Nordic Shorts 4: Conjuring the Past

The search for traces gone by leads to uncertain realms. The ambivalence of bringing profound trauma to the surface in order to grow from it, or to discover that something you suspected never really was. Modern Speed Norway 2023, 17 min., norw. ov, engl. st R: Mats Christian Rude Halvorsen B: Mats Christian Rude Halvorsen K: Mats Christian Rude Halvorsen, Carl August Jansson D: Andrea Victoria Bazarova, Martin Mentzoni P: Stine Blichfeldt, Them Girls Film German premiere A wild montage of chaotic particles of the visible express the existential turmoil of Martin and Andrea Victoria. Welcome to a 1990s youth in the town of Haugesund, Norway, caught between skater punks, Marilyn Manson, and black metal. Anything disturbing is celebrated to numb the powerlessness and fear contained within. Lithium, self-harm, and right-wing extremism lead the way. Juurettomat / The Rootless Finland 2023, 12 min., finn., karel. ov, engl. st R: August Joensalo K: August Joensalo D: Paavo Joensalo, Marjatta Joensalo P: August Joensalo, AV-ARKKI The Centre for Finnish Media Art German Premiere Together with his grandfather, August Joensalo traces the family’s Karelian roots. Family photos are arranged into family trees, and the conversation at the kitchen table turns to the difficulties of integrating in Finland after the evacuation from Russia as well as the painful loss of the Karelian language. The mushroom becomes a metaphor: it grows even without real roots. Hyvästit Leninille / Forgetting Lenin Finland 2024, 6 min., finn. ov, engl. st R: Inka Achté, Einari Paakkanen K: Antti Polojärvi P: Inka Achté, Einari Paakkanen, Raina Film Festival Distribution At Kotka’s City Council, there’s a heated debate going on about the monument to Lenin. Despite all objections, the decision is made to remove the statue. Curious onlookers watch the work while a man nostalgically raises the flag of the USSR into the cloudy sky. Unimpressed by his fate, and with a pensive expression on his face, Lenin is finally carted off Behind the Mask Norway 2023, 30 min., uigur., mand. ov, engl. st R: Håvard Bustnes K: Lukasz Zamaro D: Abduweli Ayup (Mr. Wang Leizhan) P: Håvard Bustnes, UpNorth Film German premiere Like millions of Uyghurs, Abduweli Ayup was deported to a Chinese internment camp and tortured for months on end. Today he lives in Norway, yet the trauma of the past hasn’t relinquished its hold on him or his family. In Germany, he encounters the banality of evil in the form of an erstwhile camp guard. The film is a portrait of a man who remained unbroken by despotism and cruelty.