Mark Lwoff

"8 views" is an eastern art tradition where one place (primarily the area around Lake Biwa in Japan) is described through eight motifs, among which are scarlet, snow, sailboats returning home in the evening, rain, autumn moon, temple bell, gust of wind, flight of forest geese. These motifs frame eight intertwining tragic love stories, the setting of which are modern Russian fishing villages of old believers on the border of Estonian-Russian settlements and cultures by Lake Peipsi. The spiritualization of everything living and inanimate from Japanese animism, the eroticism of shunga and the humble language of prayer merge into a spiritual and magical world of a small community, where one still believes that one is connected with everything.

Saara and Robert are living a love that is free from traditional conventions and role models. They set off to an extensive summer holiday on a lonely island in the Finnish archipelago where the tension between them escalates and becomes a fight for survival.

The story of two lonely people who meet each other by chance in the Helsinki night and try to find the first, only, and ultimate love of their lives. Their path towards this honorable goal is clouded by the man's alcoholism, lost phone numbers, not knowing each other's names or addresses, and life's general tendency to place obstacles in the way of those seeking their happiness.

A fisherman's son is offered the ultimate privilege to study at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the epicenter of power of Sunni Islam. Shortly after his arrival, the university’s highest ranking religious leader, the Grand Imam, dies and the young student ecomes a pawn in a ruthless power struggle between Egypt's religious and political elite.

Centuries in the future, world's freshwater supplies are running out. Wars are waged over water, and China rules over Europe, including the Scandinavian Union. Far in the north, young woman, Noria, is learning to become a Tea Master, like her father. Tea Masters alone know the location of hidden water sources, including the natural spring that Noria’s father tends, which once provided water for her whole village. After her father dies, the military moves in to watch over the village -- and Noria. Refusing to give in her freshwater spring, Noria digs in deeper into her family’s secret. Within the Tea Masters’ books, she finds information that the government’s power is based on lies, that there still might be fresh water left for everyone. She risks her own life and sets out on a dangerous journey to find out if this is true.

Guled and Nasra are a loving couple, living in the outskirts of Djibouti city with their teenage son, Mahad. However, they are facing difficult times: Nasra urgently needs an expensive surgery to treat a chronic kidney disease. Guled is already working hard as a gravedigger to make ends meet.

Four children become friends during the summer holidays, and out of sight of the adults they discover they have hidden powers. While exploring their newfound abilities in the nearby forests and playgrounds, their innocent play takes a dark turn and strange things begin to happen.

Acclaimed Finnish director Rauni Mollberg made several scandalous yet widely appreciated films. Former co-worker Veikko Aaltonen’s eye-opening documentary The Dinosaur looks at the relentless, often disturbing directing techniques behind Mollberg’s art and success.

A woman who has had enough of anonymous dick pics finds eyeglasses that give her the ability to see which men are the real dicks – but the dicks can also see her.

Jörn Donner’s entire production can be considered as a self-portrait, a life-spanning performance. Whilst others have painted one image or another of Donner, John Webster’s interpretation differs in that it pulls most of its material from Donner’s last-intended interview in December 2019, and an immense never-before-seen collection of photographs from albums simply labelled “Donner – Privat”. As a result, the film morphs into an epilogue of sorts, of Donner’s life story.

Tundra of Lapland, Finland. Rupi, a young man who fills his days dealing and drinking, works in a mine hoping to raise enough money to escape the desolate village where he lives.

A humoristic coming-of-age story of Johannes who is born prematurely to a very young single mother. His destiny is to be always separated from his loved ones, to be “different”, to lose his hair because of pollution and to fall in love with a Chechen girl. All this during the turbulent times of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Viktoria is an odd and extremely self-disciplined researcher in the field of suicide. She is invited to a psychiatric ward to treat the suicidal patient Jenny. Through intimate night conversations, they form a tight bond. Viktoria slowly opens up to experience closeness with another person for the first time in her life, but the closer the two women get, the more it becomes clear that something is not as it seems.

A woman wakes up on a beach tied in a plastic press wearing only underwear and high heels. “Not again”, she sighs and decides to track down the enemy and strike back. She gets a companion from an older woman, who has been pushed to the borders of society. During their journey through classical cinematic landscapes these nameless women from different generations struggle to connect and understand each other’s perspectives while their passion for men and male attention gets in away.

Pekka Malmikunnas is a bankrupt, penniless man, who has convinced his family that he is still the CEO of a large IT company. Maintaining this façade in order to save face has become something of a full-time job for him. When Pekka’s parents unexpectedly come for a visit, he throws a lavish family dinner party in order to dispel any doubts. The soirée is a success until Pekka’s god-daughter gets run over by a car. The reckless driver becomes a mutual enemy for the family. The driver tries to atone for his actions, but the situation spirals out of control and Pekka attacks the man. Pekka realizes things have gone too far and decides to tell his family the truth. It does not hurt as much as Pekka thought, bringing the pieces of a once broken family back together.

Eero’s career as an author is spiraling down: he just can’t get started with his new novel. The ambitious actor Pihla is about to get her international break. Neither of them is willing to sacrifice their career even though their relationship is doing worse than ever. Void is a comedy-drama about the price of success and the agony of failure, and about situations where your partner just doesn’t get it.

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Ingmar Bergman the Finnish writer and director Jörn Donner shares his memories of his friend and collaborator. The movie is based on two as yet unpublished TV interviews with Bergman which Donner filmed in 1975 and 1987.

One woman’s desperate struggle to survive a horde of men with frail egos, who just want to explain everything to her. But the biggest horror may be closer to her than she thinks.

New Mexico, present day. Brian and Lukas are off to the desert to join a kegger party and to celebrate Lukas’ victory in a motocross competition. His winning prize includes meeting The Deathinator, the biggest action star in the world. The party gets started under the hot desert sun, but Brian isn’t in the mood, so he wanders off and is soon joined by his friend, Lukas. They discover something strange in the desert which leads them into a secret military laboratory, where they discover the disturbing truth of what the government has been doing. Secret experiments on ants and spiders using DNA found in a meteorite which fell to Earth in 1951 has given birth to mutated giant ants which have overrun the facility. Now, it's up to Brian and Lukas to save the world from a giant ant invasion!

Armi Ratia is the woman behind the legendary design company Marimekko and a worldwide celebrity. A theatre company has taken on the task of trying to portray the life and work of this complex person. The sets mainly consist of the well-known patterns that we all have grown to love. Armi is a brave, risk-taking businesswoman and her passion for her company repeatedly takes its toll on her employees, finances and family. The company grows while Armi's personal life is shaken by suicide attempts and turbulence. In Armi Alive!, Oscar-nominated film producer and director Jörn Donner portrays a fascinating woman with fervent ideas about the new Finnish man, her company, fabrics and clothes.

Pop singer Kari and his girl dump a tightly wrapped mattress on a frozen lake. Things don’t quite go as planned, and the two go to Kari’s old drummer friend for help. Paranoia, jealousy and a series of increasingly absurd events ensue.

Pop singer Kari and his girl dump a tightly wrapped mattress on a frozen lake. Things don’t quite go as planned, and the two go to Kari’s old drummer friend for help. Paranoia, jealousy and a series of increasingly absurd events ensue.

A 14-year-old boy in a stifling Helsinki slum takes some unwise life lessons from his soon-to-be-incarcerated older brother, in Finnish master Pirjo Honkasalo’s gorgeously stylized and emotionally devastating work about what we pass on to younger generations, and the ways we do it.

This 3D animated opera deals in a socially critical manner with the topic of illegal immigrants fleeing from Africa to Europe and it is also a story of impossible love between orange boy Maroc, a singing boat refugee, and lemon girl Lisa, who collects singing seashells and dreams about love. Maroc is the brave hero-type, bound by prejudice and poverty. Lisa is the daughter of a rich businessman and tomato ketchup plantation owner. Here we have the fruitier version of Romeo and Juliet - a 3D animated operatic extravaganza!

Marcel Marx, a former bohemian and struggling author, has given up his literary ambitions and relocated to the port city Le Havre. He leads a simple life based around his wife Arletty, his favourite bar and his not too profitable profession as a shoeshiner. As Arletty suddenly becomes seriously ill, Marcel's path crosses with an underage illegal immigrant from Africa, who needs Marcel's help to hide from the police.

When his mother takes a shine to a man at a party, a young man begins to lose his grip on reality.

Finnish Kerttu Nuorteva is spying for the Russians in Helsinki during World War II. She is arrested and interrogated in the hope that she will uncover the Soviet Union espionage tactics.

Modern finnish movie about two very different young adults that after a chance meeting end up making music together and fall in love. While Nellis parents have the perfect career and man planned, she dreams of becoming a singer. Through a chance meeting at the studio, she meets the young and grungy Hip Hop music artist Sunen and asks him to help her make a demo tape. Not only is the ensuing story about differences growing closer and the difficulties that have to be overcome, well told. Also the music is exceptionally well made. It is quite unbelievable that this is the first feature of the director.

There's nothing worse than loneliness during Christmas - except your own family.

Nissim wants to mend his relationship with his son and won't let small obstacles like his own death stand in his way.

Everyone knew ‘public Jörn’, and a large number of people also knew ‘private Jörn’ as a friend, colleague, contemporary or family member. However, according to Jörn, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Last Interview that was made during four days in December 2019 includes exclusive material that gives us a new perspective into the life of this exceptional cultural and political giant.

Based on true events, Let the River flow is a story about Ester, recently graduated teacher who turns into an activist, and is ready to sacrifice her life for the rights of nature and the Sámi.