1. Mlyny na Slovensku (Mlyny na Slovensku)
(Mlyny na Slovensku)
2. Playing with Gods (Jumalten keinussa)
The documentary dives intimately behind the scenes of the Finnish National Opera and sucks the viewer in like the best of thrillers. The three hours fly by, even for those who aren’t necessarily interested in opera as an art form.
3. The Long Shift (Pitkä vaihto)
A small town ice hockey team fights through their first season in an upper division. The players' dreams might have changed from childhood but their love for the sport does not fade.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
4. Bomarsund 1854 - The Baltic Theatre
Bomarsund 1854 tells the story of two humanists, whose actions during the Crimean War prevented bloodshed. They are the British hydrographer, Bartholomew James Sulivan, and the Russian commandant, Jacov Andreyevitch Bodisco, two men who fought on opposite sides in the war. It also traces the rise and fall of the multi-cultural community of Bomarsund. The small island of Åland, located in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland, played a significant role in the war that raged during 1854, originally called the Oriental War and partially fought in Northern Europe. The Baltic campaigns became the forgotten theatre of the Crimean War. The attention awarded events elsewhere has overshadowed the significance of this theatre, which lay close to the Russian capital of St Petersburg.
5. Every Tom, Dick and Urpo (Ei nimi miestä pahenna)
A letter, received by the Finnish National Radio’s phone-in program, hopes that in this era of #metoo and many other well-meaning campaigns, attention will be drawn to an unpleasant phenomenon, the use of the name Urpo as a synonym for idiot. In this warm-hearted and humorous documentary, four men called Urpo gather to reflect on the meaning and impact of their name on their lives. Is the use of Urpo still decent in 2023?
6. Rügen - Weiße Felsen, grüne Wälder (Rügen - Weiße Felsen, grüne Wälder)
Rügen is the largest island of Germany. Located off the Baltic Sea coast of Western Pomerania, two thirds of its area is protected. The green beech forests of the Jasmund National Park are considered an original virgin forest that is unique in Europe and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The white chalk cliffs, which can be seen from afar, are the island's distinctive symbol and were immortalized in the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich more than 200 years ago. On the small island of Vilm, which belongs to Rügen, there is another core area of nature conservation with a 500-year-old, untouched beech forest. Within sight of this refuge, organic farmers are trying to bring more diversity back to the fields. Small-scale agriculture with a great diversity of species has emerged between hedges, tree islands and biotopes. The documentary shows Rügen's natural treasures and introduces different people who have found their home here and are fighting to preserve nature.
7. Rogue Reporters (Pesänlikaajat - erään kirjakohun anatomia)
The documentary tells the story of the political scandal caused by the book 'The Spoils of Tamminiemi' from the perspective of the journalists who wrote it. The time of the book's publication was the worst time of the Finlandization, Soviet spies worked behind the scenes and the power struggle was heating up, who would be successor of the President Kekkonen? The authors of the book appeared under pseudonyms, but the subjects of the writings were named, and it revealed everything that had been going on behind the scenes.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
8. War and Peace of Mind (Sota ja mielenrauha)
War and Peace of Mind explores what war does to the human mind and how both, the individuals and the nation as a whole, survive it psychologically. Finland and WWII, locally known as continuation war, is the backdrop of this documentary.
It has an average vote of 7.3 on TMDB.
9. The Wind Is Blowing Through My Heart (Váimmustan lea biegga)
A documentary about Áillohaš , a musician, painter, and poet of the Sámi people in Finland.
10. World's Greatest Logging Site (Maailman suurin tukkisavotta)
A documentary short on logging during winter season.
It has an average vote of 7.5 on TMDB.
11. Forever Yours (Ikuisesti sinun)
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.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
12. Finlandia (Finlandia)
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.
It has an average vote of 2 on TMDB.
13. David – Stories of Honour and Shame (Daavid - tarinoita kunniasta ja häpeästä)
Documentary about Finnish Jews during WWII and their unique position as German allies.
14. Åland - Baltic Sea Bouldering
In late summer 2003, climbers from Britain, Sweden, and Finland descended upon the sleepy archipelago of Aland in the Baltic Sea to discover for themselves, its combination of spectacularly beautiful scenery and array of climbing problems. Baltic Sea Bouldering presents an insight into how climbers tackle this fresh and exciting bouldering destination. What we receive is a fascinating look at how some of Europe's best climbers tackle an unclimbed highball project that stretches mental strength to the limits.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
15. Two Forces (Kainuu 39)
Docudrama about the Soviet occupation of a Finnish village in the fall before the Winter War.
It has an average vote of 5.667 on TMDB.
16. Karalahti (Karalahti)
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.
It has an average vote of 6.6 on TMDB.
17. Earth Evocation (Maan muisti)
The history of Finland through traces of the past.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
18. Ostseeparadies Rügen (Ostseeparadies Rügen)
The white chalk cliffs of Rügen are among the most impressive natural monuments on earth, which the painter Casper David Friedrich immortalized for posterity as early as the 19th century. Germany's largest island with its seaside resorts from the Gründerzeit, its smaller side islands and peninsulas that give it its shape, its lagoon-like Bodden waters, the dense beech forests, the yellow rapeseed fields and the meadows, the shady tree avenues and the white sandy beaches is not only a magnet for tourists, but also a unique natural paradise in the middle of the Baltic Sea, a habitat for the rare white-tailed eagle, fallow deer, raccoon dogs and badgers as well as a resting place for huge swarms of migratory birds such as geese and cranes that can be heard trumpeting from afar. In this nature documentary, the unique landscapes and the diversity of the animal world of Rügen are captured with beautiful pictures during the changing of the seasons.
19. Haaveiden kääntöraide (Haaveiden kääntöraide)
Metro trains disappear on the turning track, only to immediately return on the same route. Tapio , Toni and Aksa are also stuck on these tracks. The men meet every morning in the square behind the Herttoniemi metro station, from where they transfer to Vuosaari in the metro's "restaurant car". Men's lives are dominated by alcohol and unemployment. The turning track of dreams follows the lives of Tapio, Toni and Aksa for a year - moments filled with joy, despair, self-destruction and friendship in the metro stations and trains of Eastern Helsinki. It gives voice to those who do not have special human dignity in the eyes of society.
20. A Good Day to Die (A Good Day to Die)
Several films have been made about the lives of train hobos, but Aleksi Pohjavirta's A Good Day to Die is probably the first Finnish documentary on the subject. The film follows Billy, who travels in a pump on freight trains. In the way of life, the feeling of freedom and letting yourself be carried away by chance are attractive and they make the train bomb strive for a windy ride again and again.
