The Bystander
Valja Pinja
Topi is a retiree living on the island of Utö. He used to work at Utö, and also met his Swedish-speaking wife on the island. During the years Topi also learned Swedish, but lost the language due to a stroke. Via Topi’s story, the film deals with the relationship of man and language with nature. What remains after language disappears?
Production Year
2013
Duration
00:07:48
Tyyppi
Asiasana
documentarism, landscape, lighthouses, media art, old age, people (phenomena), seas, semiotics, water
Original Title
Sivullinen
English Title
The Bystander
Production Countries
Finland
Dialogue
Yes
Sound
Yes
Cast
Pinja Valja (Author), Pinja Valja (Cinematographer), Pinja Valja (Director), Pinja Valja (Editor), Pinja Valja (Script), Pinja Mustajoki (Sound Design), Topi Kovanen (Actor), AVEK (Funder)
Press Photos
Pinja Valja (1984) is a media artist from Helsinki, Finland. Valja works mostly with short films. Frequent themes in her work evolve around the questions of the structures of reality. For example, she questions the common and institutionalized, monogamous approach to love and relationships in her most recent films, A Poly Love Story (2017) and The Image of You (2017). Valja’s work often combine different genres of arts and film with a queer edge.
5 works