Finns on film

Arja Raatikainen’s internationally acclaimed dance piece   “Opal-D“ has been adapted for film. Director Kimmo Koskela, who was also responsible for the multimedia of the stage production, unified all the design elements, the stage on a water pillow and the choreography danced by Arja Raatikainen and Katri Soin, in a film version which is even more powerful than the stage production.

The half-hour film was pro­duced by Kimmo Koskela Art & Media House and financed by the Arts Council of Finland, the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and TV channel Yle Teema, the digital arts and documentary channel of the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation.
Three other Finnish dance films have also recently been completed: the popular “Fairy,“ choreographed and danced by Jyrki Karttunen with multimedia and lighting by Kimmo Karjunen; “Blind Moment,“ a funny, mysterious Beckett-like duet by Harri Kuorelahti, featuring a man who seems to have lost his memory while Liisa Pentti as his shadow follows him everywhere; and “Sahara,“ choreographed by Alpo Aaltokoski, another choreographer from the Finnish production house Nomadi. Aaltokoski’s work looks at people living in extreme circumstances and some parts were ...