The festival kicked off on Thursday, September 15, with The Skin I Live In, the new film from celebrated Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. Although the festival showcases a wide variety of films that will hardly be seen again in Finland's commercially driven cinemas, also featured are premieres of films such as The Skin I Live In, later due to play on Finnkino screens.
Also at the more commercial end of the festival spectrum are Finnish feature films, shown in a new addition to the Love & Anarchy program. Giving an overview of Finnish Film in 2011, the Finnish Film Event section of the festival presents home-grown successes of 2011 as well as previews of films due to hit the screens later this year.
In more traditional Love & Anarchy fare, the festival shows a colourful range of films from all over the globe, with special programmes of French, Balkan, Italian, Estonian, Nordic, Indian and Irish cinema — to mention a few festival categories.
Special guests
During the 11 days of the festival, audiences get a chance to engage in dialogue with filmmakers and actors.
Among this year’s international guests is Irish actor Colm Meaney, known for his roles in The Commitments (1991), The Snapper (1993) as well as the popular science fiction TV-series Star Trek, where he acted for 12 years.
Meany attended the Finnish premiere of Parked, a new Irish-Finnish co-production, where he performs alongside Finnish actress Milka Ahlroth. In a Q&A after the film’s Sunday evening screening, Meany shared insights into his work as well as recalling his last visit to Finland in 1974, when he played at the Finnish National Theatre as part of an Irish theatre group.
The festival, which features over 400 screenings, is typically home to high-profile Finnish feature film premieres. This year’s Gala premiere will be Joona Tena’s Body of Water. Other festival highlights include Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, which cleaned the awards table at this year’s Berlin international Film Festival.
HIFF - Love & Anarchy runs until 25 September.
