The festival programme has been released – The Finnish Cannes hits The Gravedigger's Wife and Compartment no. 6 have their Finnish premieres at Espoo Ciné
The Finnish Gala Film is Khadar Ayderus Ahmed's The Gravedigger's Wife, which gets its Finnish premiere at the festival. The closing film is Phyllida Lloyd's acclaimed Irish drama Herself. The festival opens with Juho Kuosmanen's Cannes-awarded Compartment no. 6. Get to know our entire programme now!
The 32nd Espoo Ciné brings to theatres a selection of the best of new European cinema, along with an exceptionally wide array of Finnish films. The festival opens with Juho Kuosmanen's Cannes Film Festival's Grand Prix winner Compartment no. 6. The film has its Finnish premiere at the festival, in three screenings on Monday, August 23. It will be released in theatres nationally in the fall.
Espoo Ciné's Finnish Gala Film is the internationally lauded The Gravedigger's Wife, which was selected to Cannes Film Festival's Critics Week and the Toronto International Film Festival. Khadar Ayderus Ahmed's gentle and universal story about community, love and a poor gravedigger. The film will be screened on the festival on Wednesday, August 25. It will be released in theatres nationally in the fall.
Espoo Ciné closes on Sunday, August 29 with two screenings of Phyllida Lloyd's (Iron Lady, Mamma Mia!) Sundance standout Herself, in which an unrelenting mother (Claire Dunne) escapes her violent husband and starts a new life with her daughters by building a house. The film will be released in theatres on September 17.
In the Kino Tapiola screening of the closing film, the first ever Espoo Ciné Award will be given out. The festival's titular award will be given to an agent that has significantly advanced the diversity between art forms in their work in the film industry. The award will be handed out by Krista Kosonen.
The festival's Finnish programme includes Claes Olsson's Yellow Sulphur Sky, which is based on Kjell Westö's hit novel recounting a palette of relationships in Helsinki through decades. It arrives to theatres on November 5. The festival will show Tuija Halttunen's documentary How to Kill a Cloud ahead of its release on August 28. It is about a Finnish climate scientist’s ambitious attempt to create rain in the United Arab Emirates. Guðjón Ragnarsson's Raise the Bar, a documentary about a girls’ basketball team that wants to play against boys, will also be screened in Espoo Ciné ahead of its theatrical release on September 3.
The official guidelines are followed in the festival arrangements. Up-to-date information on the festival's safety regulations can be found on the festival website. Junior Ciné will be held online this year.
The 32nd Espoo Ciné will be organised on August 23–29. The festival ticket sales start on Wednesday, August 11 at 12 am on the festival website and in Kino Tapiola. Up-to-date information on the programme and ticket sales can be found on the festival website.
