Upon discovering that Eurasian lynxes– hunted to near-extinction a century ago in Finland– have begun to prowl anew across his land, reclusive farmer Hannu sets up trail cameras to track the elusive wild cats he calls his friends: Joseph, Velvet Eyes, Grumpy Girl, and Spot. Hannu’s footage soon sees the night open up to all manner of delightful wildlife encounters: a fox frightened by geese; a moose’s stand-off with a mirror; lynx cubs trailing after their mother in single file. Inspired by this indirect contact with the animals he has sworn to protect, Hannu dons a whittled lynx mask and enacts a few playful, primal rituals of his own in the moonlight, where the distinctions between man and beast begin to blur.
Director Juha Suonpää’s projections of trail footage over sauna smoke imbue this quirky documentary with a uniquely mesmerizing quality.
Grand Prix, Cinemambiente 2023
Series Media Partner
Finland/Estonia
2023
Insights
In Finnish with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Pasi Hakkio, Niina Virtanen
Screenwriter
Juha Suonpää, Hanna Kaihlanen
Cinematography
Alexander Markus Lembke, Juha Suonpää
Editor
Tuuli Kuittinen, Hanna Kaihlanen
Original Music
Puuluup, Kimmo Helén, Tanel Kadalipp
Director
Photo by Juha Suonpää
Juha Suonpää
Juha Suonpää is an academic, photographer and filmmaker. Suonpää’s film Wolfman premiered in Visions Du Réel 2013. He continues to research and publish in the field of photography, visualizing science and the construction of the identity of a place.
Filmography: Vuores (2000); Wolfman (2013)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Cold War
This month's Talking Pictures screening (coffee and cookies on the house!) is a Polish love story about a musical director who falls under the spell of a singer while on a Communist-sponsored mission to package native folk songs for the social good.
Spring After Spring
Three daughters strive to live up to the standards set by their mother Marie Mimi Ho, and keep Vancouver Chinatown's Spring Parade going through thick and thin, in this enormously affectionate local documentary by Jon Chiang.
The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes
A beautiful portrait of E.J. Hughes, who quietly helped reshape the artistic landscape of British Columbia in the 20th century. This extraordinary documentary explores Hughes’s legacy not only as an artist, but as a devoted, humble human being.
Montreal, ma belle
In this Valentine to discovering love later in life, the ever-elegant Joan Chen plays Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother in Montreal whose world is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with a young Quebecoise.
Sirât
A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.
