99 Years of My Life

Marja Viitahuhta

One fictional biography depicted from birth to death, based on the lives and memories of four women of different age. Each year in the film is reduced to three sentences, a list that runs from 0 to 99. This narration is illustrated as a variety of cinematographic styles and media: archive footage, home video, still photography, animation, film noir-styled scenes, and performance documentation. The film was awarded at Mediawave, Cannes Film Festival (Cinéfondation), L'Alternativa, and Stuttgarter Filmwinter and it is included in the collections of MoMA (New York) and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art (Helsinki).

Production Year
2003
Duration
00:32:55
Type
Tags
Original Title
99 Years of My Life
Finnish Title

99 vuotta elämästäni

English Title

99 Years of My Life

Production Countries
Finland
Dialogue
Yes
Sound
Yes
Cast
Marja Viitahuhta (Author), Sini Liimatainen (Cinematographer), Antti Tolvi (Composer), Marja Viitahuhta (Composer), Jussi Vuola (Composer), Marja Viitahuhta (Director), Azar Saiyar (Editor), Marja Viitahuhta (Producer), Marja Viitahuhta (Script), Marja Viitahuhta (Actor), Irma Truhponen (Actor), Sini Liimatainen (Actor), Aapo Korkeaoja (Actor), Lars Wingård (Actor), Maija Hirvanen (Actor), Anja Saiyar (Actor), Topi Äikäs (Actor), Lahja Tuominen (Actor), Tuomo Truhponen (Actor), Sakari Luhtala (Actor), Essi Kausalainen (Actor), Ronja Oksanen (Actor), Veera Luhtala (Animation), Sakari Luhtala (Animation), Turun AMK:n Taideakatemia (Funder)
Press Photos
Marja Viitahuhta (formerly Mikkonen) is a Helsinki-based media artist and filmmaker. Her works range from films, performances and installations to photography and collage. She holds a BA degree in performance art from the Turku Polytechnic Arts Academy and an MFA degree from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. She has been awarded internationally at Cannes (Cinéfondation), Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Mediawave and L’Alternativa film festivals. Viitahuhta's recurring themes focus on perception and experience of female protagonists. Her works deconstruct individual identities, memories, or the idealised imagery of nations and landscapes. Her work often speaks in an intimate and personal tone and deals with existence and mortality. The text and image are set in a dialogue in Viitahuhta’s experimental language. Viitahuhta often bases her work on documentary filmmaking, archive material and found images as well as interviews.