Filmmakers full of passion. Finnish cinema at the 19th edition of The Tofifest International Film Festival. Kujawy Pomorze Region
For many years and thanks to the commitment of the Honorary Consul of Finland in Toruń, the Tofifest International Film Festival. Kujawy Pomorze Region has included Finnish cinema in its programme. When watching Finnish films, we are invited both to a country abundant in breath-taking landscapes and unique history, but also boasting about its intriguing cinema.
The Finnish artists of both sexes, which we will strive to bring closer to you, during the 19th edition of the festival, are all rather less known to a wider audience. Nonetheless, their work is filled with passion and commitment, definitely worth discovering and investing time in it. You are going to see a handful of films made by people, whose passion for cinema made their artistic work last for generations.
The section dedicated to Finnish cinema will include five films, among which the most anticipated one is the première screening of “Tove”, directed by Zaida Bergroth, a biopic dedicated to the talent, passion and energy of the writer and painter Tove Jansson, who was the author of a series of books about the Moomins.
The film “Helene” directed by Antti J. Jokinen is a portrayal of the famous Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbech, mostly known for her portraits and self-portraits. Over the course of her career spanning 70 years, she would often radically transform her style, beginning with French-influenced realism, then changing to impressionism, and finally ending in naturalism and modernism.
As for the film “The Dinosaur” directed by Veikko Aaltonen, it will be the Polish première of a documentary film dedicated to the film director Rauni Mollberg, whose films contributed to the popularisation of Finnish cinema around the world. The film offers an original perspective on the controversial directing techniques and methodology that were the engine driving his art and the eventual success.
The life of Armi Ratia, who was the founder of the legendary Finnish design house Marimekko, which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary, has become the basis for the film “Armi Alive!” directed by Jörn Donner.
Finally, “Tom of Finland” directed by Dome Karukoski, is a biographical film portrayal of one of the most prominent figures behind the gay movement of the 20th Century, namely Touko Valio Laaksonen, a Finnish graphic artist, painter and revolutionary.
The Finnish cinema section will be available for watching on the festival's on-line platform, in its entirety.
The films qualified for the section include:
- “Tove”, Finland, 2020, directed by Zaida Bergroth
- “Armi Alive!”, Finland, 2015, directed by Jörn Donner
- “The Dinosaur”, Finland, 2021, directed by Veikko Aaltonen
- “Tom of Finland”, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, 2017, directed by Dome Karukoski
- “Helene”, Finland, 2020, directed by Antti Jokinen
The TOFIFEST IFF. Kujawy Pomorze Region will take place from 30th June to 4th July 2021, as always in Toruń. The new summer dates may be new, but the festival remains the same! Come enjoy the optimistic sunshine it offers! As rebellious as we always have been, feel invited to have a special meeting with extraordinary cinema that asks a lot of questions and opens a door for the viewers to go and look for answers on their own.
The 19th edition of the festival will once again have a hybrid nature, same as it was last year. All the viewers living in Toruń and those, who will find time to pay a visit to this city right at the beginning of summer, will have an opportunity to watch films both indoors – in screening rooms of the Cultural and Congress Centre Jordanki, Cinema City and Kino Centrum, and outdoors, in the open air. Many of the films are going to be shown amid the medieval scenery of the Old Town in Toruń, in the courtyard of the Old Town City Hall in Toruń, and among the ruins of the former Teutonic Castle.
