A People’s Radio – Ballads from a Wooded Country

Spectres of Shortwave

September 2016 •English

A mysterious web of international shortwave radio towers once dominated the Tantramar marshlands near Sackville, New Brunswick. For almost 70 years the RCI shortwave towers broadcast around the world. Due to budget cuts, the site was decommissioned in 2012 and dismantled in 2014. Examining themes of identity and memory, the film captures images of the towers over four seasons in various weather conditions, accompanied by the voices of residents and technicians narrating accounts of hearing radio broadcasts emanate from their household appliances.

Track Two

February 2023 •Finnish

A newspaper clip of a 30-year-old movie makes our middle-aged protagonist in the middle of his peak years to look for his best childhood friend. The journey leads him back to his teenage years in the 1990s depression, over-generational substance abuse and past encounters. This partly essayistic, autobiographical documentary tells the story of friendship and generational experiences while also pondering on the causes and effects of destinies in the judgmental atmosphere of our society.

Století rádia

January 2013 •Czech

Airplay: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio

September 2008 •English

The 50 year struggle between rock pioneers and powerful business/government interests for the soul of music radio, told by America's favorite deejays and the artists they made rock stars.

Under Construction

December 2023 •Finnish

Markku built a house for his family with his own bare hands like a strong man is supposed to do. He worked hard from dawn to dusk, so that his seven children would have a roof above their heads. Unfortunately, the task ended up being too hard and Markku burnt out. One day, he left his family and disappeared abroad. The filmmaker travels to his childhood home to face his father, who he never got to know properly. Together they build a steel gate in front of the unfinished house, and try to create a relationship between each other.

Presencia lejana

January 1982 •Spanish

A documentary about Finnish twin sisters, one of whom disappeared in Argentina in 1977.

David – Stories of Honour and Shame

November 1997 •Finnish

Documentary about Finnish Jews during WWII and their unique position as German allies.

JVG-elokuva: Vuodet ollu tuulisii

March 2022 •Finnish

Documentary about Finnish rap-duo JVG. In addition to the unprecedented video footage recorded over a ten-year period, the film features JVG and the background influencers, family members, and friends who built its story.

Ukonvaaja

June 2016 •Finnish

Ukonvaaja - The Hammer of Ukko - is a documentary film that focuses on ancient Finnish folklore and mythology.

Forever Yours

November 2011 •Finnish

Forever Yours is a film about children who have been taken into custody. Through the children, their biological parents and foster parents, the film depicts love in everyday life. The film explores the invisible bond between a child and a biological parent. Even when a child is taken into custody, the yearning for closeness to the biological parents and need for their approval never seems to disappear. This longing is a form of loneliness that the foster parents struggle to overcome. The film describes the entire foster care process: a child being brought into a shelter home, a teenager’s everyday life in a foster family, and siblings preparing to return to their biological mother, after five years in a foster family.

Karalahti

February 2021 •Finnish

Documentary movie about a Finnish professional ice hockey player, Jere Karalahti. More than 50 people have been interviewed for the documentary film, such as Jere's family, coaches, journalists, fellow players and childhood friends. A profound documentary consists of archive material and dramatized scenes in addition to interviews.

How to Fix the World

March 2023 •Finnish

How to Fix the World? is a comprehensive and informative documentary about direct action in the 1990s and 2000s, directed by Jouko Aaltonen. In the documentary, anarchists, climate activists, and squatters openly describe their experiences and link them to mainstream phenomena in society. A wide range of archive material sheds a light on the history of direct action and activism in the Finnish society.

World's Greatest Logging Site

February 1938 •Finnish

A documentary short on logging during winter season.

Wandering in the White

March 2019 •Finnish

When two former top orienteers end up in a snowstorm in Lapland wilderness, they face an impossible orienteering task: how to reach your destination when you can't tell earth from sky?

Atlas

December 1931 •English

The concept of machine-made knit was known as early as the 1850s, but it was only during the 1920s that the quality of the material had improved. When the plant known as "Atlas" was introduced in 1931, the shop windows drew a lot of attention, and Aho & Soldan was ordered to make a promotional film. In this well-paced film, we see the jersey production step by step.

Life Under The Horseshoe

November 2015 •English

Life Under the Horseshoe is a fun, entertaining and historical look at Spring City, Utah's only live FM stage radio show. The film teaches us a little about history while taking us back to the golden age of radio. The documentary interviews Mark and Vicki Allen, the show hosts while learning more about their interesting, but opposite family history. The film also highlights the historical Victory Hall, a one-hundred-year-old restored vaudeville theater on Main Street, and "Spit & Whittle" Avenue, where Charlie (1885-1936), son of Simon Beck, had a bench the women of the town called the "Bummer's Bench." The men claimed it was where important community events were discussed and decisions made. Simon's son Charlie, paralyzed at an early age, presided at the bench providing advice and wisdom to all comers.

Naalin paluu

January 2023 •Finnish

The film follows two years of the extremely endangered arctic fox's attempt to return to Finnish nature as a breeding species, as well as the people who try to save the species. Kimmo Ohtonen's tireless toil is finally rewarded, when he manages to capture for the first time in Finland the journey of an arctic fox family in almost 30 years, from the start of romance to raising pups. This is the first time that the reproduction of an arctic fox has been recorded on video. There is a unique journey in the foothills of the North, culminating in a historic event.

The End Of The World As We Knew It

June 2008 •English

107.9 The End was an innovative radio station in the Alt-Rock days of the 90s in Cleveland, Ohio. After the telecommunications act of 1996 however, the station found it self in the hands of different owners. This film tells the story of the station through the people that lived it, the disc jockeys and staff.

With Tired Theodore to the Putte's Mill

June 2015 •Swedish

The old bus "Tired Theodore" came into service in 1954 and operated for long periods along the line Lumparland - Mariehamn. One summer day a number of older people had gathered for a bus ride along the winding country roads in Lumparland, and to relive old memories. At the same time one of the locals, Putte Karlsson, took up a large project: rebuilding the old mill in Lumparby. The mill was owned by his grandfather, skipper and farmer in the village. Sawmills previously existed in many villages in Åland Islands but today they are no longer in use. It is a big challenge and many are skeptical that Putte will put everything to work.

Finlandia

October 1922 •Finnish

A documentary from Erkki Karu, one of the earliest pioneers of Finnish cinema: This government-produced propaganda film introduces the nature, sports, military, agriculture and capital of Finland.