Nordic Shorts 2: Life Sentence

A variety of borders seem to separate us, but lifelong aspirations unite us. From the challenges of ageing to first steps and access to a societal system. Milloin päivä valkenee / When Will the Day Break Finland 2024, 6 min., finn. ov, engl. st R: Sanna Liljander K: Sanna Liljander D: Jenni Kitti P: Sanna Liljander, W: AV-ARKKI The Centre for Finnish Media Art World premiere A man and his wife, who has suffered a stroke, go for a drive. The view through the windshield reveals a drab journey through a wet, rainy world. From off camera, the man talks about a dream he had the night before. As if they were an incantation, his sparse words conjure black-and-white images of a sunny day at the lake. Young and happy, his wife waves at the camera. Maj & Majd / Maj & Majd Sweden 2024, 10 min., swed. ov, engl. st R: Leandro Netzell Cerón, Samori Tovatt K: Leandro Netzell Cerón, Samori Tovatt D: Majd Adarba, Maj Persson P: Leandro Netzell Cerón, Valfisken Produktion Maj, who is 88, lives a lonely life in the countryside. She’s kept company by a battalion of stuffed animals and a fish on the wall that sings at the push of a button. A visit by young Majd, from the homecare service, brings a bit of diversion to her everyday life. In steady pictures, the film tells the story of a heartfelt intercultural encounter and exemplifies the best of what caregiving can be. How to Please / How To Please Finland 2023, 27 min., engl. ov, engl. st R: Elina Talvensaari K: Joonas Pulkkanen P: Jussi Rantamäki, Emilia Haukka, Aamu Film Company Wed Al-Asadi fled Iraq in 2015. In Finland, the threat of deportation hangs over his head despite his committed attempts to integrate. Moments from his struggle with an alienating bureaucracy are re-staged on a minimalistic theatre stage. Over loudspeakers, a tinny voice announces one new negative decision after the next, forcing Al-Asadi into ever greater isolation and condemning him to passivity. Vokseværk / Growing Pains Denmark 2023, 32 min., dan. ov, engl. st R: Mikkel Kruse B: Mikkel Kruse, Astrid Plesner K: Emil Aagaard P: Sofie Bergstein, Den Danske Filmskole German premiere A day in a Danish kindergarten, with dancing, painting, romping. The camera offers a warm-coloured stage for the lively activities of the young actors in constantly changing guises. Meanwhile, today's announced test in the gloomy office casts the first shadows of an adult and isolated future life that will end the freedom and fantasy of childhood once and for all.