Films from Finland 2010

FFSC presents Finnish films at the Swedish Cultural Center on the fourth Wednesday of each month (except July and August) at 7:30 PM. The films shown this year are listed below. For more information about the Films from Finland series or any individual movies, please send email to FFSC@finns.org.  All films are at 7:30 p.m. in the Swedish Cultural Center, 1920 Dexter Ave. N. in Seattle.

A $5.00 donation is requested at the door to cover the cost of "Films from Finland". Refreshments are available, and there is ample free parking near the Swedish Cultural Center.

July and August.  Contact Swedish Cultural Center at www.swedishculturalcenter.org.  

September 22/24.  Suden vuosi (The Year of the Wolf), 2007, 95 minutes, K-13.

In this film by award-winning director Olli Saarela and drawn from a novel of the same title, a talented but introverted student meets an older lecturer and finds in him a similar remoteness.  The two of them seek to forge a relationship as those around them doubt their compatibility.

October 27/29.  Postia Pappi Jaakobille (Letters to Father Jacob), 2009, 75 minutes, K-7.

Director Klaus Härö, whose films have been among the most popular in this series, continues his success with this touching story of a blind priest (Heikki Nousiainen) who hires a released convict (Kaarina Hazard in a breakthrough performance) to tend his household and read his mail.

November 24/26.  Itsenäinen Suomi (Independent Finland), 2007, 90 minutes, S.                             

This documentary, written by Antti Tuuri, views the evolution of the sovereign Finnish nation through the eyes of Aino, born in 1917 – the year Finland gained its independence. Unique, authentic materials from the Finnish Archives add to the strength of this stirring tribute, just in time for Finland’s 93^rd birthday.

December 22.  Risto Räppääjä (Rick the Rapper), 2008, 79 minutes, S.

This pre-Christmas treat is about Risto, a ten-year-old boy who likes to play drums but finds his attentions divided when Nelly moves into his building.  Risto’s life is complicated when he is put in the care of a relative whose drive for cleanliness and order threatens his passion for his drums.  Nelly stands by him.