Three Finnish Films at the BFI London Film Festival

  • Canned Dreams reveals the invisible lives behind mass-production of food. Africa and All Hallow's Week are shown as parts of short film selections.

    Canned Dreams is a documentary revealing the sometimes disturbing stories of the people and practices behind modern food production. The movie can now be seen at the 56th BFI London Film Festival that is taking place 10–21 October in various venues around the city. The BFI, British Film Institute, exists to promote greater understanding and appreciation of film culture in the UK.

    For Canned Dreams director Katja Gauriloff has travelled thousands of miles to the numerous countries where the many components of a single can of ravioli are sourced. By letting the workers to share their personal stories, hopes and dreams Gauriloff builds a lyrical and moving narrative. Workers' monologues are overlaid across images of them grafting in wheat fields, bauxite mines and factory farms. Together these two elements form a powerful and thought-provoking insight into our modern globalised world.

    Two other finnish films, Africa and All Hallow's Week, are shown as parts of short film selections at the BFI Festival. Africa (part of Intimimacy), directed by Matti Harju, shows a man in a state of acute psychosis. All Hallow's Week (part of Crimes and Punishments) by Jussi Hiltunen, deals with a shooting incident in Finland.

    Another film festival in London, the 20th Raindance, has also presented two Finnish films screening. One of the two films, Finnish thriller Indebted won Best Debut Feature at the awards ceremony on Saturday.Indebted is directed by Márton Jelinkó and tells a dark story of two women's lives colliding.

    Another Finnish Film presented at Raindance was Sounbreaker, directed by Kimmo Koskela, is a documentary about a revolutionary Finnish musician Kimmo Pohjonen. Pohjonen has pushed his instrument, accordion, into exciting new directions. 

    BFI London Film Festival

    Canned Dreams
    14 October 12.45pm, 17 October 3.15pm at Vue West End, on 3 Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square WC2H
    and 19 October 9pm on 35–47 at Rich Mix, on Bethnal Green Road E1 6LA

    More info:
    www.bfi.org.uk/lff
    www.raindance.co.uk/site/festival