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<\/p>\nOne of this year\u2019s star guests, Ulla Heikkil\u00e4<\/b>, is part of TFF\u2019s programme with a retrospective screening of her work and a carte blanche <\/i>curated by her. Also known for her feature films (Eden<\/i>, 2020, and Summer is Crazy<\/i>, 2025), Heikkil\u00e4\u2019s films have been shown around the world at numerous film festivals, and are now coming to silver screens in her very own home town.<\/p>\n
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Joutomaa<\/em> (Suomi, 2016)<\/p>\n In her own words, Heikkil\u00e4 sees film as a vehicle to reflect things that are \u201cinstinctual and fundamental\u201d. In her work, this is often reflected through the microcosms of singular people and relationships: the dynamics present in different communities as well as the everyday challenges we all face are presenetd through a lens of poignant humor and empathy. Producer Miia Haavisto<\/b> describes Heikkil\u00e4\u2019s way of telling stories about communities: \u201cThere\u2019s always someone or something in the background, slightly outside of everything (…)\u00a0 Still, these films hold a promise of some secret hidden power within these characters, just waiting to burst. When it finally does, everything is finally real in a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n In TFF\u2019s programme, these social situations are explored through facing a difficult friendship break-up of your past in #barewithme<\/i> (2016), and navigating the interpersonal challenges of a group of kids trying to build their own utopia despite their differences in an abandoned hotel in Wasteland <\/i>(2016). Heikkil\u00e4 names physicality, anguish, magic, sanctity and childhood as her favourite elements in film: The last two are present in Golgotha <\/i>(2016), where ten-year-old Inari makes a deal with God to guarantee that May Day goes well for his family.<\/p>\n Her Carte blanche screening also showcases a more experimental approach to filmmaking. The dance-forward short Lasso <\/i>(Salla Tykk\u00e4, 2000), and Tissi<\/i> (Milja Viita, 2004), a minute-long black-and-white film about a lactating breast, tell stories without saying a word; whereas Min B\u00f6rda <\/i>(Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017) explores the hardships of modern life through an animated musical. Directed by her lifelong friend Tiina Ruusuvuori<\/b>, <\/i>to Heikkil\u00e4 the film Untitled (burned rubber on asphalt, 2018)<\/i> (2019) represents being from Tampere, being in art school, being in film school, and Tampere Film Festival \u2013 while having nothing to do with any of these things.<\/p>\n As a director, Heikkil\u00e4 is perceptive and empathetic. She describes her relationship to film in the introductory text to her Carte blanche: \u201c(…) Film has this ability to go straight to the most fundamental questions. It may not do so intellectually, but on an emotional level it prods at the core experiences of being human. All of the films in this screening reach somewhere deep as well; they grab hold of your heart and squeeze it into a slightly new position.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full introduction, as well as Miia Haavisto\u2019s introduction to Heikkil\u00e4\u2019s retrospective screening:<\/p>\n