Niina Suominen’s What Time Is? (2020) continues its world tour in July. The experimental animated short film is included in the programmes of both Fest Anča and Melbourne International Animation Festivals. Fest Anča is held online from July 1–11. Suominen’s film is included in the screening “Contemporary Abstract and Non-narrative Animation“. At MIAF, What Time Is? was selected for the competitive Abstract Showcase, screened on July 21. The festival will be held on-site from July 19–25.
The essence of our time under the magnifying glass. The starting point for What Time Is? was to create a visually interesting and intense, kaleidoscopically abundant work that could be set together with the pioneering electric composition of Jukka Ruohomäki (b.1947). The sound material was created in 1970 with the DIMI-synthesizer designed by Erkki Kurenniemi. The film material (16mm) was shot and developed by the director with the exception of the found footage war imagery. What time is? places the experience of time in the centre of contemplation. The human figures act as reference points for meditation on the passage and ending of time. The images of war function as universal symbols reflecting the inherent violence in human nature through all eras. The work gives us a chance to reflect on the transient nature of time and the relationship of the viewer to the conflict-ridden epoch in which we live.
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.
Fest Anča International Animation Festival, July 1–11 2021, Online & Slovakia
Melbourne International Animation Festival, July 19–25 2021, Melbourne, Australia