An exploration of Urho Kekkonen, from his youth as a competitive sportsman to becoming a phenomena that lives on long after his death.
Language: Fin Duration: 92 min Age Limit: For all ages
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Wed 5.3. -
17:00 -
Arthouse Cinema Niagara -
12,50
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WD15
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Fri 7.3.
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10:00
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Arthouse Cinema Niagara
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12,50
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FR63
- Buy ticket
This spring, Finnish Film Archive remembers president Kekkonen and gets meta about filmmaking.
In the fall of 2025, it will be 125 years since the birth of Urho Kekkonen. Despite his death nearly forty years ago, President Kekkonen still remains a figure we as a people compare all our leaders to. The screening shows Kekkonen as an exemplary sportsman, the formidable captain steering the ship of the Finnish state through dangerous waters, and finally as someone who lives on in the collective memory of the people. The documentaries draw a picture of a media politician more modern than his predecessors and contemporaries alike; a man who intuitively understands how to perform for the cameras in a way that rivals the on-screen presence of many professional actors. The screening ends with a short film that closes the circle, showing the competitive sportsman inside our president once more.
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UKK urheiluvaikuttajana
Kekkonen as a Sports InfluencerDirector: -Country: FinlandYear: 1933–38Genre: DocumentaryDuration: 3 minBefore his political career, Urho Kekkonen (1900–1986) was an athlete on the national level. Later he served as head of the Finnish Olympic Committee. The earliest film fragments of Kekkonen can be found in sports films, where he visits the Finland-England and Finland-France national athletics matches in 1933 and the Finnish Athletics Championships in 1938.
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Finlandia-katsaus 289
Finlandia Review 289Director: Allan PyykköCountry: FinlandYear: 1956Genre: DocumentaryDuration: 7 minUrho Kekkonen assumed the office of President of the Republic of Finland on 1.3.1956. J. K. Paasikivi hands over the duties of President to Urho Kekkonen, who states that he will follow Paasikivi's policy and humbly accept the duties of President. On the same day, a general strike declared by the The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) also began.
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Maan isä hiihtää
Our Skiing PresidentDirector: Olavi PuusaariCountry: FinlandYear: 1957Genre: DocumentaryDuration: 9 minAge Limit:
President Kekkonen's skiing trip in January 1957 begins in Taipalsaari. From there, the President skis towards Puumala along the frozen Lake Saimaa. From Puumala the journey continues to Ryhälä and from there on to Sulkava and Savonlinna. Another of the President's ski trips was recorded by film cameras in late winter 1957 in Kainuu.
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Urho Kekkonen
Director: Harry Lewing, Allan Pyykkö. Orvo Saarikivi, Armas LaurinenCountry: FinlandYear: 1961Genre: DocumentaryDuration: 40 minAge Limit:
The documentary, intended as an election film, covers the key events of Urho Kekkonen's first presidential term. The President of the Republic of Finland makes state visits all over the world and travels frequently in Finland. The President's spouse Sylvi Kekkonen is also featured in the documentary. The President also comes to Tampere in July 1961, when King Olav of Norway visits Finland. President Kekkonen's first term was a time of many crises, but they are not really featured in the film. Instead, the ending is heartwarming: Urho picks a fallen autumn leaf from the ground and hands it to Sylvi.
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UKK kansan suussa
Memories of the PresidentDirector: Risto LinnusCountry: FinlandYear: 1982Genre: DocumentaryDuration: 29 minAfter 25 years in office, President Kekkonen stepped down as president due to health issues in autumn 1981. Soon after, Mainostelevisio MTV produced a programme in which Väinö Linna, Eero Mäntyranta, Matias Keskinen as well as numerous ordinary Finns talk about the significance of Urho Kekkonen.
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Kekkonen
Director: Jari AlakoskelaCountry: FinlandYear: 1998Genre: FictionDuration: 4 minAge Limit:
Over the years, President Kekkonen's personality has also inspired numerous fiction films. Jari Alakoskela's short film represents the top of Kekkonen fiction. It is early winter 1956 and the newly elected President of the Republic of Finland, Urho Kekkonen, is on a business trip. Kekkonen's journey is interrupted when he wants to demonstrate both his political and physical strength. The film was awarded the Napinpainajat prize at Tampere Film Festival in 1999.
