AV-arkki’s and Cinema Orion’s Art for Art’s Sake screenings continue on May 16 at 17:00 in Cinema Orion with the screening “Fantasies from Scratch”, under the theme “Exploring Fantasies”. The short films of the screening are searching for the seeds of fantasy from minimalist elements, even from distances and absence. 

Awarded with the grand prix at ISFF Oberhausen, Rwandan filmmaker Philbert Aimé Mbabazi Sharangabo’s I Got My Things and Left (2018) is a serene potrayal of a group of friends finding consolation from dance and spending time together after one of them is passed away. Pekka Sassi’s Bad News from Heaven (2006) is a short, abstract otherwordly dystopia. Basma Alsharif’s We Began by Measuring Distance (2009) is a melancholic attempt to contemplate on the Israeli offence on Gaza. After these images of death and war, Paola Fernanda Guzmán Figueroa’s Mommy say something to the camera, mom! (2021) brings us in the realm of family ties and the wonder of life. 

After the films, there will be a panel discussion “Can we afford fantasies?” with artists Paola Fernanda Guzmán Figueroa and Kaino Wennerstrand and senior researcher Aino-Kaisa Koistinen (University of Jyväskylä). 

The screening programme is supported by Kone Foundation, Ministry of Culture and Education and the City of Helsinki. The screening programme is curated by Diego Ginartes, Sepideh Rahaa, Tytti Rantanen, and Azar Saiyar. The screening programme continues on August 29 2023 with the theme “Reconstruction Site”. Free entrance. Tickets can be purchased from Cinema Orion’s ticket sales.

The programme: 

Philbert Aimé Mbabazi Sharangabo: I Got My Things and Left (RW, CH, 2018, 22:00, Kinyarwanda, English, 12) 
Pekka Sassi: Bad News from Heaven (FI 2006, 02:40, English, 7) 
Basma Alsharif: We Began by Measuring Distance (EG, 2009, 19:06, Arabic, 12)
Paola Fernanda Guzmán Figueroa: Mommy say something to the camera, mom! (FI, CO, 2021, 14:50, Spanish, for all ages)

Panel discussion: “Can we afford fantasies?”

What kind of fantasies can we afford in this tough reality and on what conditions? How can we make more space for the fantastic in art and society? The panel consists of artists Paola Guzman and Kaino Wennerstrand, and Aino-Kaisa Koistinen (University of Jyväskylä), a PhD and senior researcher focused on science fiction and fantasy. The panel will be moderated by Tytti Rantanen, programme coordinator from AV-arkki – Centre for Finnish Media Art. The panel will be held in English.