FOCUS ON FINLAND
Get ready for a sensorial overload coming from the North. This year Encounters brings you a Focus on Finland, country of intense extremes and delightful eccentricities. To match the spirit of our Finnish connection, a double bill of gala events takes place in a big top circus tent, welcoming cinematic treats which are a must for serious film buffs – and anyone curious about cross-dressing zombies.
As part of this focus the festival will also be showcasing the best of Finnish live action and animated short filmmaking and setting up a Pop-Up Cine Sauna (no nudity or extreme heat involved)!
SODANKYLÄ FOREVER: A CENTURY OF CINEMA
THURS 20 SEPT 19:00 Big Top @ Creative Common
DOCUMENTARY
DIR. PETER VON BAGH, FINLAND, 2010
1 HR 29 MINS
Sodankylä, a small village beyond the Arctic Circle. Nowhere. For twenty-five years, the siren call of the legendary Midnight Sun Film Festival has lured the most famous of cineastes. Two-hour conversations held with these filmmakers each morning by Festival Director Peter von Bagh become intimate exposés: serious, absurdly funny, sometimes close to psychoanalysis.
'Sodankylä Forever' is the ultimate cinematic dialogue where the boundaries of time and place lose their meaning. Michael Powell of 1987 meets Abbas Kiarostami of 2007, Monte Hellman of 1987 Alberto Lattuada of 1991, Joseph H. Lewis of 1993, and Jean Rouch of 2002…
CLEANING WOMEN: AELITA - QUEEN OF MARS
THURS 20 SEPT 21:00 Big Top @ Creative Common
FILM SCREENING WITH LIVE SCORE
1 HR 43 MINS
'Aelita – the Queen of Mars' (Dir. Jakov Protasanov) is one of the forgotten gems of the silent-movie era. This sci-fi pioneer was premiered in the Soviet Union in 1924 - three years before 'Metropolis' - and has been without a proper musical accompaniment ever since. That is, until now.
Cleaning Women composes music with self-made instruments, mostly made out of recycled materials. Their internationally acclaimed performance comes to Bristol, with music played live in front of a movie screen by three Finnish cross-dressing zombies.
Joint ticket for the Big Top events: £10 (£5 for delegates)
THURS 20 SEPT FROM 19:00, Big Top @ Creative Common
