Urban film festival is kicking spring off in Vantaa

The first ever Vantaa Urban Film Festival VUFF has both new and old films on offer, and their stories will take you to cities as well as outside of them.

For four days, from 16th to 19th of March, you can find a diverse selection of films at Kino Myyri and at a pop-up theater in the Skenesali in Myyräncolo, both located in Myyrmäki. We offer films from Finland as well as from abroad, and you are free to choose between dramas, comedies, documentaries, and dance along musicals. We have selected some fresh new films as well as a couple nostalgic pieces from decades past.

Latvia, 2022. VUFF opens with a Latvian film called January that about a young and passionate Latvian called Jazis with big dreams of filmmaking. The movie is set in 1991, which was a turbulent year for him, but also for the independent seeking country. The rebellious but at the same time insecure Jazis takes his camera to the streets, demonstrations and shows a close up of student life in Latvia. The film makes you laugh and cry, and the director Viesturs Kairišsin has created almost a documentary-like story. January is bound to get new meanings when it is considered with the current state of the world. The story of a young man growing up in the uncertainty of a country seeking independence reflects a lot of the feelings the Russo-Ukrainian war has brought up recently.

Duration: 95 min Age limit: 12 years

India, 2023. There will be dancing, music and happy people – on the screen as well as in the audience! In this romantic and lively comedy, the quite untrustworthy main characters are trying their best to manage their love lives. But in true Bollywood fashion, the plot is not the main point – the most important parts are the amazing visuals and music you cannot resist. The deeply immersed audience may surprise someone who has never experienced Bollywood before, but it’s more fun that way, so come and join us!
Subtitles: English (language: Hindi) / Duration: 150 min + intermission

Finland, 2023. PREMIERE. This documentary is not only about how the band Hassisen kone gets ready for their 40th anniversary concert, but also about the band’s history and how the young celebrities grew up to adults. The band is originally from Joensuu, but they became a nationwide phenomenon after they won the Finnish championship of rock in 1980 in the “New Wave” category in Oulu. The film lets you hear almost all the band’s biggest hits. The documentary depicts the young musicians’ feelings and showcases beautifully the journey the band has had all the way until the present day. Alcoholic drinks are being sold during this screening.
NB! After the movie the night continues in the Skenesali with a dance along screening of a concert by Ismo Alanko’s other band Sielun Veljet. There will also be a DJ present to play music in the style of both bands.

Duration: 80 min 

NB! After the movie the night continues in the Skenesali with music from the 80 s. And suprise screenings from the same time period. 

USA, 1987. This is a film you simply cannot watch sitting still! Prince himself wrote the screenplay and directed the documentation of their band’s concert on the tour they did to promote their album, also called Sign o’ the Times. This dazzling music medley consists of 13 songs and an electrifying concert atmosphere which is best experienced through a fantastic dance along screening! This concept was tested earlier this year at the DocPoint festival and the mesmerized people dancing their hearts out in front of the screen proved that Prince knows how to take his audience even after his death in 2016. Alcoholic drinks are being sold during this screening.

Duration 85 min + Dance along (Age limit 18 years)

France, 2022. A touching drama about a woman named Mia, who loses her memory in a terrorist attack in Paris. The incident did not leave her with any physical injuries, but mentally she is broken. In order to move on with her live, Mia has to return to Paris to find out what really happened and how it all changed her. The film is directed by Alice Winocour and the main character is played by Virginie Efira. The film will be in theaters in Finland in May.

Subtitles: Finnish (language: French) / Duration 105 min

Finland, 2023. Rap and Reindeer gives a fresh perspective of the diverse culture of the Sami-people as it is experienced and told by a young Sami-man, Mihkku Laiti. This beautiful and sympathetic documentary is about an 18 year old Sami-rapper living in Utsjoki in the northern Lapland. Mihkku’s artist name is YungMiqu and he wears a traditional Sami dress which he has tweaked, he raps, he yoiks and creates his brand on a computer, but occasionally he feeds some reindeer while riding a snowmobile. The future is open – will he have a career in music or reindeer breeding? Either way, Mihkku is full of hope, and he is the perfect example of how combining cultural inheritance with a different kind of music preserves and highlights the culture, but at the same time finds new ways of expressing it.

Duration: 75 min / Age limit 7 years

Israel, 2022. The director Shahar Rozen took his time with this movie. From the urban stories of the outskirts of Tel-Aviv a film was born, filled with dark humor and where several destinies are tangled into one drama. All characters are fighting for something, be it love, survival or making a living. Their means may be extreme, but in their absurdity, they are surprisingly human. A young man abandoned by his father is ready to do almost anything to give his bride the perfect wedding. The same is with Asaf who mourns the loss of his grandfather but simply cannot survive without his pension. And how does the armada of rubber ducks floating in the river connect to any of this? Come see it and you will – maybe – find out.

Subtitles: English (language: Hebrew) / Duration: 104 min

France/Finland/Sweden/Denmark, 2022. This political thriller is about a boy named Adam (Tawfeek Barhom), who comes from a family of fishermen, but gets a chance to go to study in al-Azhari, a very traditional and religious university in Cairo. When the leader of the university unexpectedly dies, bloodstained fights between professors from different ideologies ensue. The twists and turns lead Adam into the middle of a life-threatening conspiracy, where he must decide faith of his own life as well as that of the whole of al-Azhari. The director and screenwriter of the film is Tarik Saleh, and the film won an award at the Cannes Film Festival of 2022.

Duration: 125 min / Age limit: 12 years

Nepal, 2020. This Oscar nominated film from Nepal, Butterfly on the Windowpane (Ainaa Jhyal Ko Putali), is a story of the bond between siblings living in a country village, their dreams, letting go and staying hopeful. Bidya is a 13 year old girl who writes poetry and has plans to move to the city to study. At first her little brother is above all a nuisance for her, but when it comes to it, he will do everything it takes to keep her dreams alive. The film is warm, but at the same time it tells a story of a conservative society. It is the directory debut of Sujit Bidari and has won awards around the world in addition to being nominated for an Oscar.

NB! The Momoshi-restaurant serves Nepalese momos alongside the screening! 

Duration: 96 min Age limit: 7 years

Finland, 2022. Two best friends Mimmi and Rönkkö are trying to find their place in the world, whereas Emma skates determinately towards the success of a professional athlete. A regular party one weekend starts a series of events and dizzying feelings and suddenly everything is big and important. Alli Haapasalo has managed to direct the young actors in a way that their energy and the limitlessness of the story make even the viewer feel free. The girls laugh, cry and do whatever they want. Things are not like they used to be.
Subtitles: English (language: Finnish) / Duration: 121 min / 12+

UK/Japan, 1992. Jody, a British soldier tortured by the IRA, befriends his guard named Fergus. As the result of the friendship Fergus ends up in London where he gets sucked into Jody’s past. The psychological crime drama by Neil Jordan managed to astonish audiences in the 90s in a manner that hadn’t been seen before. Its themes like race and gender identities and sexuality were much more taboo subjects than they are today. The Oscar winning The Crying Game contains surprising twists that only a few movies can pull off, but the ending is probably the most shocking twist of them all.

Subtitles: Finnish / Duration: 112 min / 16+

Austria/Germany/Luxemburg/France, 2022. The once dazzlingly beautiful empress of Austria, Sissi, is turning 40 and is now officially old. The overflowing opulence is not enough to make a loveless marriage or the crumbling of her status worth her while. In this historical drama set in the 1870s the strict etiquette of the monarchy is shaken, when Sissi makes a political matter out of her private life. A journey through Europe begins. The screenwriting and directing is by Marie Kreutzer. The film has won awards in several festivals, including Cannes, and is still being nominated for even more. Corsage premieres in Finland in April.

Duration: 114 min

Iceland/France/Sweden/Denmark, 2022. It’s the end of the 19th century. A young Danish priest moves to a remote village in Iceland with a mission to build a church and spread his religion. But cultural clashes and human weaknesses in harsh conditions lead the priest away from his original goals. Hlynur Pálmasonin was inspired to write and direct this movie after he saw some of the earliest photographs of his home country, Iceland. The scenery and events of the past are wonderful, surprising and breathtakingly beautiful and this drama filled film has some glimpses of humor in it too.

Duration 114 min / Age limit 12 years