{"id":61895,"date":"2026-03-12T13:24:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T11:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tamperefilmfestival.fi\/?p=61895"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:24:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T11:24:19","slug":"tampere-film-festival-concludes-highlights-included-vastavirta-kasitonni-and-the-silent-film-at-tampere-cathedral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tamperefilmfestival.fi\/en\/tampere-film-festival-concludes-highlights-included-vastavirta-kasitonni-and-the-silent-film-at-tampere-cathedral\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampere Film Festival Concludes \u2013 Highlights Included Vastavirta, Kasitonni, and the Silent Film at Tampere Cathedral"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 56th edition of Tampere Film Festival, the largest short film festival in the Nordic countries, took place from 4\u20138 March. Ticket sales were once again lively, with several screenings selling out. The festival programme across venues and online attracted approximately 19,000 visitors in total. Around 16,000 people attended film screenings and various professional and public events during the week, while films available online have so far accumulated more than 3,000 views.<\/span><\/p>\n

A strong audience turnout was already visible on the festival\u2019s opening day, Wednesday 4 March. For example, the world premiere of the <\/span>Vastavirta Documentary<\/span><\/i> (Finland, 2026, dir. <\/span>Joona Virtanen<\/b>), screened at Arthouse Cinema Niagara, sold out. The film\u2019s Saturday screening at Finnkino Cine Atlas was also fully booked as expected. Several other screenings also reached full capacity during the festival; audiences showed interest in archival short films from Tampere, the films of star guest <\/span>R\u00fanar R\u00fanarsson<\/b>, and the Southeast Asian programme. Screenings of the European award nominees, European Short Film \u2013 Prix Vimeo 2026 Nominees and European Short Film Audience Award 1 and 2, also filled theatres on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Anssi
Photo: 8000: An Art Odyssey (Finland, 2025, dir. Sami S\u00e4np\u00e4kkil\u00e4)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Competition screenings were likewise popular. Sold-out shows included the screening of <\/span>Anssi Kasitonnin maailma<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>8000: An Art Odyssey<\/span><\/i>, Finland, 2025, dir. <\/span>Sami S\u00e4np\u00e4kkil\u00e4<\/b>), which won the Audience Award in the National Competition, as well as the National Competition screenings 10 and 11 on Saturday and the <\/span>Generation XYZ 3<\/span><\/i> programme on both Friday and Saturday. As usual, the Sunday screenings of Awarded Films attracted large audiences, and this year each programme was shown three times to ensure seat availability. The screenings of the International Competition award winners were particularly popular, and the Audience Award winner <\/span>Living Despite Them<\/span><\/i> (Palestine, 2024\/2025) by <\/span>Antonia Colodro<\/b> and <\/span>Alaa Hathleen<\/b> received especially enthusiastic applause.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the free events, the traditional silent film screening at Tampere Cathedral reached a record audience of 850 viewers. This year\u2019s programme featured the German classic <\/span>The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, <\/span><\/i>Germany, 1920) accompanied live on the organ by <\/span>Esa Toivola<\/b>. Discussions also drew strong interest; for example, the discussion event Witness: Arctic Indigenous Voices III, focusing on documentaries by filmmakers from Arctic Indigenous communities, filled the venue. The free Minikino screenings on Saturday and Sunday mornings also attracted many families with young children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Competition Films Available Online Until Sunday 15 March<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the festival\u2019s highlights was the Awards held on Saturday evening at Comedy Theatre Palace, where the best films of the competition series were honoured. More than 300 people attended the event. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Georgian film <\/span>Inherited Silence<\/span><\/i> (Georgia, 2025) by <\/span>Mariam Khatchvani<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the National Competition for films over 30 minutes, the Main Prize went to <\/span>Jukka K\u00e4rkk\u00e4inen\u2019s<\/b> documentary <\/span>Kappale kauneinta Suomea \u2013 The Beauty of Errors<\/span><\/i> (Finland, 2026). K\u00e4rkk\u00e4inen also received the annual Risto Jarva Prize from the Finnish Film Foundation, awarded exceptionally this year both for his feature documentary and for his film <\/span>The Beauty of Automobiles<\/span><\/i> (Finland, 2026), which competed in the under-30-minute category.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Palkintojenjakotilaisuus
Photo: Jeffrey Mayeda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Main Prize in the National Competition for films under 30 minutes was awarded to <\/span>Risto-Pekka Blom\u2019s<\/b> experimental documentary <\/span>Liian sininen taivas<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>Too Blue a Sky<\/span><\/i>, Finland, 2026). In the genre-focused Generation XYZ Competition, the Best Genre Film award went to <\/span>Jocelyn Charles\u2019s<\/b> animated film <\/span>Dieu est timide<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>God Is Shy<\/span><\/i>, France, 2025).<\/span><\/p>\n

With a few exceptions, the festival\u2019s competition films are available to watch online on the Filmchief platform until Sunday 15 March. More information about the online screenings can be found in the <\/span>Online Screenings page<\/span><\/a>. A selection of award-winning short films from the 2026 festival will also be screened on Saturday 14 March at the event <\/span>The Best of Tampere 2026<\/span><\/a>, organised by the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The 57th Tampere International Film Festival will take place next spring, 10\u201314 March 2027.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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