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The Helsinki Cine Aasia festival opens with the intriguing co-production Return to Seoul (Retour à Séoul, 2022), which tells the story of a Korean adoptee in France who goes back to Seoul to search for her roots. The director Davy Chou is himself French-Cambodian. Individuals between two cultures can also be found in many other films at the festival. Society is a strong theme in such films as the Malaysian Stone Turtle (2022), which combines social critique to suspense and the supernatural, and the widely awarded Indonesian film Autobiography (2022).

The annual remembrance day of the Fukushima nuclear accident is in March and Helsinki Cine Aasia commemorates the topic in several ways. The virtual reality documentary Fukushima – The Home That Once Was takes us to villages emptied by the catastrophy, where we also meet former inhabitants. The film program also includes the catastrophy movie Fukushima 50 (Japan, 2020) where 50 nuclear plant worker fight against the inevitable. A discussion session will also go through the different ways the Fukushima disaster and its after effects have been presented in different media.

The programme has some oeuvres from well-known film-makers such as Lav Diaz and new Thai indie cinema. A discussion event on Korean entertainment industry will take place and the Korean modern classic Oldboy (2003) will be screened as a special treat.

The festival hosts a Baby Kino screening on 17 March with Arnold Is a Model Student (2022), which is the latest film from Thai filmmaker Sorayos Prapara. The screening is meant for audiences with toddlers and babies and is organised in collaboration with Kino Regina, Oodi Helsinki Central Library, and playground Loru.

The ticket sales begin on Thursday 2 March on the festival’s website. Tickets can also be purchased from theatres during the festival. Single tickets 11€. Baby-friendly screening is free and is meant for those who come with a toddler or a baby. Screening pass (5 screenings) 45 €.

Helsinki Cine Aasia and Kino Aurora presents two special screenings at Jyväskylä in May.

Tuesday 17.5., 17:00 – SANKA: NOMADS OF THE MOUNTAINS (Sasatani Ryohei, Japan, 2022)
Buy your ticket here!

Thursday 19.5., 17:00 – LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE (Martika Ramirez Escobar, Philiphpnes, 2022)
Buy your ticket here!

Screening passes and single tickets can be bought at the festival’s website starting NOW!

Single tickets cost 11 euros. Screening pass (5 tickets) 45 euros. Parent & baby screening ticket is 9 euros.

During the festival, tickets are also available at our screening theaters: Kino Regina, Finnkino Kinopalatsi and Cinema Orion. The ticket booth will open 30 minutes before the first screening of the day at the theater in question and stays open until the beginning of the last screening of the day.

Check out the full program HERE and the schedule HERE.

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Familiar filmmakers

Japanese film director Ogigami Naoko’s newest film Riverside Mukolitta comes to Helsinki Cine Aasia in May. Ogigami became well known to the Finnish audiences with her film Kamome shokudō (2006) which was shot in a restaurant at Punavuori, Helsinki where the story was also set. Ogigami has since become known for the unique characters in her stories. Her latest visit to Finland was in 2019 during the retrospective of her works at Kino Regina, which was organized as a collaboration with Helsinki Cine Aasia. Her film Rent-a-Cat (2012) was screened to a sold out audience at Cinema Orion’s Cat Film Day back in 2021.

Helsinki Cine Aasia hosted Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini back in 2018 with her film The Seen and Unseen (2017) as the opening film. This year’s program includes two films from her. Yuni (2021) portrays the difficult choises of a young girl moving towards adulthood, and the film was awarded at Toronto International Film Festival with the Platform Prize. Before, Now & Then (Nana, 2022) had its premiere at Berlinale’s main Competition Series, and paints an impressive portrait of woman whose story is intertwined with the history of Indonesia.

Not your typical Mother’s Day
This year’s program includes eight films from female filmmakers. The upcoming Mother’s Day offers a double feature at Cinema Orion on May 8th with films Apartment with Two Women (2021, Korea) and Spring Tide (2019, China). Both films follow a story of very complicated mother-daughter relationships.

Ticket sale starts on Thursday April 21st
Screening passes and single tickets can be bought at the festival’s website from next Thursday. During the festival, tickets are also available at our screening theaters: Kino Regina, Finnkino Kinopalatsi and Cinema Orion. The ticket booth will open 30 minutes before the first screening of the day at the theater in question and stays open until the beginning of the last screening of the day. Single tickets cost 11 euros. Screening pass (5 tickets) 45 euros. Parent & baby screening ticket is 9 euros.

Full program: https://helsinkicineaasia.fi/en/ohjelmisto/

Traveling to the 60’s of Thailand

Our opening film ANATOMY OF TIME (2021) comes from Thailand, and is directed by Jakrawai Nilthamrong. It will be screened on Thursday May 5th at Kino Regina.

The film was awarded with the Grand Prize at TOKYO FILMeX 2021. The story of Anatomy of Time got its inspiration from director Nilthamrong’s own family history.

Phuttiphong Aroonpheng acted as the cinematographer on the film. Aroonpheng’s own film Manta Ray was shown at Helsinki Cine Aasia back in 2019.

“Anatomy of Time skillfully mixes two times, two realities, memory, dream, and the intersection of personal and society in a poetic story of the past and the present in the life of a woman in Thailand’s rural countryside.”
-Eija Niskanen, Artistic Director

This is not a April Fool prank! Helsinki Cine Aasia 2022 is coming next month. The festival will be held from May 5th until May 8th and it would not be possible without amazing volunteers. 🎉

Every volunteer will recieve a festival pass which allows you to participate all of our screenings if they´re not sold out.
Help will be needed during the festival and we also need some people to distribute our posters before that. The need for volunteers starts from April 8th.

Check out available tasks and fill out the form below. If you´re interested to help us with the distribution of our posters and catalogues before the festival, let us know in the application.

Come and celebrate Asian cinema with us and our 10 Anniversary! ✨

FILL OUT THE FORM HERE!

As Helsinki Cine Aasia is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year, we proudly present HAPPY HOUR (2015) from the director Ryosuke Hamaguchi. This is the first time ever that the audiences in Finland can enjoy this high praised film.

Last Sunday the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Hamaguchi’s newest feature DRIVE MY CAR (2021) with and Oscar Award for the best International Feature Film

“Four women. All in their 30s. Three married, one divorcee. They are able to tell each other
anything. Or at least they thought. One day, after losing in divorce court, one of them gives up
on a future with their partner and disappears. The three remaining women take a second look at
their lives. The long night is full of questions. ”Are you really the you you wanted to be?”

HAPPY HOUR will be screened at Cinema ORION in the upcoming Easter Friday April 15th at 12:00. The film is subtitled in English and the screening includes two short breaks.

More information and tickets:
https://cinemaorion.fi/elokuvat/happy-hour/

The only film festival in Finland focused on East and Sout-East Asian films, makes a comeback to the silver screen. We present together with Cinema Orion a series of Asian films on the big screen in July. The series includes three films which were shown at Helsinki Cine Aasia 2021 – ONLINE last Apri,l and three previously unseen films. The series starts on Tuesday July 6th, and continues until Sunday July 25th. The films will be shown at Cinema Orion, Eerikinkatu 15.

Favorites from Helsinki Cine Aasia 2021 – ONLINE
Japanese female director Ohku Akiko’s HOLD ME BACK from 2020 was the most popular film at our virtual festival, and it is a natural selection to start our series on Tuesday July 6th. RED POST ON ESCHER STREET from 2020, the new film by Sono Sion begs to be seen at cinemas, and it will be shown at Cinema Orion on Saturday July 10th. Maung Sung’s MONEY HAS FOUR LEGS from 2020 will be shown on Saturday July 17th. This Burmese film dominated the press in June by the news of it’s producer/co-screenwriter Ma Aeint’s arrest by the military regime. No one has seen or heard of her since.

Sharp newcomers
The series will be completed by 3 films that have not been seen yet in Finland. Chinese director Li Dongmei’s MAMA from 2020 follows a family who live in the countryside in the early 90’s. The storytelling feels almost like a documentary and the events of the film actually come from the director’s own life.

Harumoto Yujiro’s Japanese film A BALANCE from 2020 takes a bite of a controversial subject. A teacher has taken his life after being accused of sexually molesting a student. Yuko has been hired to make a news story for television about the events, but this eventually leads to more problems, and the subject hits too close to her home.

South Korean DAYS OF GREEN (2021) has been directed by Shin Dong-il, who visited Helsinki Cine Aasia back in 2017. Yusu and Cheongsan run from their problems for three days together. During their journey they meet interesting people and landscapes, while they form a deep connection to each other.

Schedule:
Tuesday July 6th. at 19:30 Hold Me Back
Thursday July 8th at 19:00 Mama
Saturday July 10th. at 14:00 Red Post on Escher Street
Monday July 12th at 20:00 Mama
Wednesday July 14th at 19:30 A Balance
Saturday July 17th at 14:00. Money Has Four Legs
Sunday July 18th at 16:00 Days of Green
Monday July 19th at 19:30 A Balance
Friday July 23th at 17:00 TOIVEUUSINTA
Sunday July 25th at 15:30 Days of Green

Ticket sale starts on June 29th 2021 at 10:00.
https://cinemaorion.fi/

Helsinki Cine Aasia 2021 – ONLINE has now ended but the celebration of Asian cinema goes on.

External gratitude to everyone who took part on our online festival in the past weekend. There would not be a festival without you! We were glad to see that people from all over Finland participated the festival.

Sode Yukiko’s Japanese drama ARISTOCRATS (2021) took the first place as most atched film. Japanese films HOLD ME BACK (2020) and AINU MOSIR (2020) came in second and third.

Our free additional program is still availanbe at our official YouTube channel.
Including exclusive conversations with the filmmakers of our 2021 online program and discussions about the censorship, political climate and women’s position in East and Southeast Asia.

Helsinki Cine Aasia together with Cinema Orion presents a series of Asian films on silver screen when restrictions allow it. The series includes films from the program of our online festival and some new additions. We hope to see you there in the upcoming summer. Let’s celebrate Asian culture together.
Follow our website and social media accounts for updates.

The festival will return in 2022 celebrating it’s 10th Anniversary!
Hopefully we can return to the cinemas.

Long live Asian cinema!

Helsinki Cine Aasia 2021 – ONLINE third and last day is here!

Marja-Leena Heikkilä-Horn wrote a book about the fistory of Southeast Asia which was released by Gaudeamus. Eija Niskanen, the Artistic Director of Helsinki Cine Aasia interviews Heikkilä-Horn in new exclusive conversation which is part of our 2021 program.

Check out our other free addittional program (in English) on our official YouTube channel.

Festival pass and individual tickets can be bought here!

Watch the conversation on the video below (in Finnish):

Director Maung Sun talks about the filming of Money Has Four Legs, about film censorship in Burma, and about the current political situation in his country with Eija Niskanen, the Artistic Director of Helsinki Cine Aasia.

The interview is part of the free addittional program of our ONLINE festival in 2021. More conversations like this can be found on our official YouTube channel.

Tickets to the film can be bought here!

Check out the interview on the video below:

Malaysian director Edmund Yeo’s new film MALU (2020) can be seen at this year’s festival and we had the pleasure to interview mister Yeo about his film and how his own family history affected the story of the film.

The discussion between Edmund Yeo and Eija Niskanen, the Artistic Director of Helsinki Cine Aasia is a part of our free addittional program which can be seen on our official YouTube channel.

Tickets can be bought here!

Edmund Yeo’s interview below:

Helsinki Cine Aasia 2021 – ONLINE is here!

Our online festival (April 16th – April 18th) has started. The full program can be now streamed and tickets can be bought at Festhome.

And don’t forget our free addittional program which can be found on our official YouTube channel.

The director of Company Retreat (2020) Funahashi Atsushi’s exclusive discussion with Eija Niskanen, the Artistic Director of Helsinki Cine Aasia opens up the facts behind the film. #metoo, women’s status in working life and internet bullying are strong themes on Funahashi’s new film and you can hear more about it by following the link below.

Eija Niskanen, the Artistic Director of Helsinki Cine Aasia interviewed the director of Coealesce (2020) Jessé Miceli together with the French Institute in Finland about his film which can be seen at the ONLINE festival starting tomorrow. The interview is a part of our additional program in 2021 and it is available on YouTube for everyone to see – for free. Jessé Miceli opens up about his experiences shooting a film in Cambodia and the changing landscape and society in Southeast Asia.

Tickets and info of Coalesce (2020) can be found here!

The ONLINE festival will be held from Friday April 16th until Sunday April 18th at Festhome.

Check out the interview below:

Exclusive discussions with some of the directors who made the films which are on our program this year, with our Artistic Director Eija Niskanen. And a interview with Jessé Miceli the director of Coalesce (2020) which is presented to you together with the Institut Francais.

Funasashi Atsushi the director of Company Retreat (2020) tells us about the making of the film and about the status of women in Japan. Not forgetting the #metoo movement.
Edmund Yeo who made the Japanese-Malaysian co-production Malu (2020) opens up about his family and how it affected the film.

Marja-Leena Heikkilä Horn has been teaching history and religions at the University in Thailand over 20 years and last year she released a book about the history of Southeast Asia. Join us for a conversation about the book and the situation in Burma.
We also take a deep dive into the collaboration between Finland and Burma in terms of filmmaking in a separate conversation.

Direct links to the interviews will be updated on our website and social media accounts later this week.

And don’t forget our official Spotify playlists! No better way to tune yourself to the right mood while waiting for the festival.
Helsinki Cine Aasia – Hong Kong And Beyond
Helsinki Cine Aasia – Japan City Vibes

Helsinki Cine Aasia 2021 – ONLINE will be held from Friday April 16th until SUnday April 18th 2021.

Festival vouchers and tickets are on sale now at Festhome!

Helsinki Cine Aasia 2021 – ONLINE tickets are on sale now!

The voucher which allows you to watch the full 12 film program (45€) and single tickets (7€) are now in sale on Festome platform until teh end of the festival! The online festival will be held at Festhome from Friday April 16th until Sunday April 18th 2021.

All new Festhome users are required to register (free) to the site to be able to use it. The site operates in English.

All films are available to watch throughout the whole festival from Friday April 16th until Sunday April 18th at Festhome. The films Aristocrats and Striding into the Wind both have restricted capacity so make sure to be quick with the tickets.

All films are subtitled in English. Films are only available in Finland.

Buy tickets HERE!

Check out the full program here!

It is time to reveal the full program of this year’s festival which will be held online due to the ongoing pandemic and restrictions.This time Helsinki Cine Aasia offers 12 new and intriguing films from Japan, South Korea, China, Philippines, Malaysia, Burma and Cambodia.

Films about cinema
Filmmakers and filmmaking are a big part of this years festival. Just like Sono Sion’s Red Post on Escher Street (2002), Striding into the Wind (2020) by Wei Shujun, which was part of the Cannes selection, and Money Has Four Legs (2020) by Maung Sun uses filmmaking as a driving force of their stories. Striding into the Wind follows an aimless film student trying to find imaginary freedom on a film shooting trip to Inner Mongolia. Money Has Four Legs comes from Burma and follows a young director Wai Bhone making a revised version of a classic local film. The film draws a satirical picture of filmmaking and the state of the Burmese society in the year 2020, the 100th anniversary of Burmese cinema, unfortunately just shortly before the new military coup in February 2021.

Female directors’ perspectives
Ohku Akiko’s Hold Me Back (2020), Sode Yukiko’s Aristocrats (2020) and Yoon Ga-eun’s The House of Us (2020) are all directed by women. Hold Me Back is a romantic comedy about the relationship problems in the life of a female office worker. Aristocrats contrasts a woman from Japans upper skeletons with a countryside girls efforts to make it. South Korean film The House of Us show us a friendship of Hana and the two sisters Yoo-mi and Yoo-jin over the summer which offers comradery, warmth and adventure, but also challenges that the children can only do their best to solve.

Check out the full program HERE!

All film have English subtitles and they are only available in Finland.

The online festival will be held from Friday April 16th until Sunday April 18th at Festhhome.
Ticket sale starts on Wednesday April 7th.

It’s time for our third reveal from Helsinki Cine Aasia 2021 – ONLINE program which will be released on Monday March 29th.

Hold Me Back (Watashi wo kuitomete, 2020) which is directed by Ohku Akiko and based on Wataya Risa’s novel, is a romantic comedy about a 31 year old Kudora Mitsuko, who lives a happy single life. She has an alter ego called “A”, who gives her all the answers in her life. Everything is about to change, when she falls in love.
Tokyo International Film Festival awarded Hold Me Back with an audience award last November.

Japanese director Ohku Akiko’s film Tremble All You Want (Katte ni furuetero, 2017) won the same award at Tokyo International Film Festival back in 2017.

Helsinki Cine Aasia – ONLINE will be held from Friday April 16th until Sunday April 18th 2021.

Hold Me Back trailer below.

Return to the silver screens

It has always been important for Helsinki Cine Aasia to bring the latest and brightest works from East and Southeast Asia to the big screens in Finland, and we are planning to do just that in 2021 also.

The festival together with Cinema Orion will be arranging a series of theatrical screenings including films from our online festival lineup and other new releases. The screenings will be held at Cinema Orion in Helsinki when the restrictions allow, and it is yet again safe to convene.

Helsinki Cine Aasia and Cinema Orion will release the program and timing of the series on their website and social media accounts once it is confirmed.

Helsinki Cine Aasia and Cinema Orion will release the program and timing of the series on their website and social media accounts.

Cinema Orionin website, facebook & instagram.

Our second reveal from the Helsinki Cine Aasia 2021 program is Edmund Yeo’s latest film Malu (2020).

This co-production between Malaysia and Japan is a poetic and mysterious portrayal of two sisters who have been separated from each other. Their lives are seen in different times and places, but is it possible to truly find each other? Cinematographer Pahurac Kong’s impressive shooting style combines realism with artistry.

Edmundin Yeo won the Best Director Award in 2017 at Tokyo International Film Festival with his previous feature film Aqerat. His success story began years earlier at Venice Film Festival where his short film Kingyo premiered in 2009.

Malu, which premiered at Tokyo International Film Festival last fall has been favored by the critics, now it’s our time!

The Ninth Helsinki Cine Aasia will be held online from April 16th until April 18th.

Check out the trailer:

Experience Asia from the safety of your own home!
Helsinki Cine Aasia goes ONLINE!

The only film festival of contemporary Asian cinema in Finland will be arranged for the 9th time from 16th of April until 18th of April online.
The films will be available for everyone in Finland, and you can enjoy them safely and responsibly in the comfort of your own home.

Read more