Films Capturing the Reality of Southeast Asia to Be Showcased at the 2026 Tampere Film Festival

This year, the programme of Tampere Film Festival offers a glimpse into life in Southeast Asia as the Finnish Foundation for Media and Development (VIKES) and SEA media institutions celebrate 20 years of collaboration. The films in the thematic programme 20 Years of Capturing Reality in Southeast Asia shed light on the film sector of a multicultural, rapidly changing and deeply conflicted area, while documenting the everyday realities of its people.

– We are incredibly happy to be able to share these rare and remarkable films with the audience of Tampere Film Festival. I also feel that in doing so, we are showing solidarity with young filmmakers working under difficult political conditions, says Kristiina Markkanen, Global Education Specialist at VIKES.

The theme is divided into a total of five screenings, the first three of which are short film screenings. These screenings offer rare windows into Southeast Asia: for example, the documentary Ruby Hunters (2024) depicts the everyday lives of illegal ruby miners in Mogok. Issues of human rights and the inequality experienced across all levels of society are explored in films such as Burmese Butterfly (2011), a portrait of a young transgender dancer, and the animation Dear Daughter (2023), based on a Myanmar woman’s experiences of being sold into marriage to a Chinese man.

A sense of tenderness is brought to the programme by films such as Dating in the Dark (2025), which follows a young ethnic Pa-O searching for love and a partner for life. The documentary A Million Threads (2006), in turn, invites audiences to a pagoda to behold the ecstatic exertions of the all-female contestants of a full moon weaving competition as the crowd cheers and drums pulsate.

The fourth screening features the feature-length documentary Song of Souls (2023), in which the songs of a well-known folk singer and mesmerising rituals practiced in Shan State together portray the filmmaker’s emotional landscape and the profound sense of loss felt by the people as a result of the country’s devastating political conditions and more than 70 years of civil war.

The fifth screening includes the film Behind the Screen (2013), which tells the love story of a famous Burmese film-star couple using archival footage from the 1960s and 1970s. This screening will be followed by a discussion with invited guests from Southeast Asia about the challenges of being a filmmaker in a politically unstable yet fascinating country. Participation in the discussion event requires advance registration.

Tampere Film Festival takes place 4–8 March 2026. Previously announced highlights of the upcoming programme include the thematic programme Faith and a retrospective of guest star Rúnar Rúnarsson. The competition selections for the 2026 festival will be announced at the end of January. The full festival programme will be published and individual tickets will go on sale on 10 February 2026. Serial Cards are already available in the festival’s online shop.