Finnish films to screen in Montreal

The films chosen are Akseli Gallen-Kallela: Lemminkäinen’s Mother (1897), Werner Holmberg: Road in Häme / A Hot Summer Day (1883) and Ellen Thesleff: Self-Portrait (1894–95).

Focusing on the most beloved artworks in the Finnish National Gallery’s collection, the three films form part of a series of 13 short films produced recently by Ateneum Art Museum, part of Finnish National Gallery.

Each of these highlights a key work of the Stories of Finnish Art exhibition.

“We want to show how paintings can be much more than an image,” says museum director and producer of the films, Susanna Pettersson. “A short film format gives us an excellent medium to bring out the details in the paintings and bring them to life in a new way. [In a way] that has the capability of reaching audiences the paintings themselves cannot.”

The International Festival of Films on Art in Montreal is staged on 9 and 10 March.