Enjoy the Institute’s staff’s cultural tips for a better May.
Iina’s pick: Film talk: Whose land? Indigenous peoples’ struggle for independence and existence
In this online live event, organised by Nordisk Kulturkontakt, two directors, Kenneth Sorento and Suvi West, sit down to discuss their recent documentaries about indigenous peoples’ struggle for independence. Suvi West’s film Eatnameamet – Our Silent Struggle will premiere in Finland later in spring and has already been described as the last cry for help for the last indigenous people in Europe. In the film Sami people call for a future with strong Sami voices. The discussion will be in English, and moderated by Lia Markelin, social analyst at the think tank Magma.
Film talk: Whose land? Indigenous peoples’ struggle for independence and existence, 6.5.2021 6-7pm (Finnish time), Facebook live, more information here.
Jaakko’s Choice: Highgate Cemetery and the grave of Marx
Spring in London has been chilly, but regardless it feels great to be able to spend time outdoors after a long lockdown winter. Celebrating the first of May (which is a big thing for us Finns) presents a great excuse to make a trip to the Highgate Cemetery to visit the grave of Karl Marx. For those interested, there will be an online lecture on Marx’s grave and its history on May 6. Happy May Day!
More information: https://highgatecemetery.org/events
Ninni’s choice: Padraic X. Scanlan: Slave Empire: How Slavery Built Modern Britain (2020)
Brits like to think that the British Empire treated slaves better and ended slavery earlier than other states. Neither belief is true. This highly topical book crushes myths as it lays out 200 years of slavery in detail and in such cool manner. Throughout the book Scanlan talks about enslaved people instead of slaves, which in itself was a revelation to me. And it certainly wasn’t the last one.
Karoliina’s choice: Fast Forward – Women in Photography online gallery
Fast Forward is a research project concerned with women in photography based at University for the Creative Arts in Farnham. The online gallery highlights the work of emerging and established women photographers. Dafna Talmor’s Constructed Landscapes reconfigures the sense of place, blurs memories and time. The body of work also relates to manipulation and the divide between analogue and digital. These personally significant themes that have been on my mind daily during the lockdown. https://fastforward.photography/gallery/constructed-landscapes/
Volter’s pick: In Short, Europe: Happy Together festival
EUNIC London’s In Short Europe short film festival returns for a third edition, this time taking “Happy Together” as its theme. The free online festival brings together films from across the EU that approach happiness in all its expressions, from the celebratory to the tragicomical. Unsurprisingly, I suggest you check out Samuli Valkama’s Ha Ha Ha (2019), a unique short film that ditches dialogue for captivating choreography.
In Short, Europe: Happy Together, 7.–16.5., online, more information here.
Photo: Anssi Kömi / Eatnameamet
