordic Documentary Competition. The Swedish film Ultras, directed by Ragnhild Eker, focuses on hardcore fan culture in sports around the world. The Finnish co-production company is Wacky Tie Films.
In other sections
The Nordic Light section of the festival features the world premiere of Sudden Outbursts of Emotions, the debut feature from writer-director Paula Korva. It is a dramedy about the complexities of modern love and mid-life crises. The film is produced by Yellow Film & TV.
Sudden Outbursts of Emotions / Yellow Film & TV
Never Alone, the new film from Klaus Härö which premiered in Tallinn Black Nights, is also in the Nordic Light section. The film celebrated its North American premiere in early January in the Modern Masters section of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
The Silent Trilogy, by Juho Kuosmanen, will be screened with live music from Ykspihlajan kino-orkesteri in Stora Teatern. Folkets bio will distribute the short film compilation in Sweden. World sales are handled by Totem Films.
A minority co-production in the Nordic Light is Quiet Life by Alexandros Avranas. The film, which premiered in Venice last fall, is co-produced by Finland’s Making Movies.
Virpi Suutari‘s Once Upon a Time in a Forest has its Swedish premiere in the Focus: Disobedience section. The documentary film about environmental activists has traveled to around 50 festivals since its premiere last spring at CPH:DOX.
Screening in the same thematic section, In My Hand by Liselotte Wajstedt and Marja Helander is a Swedish-Finnish co-production. The hybrid documentary film tells about Niillas Somby and the Sámi peoples’ fight for their rights. The Finnish co-producer is Sons of Lumière.
Nordic Series Award Nominee
Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Göteborg Film Festival hand out annually The Nordic Series Award. Each Nordic country has a nominee. This year, the Finnish candidate is Jemina Jokisalo with Money Shot, a series written for Elisa Viihde.