Juho Kuosmanen’s lauded Compartment no. 6 will get its highly anticipated Finnish premiere as the opening film of the Espoo Ciné International Film Festival on Monday, August 23.
On Saturday, Compartment no. 6 was awarded with the Grand Prix in the Cannes Film Festival’s Competition. Directed by Juho Kuosmanen, it is the second Finnish film ever to receive the prestigious award. The internationally lauded film will be seen for the first time in Finland at Espoo Ciné. It will be released in Finnish cinemas in the fall of 2021.
“ Juho Kuosmanen is one of the greatest Finnish directors, and we are very happy and proud to get to present his film at Espoo Ciné once again,” says the festival’s Head of Programming Mickael Suominen. Kuosmanen’s previous feature film The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki was Espoo Ciné’s Finnish Gala Film in 2016. Several of his short films have also been screened at the festival.
“ This year’s festival programme will showcase domestic cinema to an exceptional extent,” Suominen anticipates. The festival will celebrate the 2020 Jussi Award nominees with a selection bringing the best film Jussi nominees Any Day Now, Eden, Games People Play, Ladies of Steel and Tove to the silver screens once more.
Loosely based on Rosa Liksom’s Finlandia-winning novel, Compartment no. 6 takes a train ride through 1990s Russia, along with a Finnish student and a Russian miner. Sharing a compartment brings the unlikely duo together, in the uniquely-set story laced with warm humour.
Seidi Haarla and Yuriy Borisov shine in the leading roles. Finnish Haarla was recently named as one of the winners of the Shooting Stars award, showcasing rising stars in European film.
The 32nd Espoo Ciné will take place on August 23–29. The festival’s entire programme will be released on Tuesday, August 10. Ticket sales start on the following day, August 11. Up-to-date information on the festival programme and ticket sales can be found on the festival website at espoocine.fi.
