Via Karelia

Mikkola Elian

Tracing back a lost identity, hidden in the forests of an abandoned war zone. How does trauma get carried on from a generation to another and is there a way to stop the cycle? The filmmaker tries to understand how to heal from the pressures of the past by searching for their grandmother's childhood home. Taking the journey with their parents, they find themselves in a village located in the old Karelia, now a part of Russia.

Production Year
2021
Duration
00:12:35
Tyyppi
Asiasana
Original Title
Via Karelia
Finnish Title

Via Karelia

English Title

Via Karelia

Production Countries
Finland,Canada
Dialogue
Yes
Sound
Yes
Cast
Elian Mikkola (Author), Tuomas Mikkola (Cinematographer), Valtteri Mikkola (Cinematographer), Elian Mikkola (Cinematographer), Elian Mikkola (Director), Elian Mikkola (Editor), Elian Mikkola (Producer), Elian Mikkola (Script), Suomen Kulttuurirahasto (Funder), Elian Mikkola (Sound Design)
Press Photos
Elian Mikkola is a Finnish Moving Image Artist (of Karelian descent), and a white settler currently based between Treaty 4, Regina, and Montréal (Tiohtià:ke), Canada. Originally from Turku, Finland, Mikkola holds a BA in Journalism from Tampere University. They completed their MFA in Media Production in 2019 at the University of Regina. Mikkola works closely with both analog and digital images and their hybrid extensions. Their work explores themes such as memory, spatial dependences and queer belonging. Mikkola’s work has been showcased in several film festivals in Canada and internationally. Their debut film SAARI (2016) was selected to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival student program in 2017 and their latest two films premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020 and Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2021. Mikkola has been a part of La Lumière Collective based in Montréal and a current board member of the Queer City Cinema.