A selection of Marja Helander’s short films will be screened at Stadtkino Basel, Switzerland from January 1 – February 11 2024 as supporting films for Anna Magnani retrospective.
Birds in the Earth (Eatnanvuloš lottit, 2018) will be screened before Vittorio de Sica’s Teresa Venerdì (1941) on Monday, January 1 2024, at 18:30 and on Sunday, January 7 2024, at 18:15. Birds in the Earth is a short film based on dance. The main characters are two young Sámi ballet students; Birit and Katja Haarla. The movie tells a bit melancholic story through their dance performances. At the same time it examines the deeper questions of the ownership of Sámi land.
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Mamma Roma (1962) is preceded by Trambo (2014) on Friday, January 5 2024, at 15:30; on Saturday, January 27 2024, at 18:30, and on Sunday, February 11 2024, at 20:00. Trambo (in featured image) is a portrait of an indigenous Sámi woman wandering on a snowy mountain. She is dragging a big trampoline, a burden she hopes will bring a bit of joy to the monotonous journey of life. The trampoline is a reference to the modern age, but it can also be seen as a prison.
To Have a Campfire (Dolastallat, 2016) will be a supporting film for Jean Renoir’s The Golden Coach (Le carrosse d’or, 1952) on Saturday, January 20 2024, at 18:00, and on Saturday, February 3 2024, at 20:00. Dolastallat – To Have a Campfire is an experimental short film about a Sámi woman going to the mountains in Kola Peninsula, and having a modern campfire with an unexpected creature. The vast landscape bears hints of Arctic mining industry and there is also a reference to the old Sámi myth.
Marja Helander’s latest short film, Mermaid (Áffruvvá, 2022) will be screened before Enrico Cerasuolo’s documentary film La passione di Anna Magnani (2019) on Monday, January 22 2024, at 18:00. The Áfruvvá (Anna Morottaja) is a being in the sea that may be the ghost of a drowned person. Yearning for warmth, she emerges from the sea into a world devoid of humans, experiencing humanity through an abandoned museum. An adapted version of the film that was part of the Árran Programme at the 2022 Venice Biennale.
Marja Helander’s short films in Anna Magnani retrospective, January 1 – February 11 2024, Stadtkino Basel, Switzerland
More information: Stadtkino Basel
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!