Golden Headacher by Niina Suominen has been awarded a Personal Honourable Mention by a member of the festival’s jury at the Rising of Lusitania – AnimaDoc Film Festival, that took place from 16–19 November, 2023 in Szczecin, Poland. The mention was awarded “for exploring the theme of difficult female emotions in a form that is in tune with the tearful voice of the characters”.

Golden Headacher is distributed in collaboration with Raina Film Festival Distribution.

Golden Headacher is an experimental animation documentary about women’s hate and aggression and the culturally sanctioned ways to express or suppress these uneasy feelings. The dialogue is constructed from experiences of women dealing with feelings of aggression towards children and spouses and between women. At the same time, the dialogue comments on cultural norms related to the expression of aggression by women. The film was created by animating textile and décor waste and beautiful glossy pictures of children that were popular in Scandinavia in the last century. The material was improvised using the qualities of different fabrics and objects as the basis for the images. The work brings to the fore the irritation and exhaustion felt by women and the thoughts often left unsaid outside the walls of home. Also the remorse and the shame felt after the bursts of anger are reflected on.

Niina Suominen has graduated from the Arts Academy at Turku in 2004. She also has an education of a blacksmith, animal nurse and a forest worker. She works as a film director and media artist using traditional animation techniques requiring hand-work. Her works have been shown widely at the festivals both in Finland and abroad. She lives and works in Southwest Finland.

Rising of Lusitania – AnimaDoc Film Festival, November 16–19, 2023, Szczecin, Poland.

More information: Rising of Lusitania – AnimaDoc Film Festival