Risto-Pekka Blom’s Human Torch (2022) was awarded with a Honorable Mention in the Nordic Competition of Minimalen Short Film Festival, held from January 11–16 2022 in Trondheim, Norway. The Jury gave the mention “To a film that not only experiments with ways to talk about humanity and its nature through the mundane but also gives an example of how to successfully use the rhythm within the frame.”

We have acted according to the demands of society. We have followed the rules. We do not mock or belittle people different from us. But it is not okay to come here to upset the status quo, provoking all kinds of jeering at the hot dog kiosk. The Human Torch is a one-shot short film about a traffic crossing at night, where respectable people are waiting for the light to change. The film is about losing your sense of security in a world that is changing uncontrollably.

Risto-Pekka Blom graduated from technical education but never felt motivated to pursue a career as technician. For a few years he was looking for his purpose in life, until in the age of 27 he started a short course of Audiovisual Media and Expression, after which he graduated from Tampere Polytechnic School of Art and Media in 2005. Since then Blom’s video art and experimental short films have been exhibited in festivals and events in over twenty countries. His film Theme Park (2015) has won the Main Prize at Tampere Film Festival and Helsinki Short Film Festival in 2015.

Minimalen Short Film Festival, January 11–16 2022, Trondheim, Norway

More information: Minimalen SFF