August Joensalo’s Space Is Quite a Lot of Things (2021, in featured image), Niina Suominen’s Golden Headacher (2022), and Jenni Toikka’s Prelude Op. 28 No. 2 (2022) were picked for the official selection of Minikino Film Week – Bali International Short Film Festival, held from September 15–30 2023 in Bali, Indonesia.
August Joensalo’s Space Is Quite a Lot of Things is included in the screening Implied, screened on Sunday, September 17, and on Wednesday, September 20. Curiosity about a world without gender sets a journey through a world of jellyfish and disco uncles, creating space for four trans people to share how they relate (or not) to their own gender, imagine visions of their own queer utopia, and reveal whether gender can be felt in your toes.
Niina Suominen’s Golden Headacher will be screened on Saturday, September 16, and on Tuesday, September 19 as part of the screening Slice of Life. 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.
Jenni Toikka’s Prelude Op. 28 No. 2 is included in the screening Hidden Truth, screened on Saturday, September 16, and on Thursday, September 21. During a single long shot, we see two people taking turns playing the piano and listening alternately. The piece is the same on both times – Prelude Op. 28 No. 2 by Chopin – but when the performer changes, the interpretation of the song changes along with the perspective from which the song and its performance are viewed. The uninterrupted playing and single shot capture the event in one temporal moment, but as the camera moves and two people change places, time is equally layered. The performer becomes the listener and the listener becomes the performer. In one of the key scenes of Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata (1978), the mother and daughter take turns playing the very same Chopin’s Prelude. It is a piece that both are familiar with, so they are able to settle into the position of the other as they listen and watch the other play. A situation like this raises questions about the sense of reciprocity, simultaneity and synaesthesia. Could the roles become mixed from viewer and listener to the object of the gaze and listening? When watching the other playing, can you feel your own hands and fingers on the keys?
Minikino Film Week – Bali International Short Film Festival, September 15–30 2023, Bali, Indonesia
More information: Minikino Film Week
AV-arkki has promoted and distributed Finnish media art since 1989. AV-arkki’s promotional efforts have made the artists’ participation in this event possible. If you want to hear the latest news from our distribution, subscribe to our newsletter!