Kati kallio curated

Moving North – Dance Films from the North is a touring programme curated by Kati Kallio that makes the art form more accessible while also mapping dance filmmakers across Finland. For the screening at the Tampere Dance Current contemporary dance festival, films from the Pirkanmaa region were selected and combined with Nordic works from the Moving North tour. The programme highlights the diversity of the genre and explores themes such as the climate crisis, rituals, memento mori, and memory.

The screening opens with the Danish-Dutch film How To Be a Perfect Human, co-directed by Kristina Daurova and Maia Elisabeth Sørensen. The film takes us back to the rituals of the Covid-19 era with ironic and understated humour.

Ritual is also central to Raisa Foster’s work Käsittää. In the film, the movement of hands forms a quiet choreography through which human experiences of life, finitude, and the search for meaning become visible.

The world premiere of the short film I See Beauty, directed by Kim Saarinen, will be presented in Tampere. Created in collaboration with the band UTU, the music video invites us to see beauty around us despite the challenges of the world.

Two films by Tuulia Soininen are featured in the programme. Tuoni is a sensitive dance film exploring a mythological male figure and its connection to the Finnish national landscape. A figure moving through a disappearing forest landscape evokes reflections on the afterlife and the human relationship with nature.
Co-created by Soininen and Leena Vainio, Siirtoväki is a poetic dance film about the experiences of evacuees who fled to Rauma in the 1940s. The work forms part of visual artist Leena Vainio’s exhibition, which explores stories from her own family as well as those of other evacuees.

Silja Tuovinen’s film Avalanche draws inspiration from climate change, as northern regions of the world warm and lose their snowy winters. Shot in a single take, the film traces emotions triggered by environmental collapse.

The Icelandic film GONE, a collaboration between Helena Jónsdóttir and Vera Sölvadóttir, follows a mysterious man entertaining himself in a house filled with memories. Portrayed by Ingvar E. Sigurdsson, the character carries the viewer from one atmosphere to another through expressive movement.

The evening concludes with another single-take film, EINMIN. Set in the aftermath of a celebration, this work by the Faroese group RAMMATIK leaves space for the viewer’s imagination to reflect on what might have taken place in each space.

Total duration approx. 70 minutes
A post-screening audience discussion, Afterheat, will follow.

HOW TO BE A PERFECT HUMAN 12’35 DK/NL 2020

A woman performs her daily routines while striving to live up to the new Covid19 measurements with perfection. Inspired by Jørgen Leth’s “The Perfect Human” the film reflects on the reality we all are facing in the times of a pandemic.

Directors, Editing Kristina Daurova, Maia Elisabeth Sørensen
DOP Daniel Donato
Performers Maia Elisabeth Sørensen, Mitch Thar, Stephan Blumenschein, Toby Paul, Leonie Kuipers, Mirko Lazović
V.O. Kristina Daurova
Sound Designing Niek de Wit, Janne Laine
Music Nikolaj Hess, Clarinet: Emil Hess
Production design Toby Paul
Language English
Subtitles English

Käsittää 07’00 FI 2025

Käsittää is the first part of the five-part video installation Kätkyt. The work explores the human quest to understand something greater than oneself through hand gestures. Hand signs from different religions, as well as floating feathers and a breaking eggshell, remind us of the fragile boundary between life and death. The work returns understanding to its bodily origins – the understanding that arises from touching and holding with the hands. The hand movements form a silent, ritualistic choreography in which the human experience of life, finiteness and the search for meaning becomes visible.

Director, Performer, Editor Raisa Foster
Music Miles Avida

I See Beauty 4’40 FI 2026 (World Premiere)

I see beauty, beauty surrounds me.

Director, Cinematographer, editor Kim Saarinen
Choreographer, Dancer Jukka Tarvainen
Music Utu

Tuoni 6’00 FI 2025

Tuoni is a sensitive dance film about the mythological image of a man and its connection to the Finnish national landscape. The film sinks into the borderlands between the afterlife and the relationship with nature in a disappearing forest landscape.

Director, Choreographer, Producer Tuulia Soininen
Performer Merri Heikkilä
Sound Designer Konsta Leinonen

Avalanche 10’00 FI 2025

A haunting dance film about climate grief and disappearing snow.

Script, Choreography & Camera Operator Silja Tuovinen
Performers Anton Hedevang, Wilma Seppälä
Cinematographer Atte Männikkö
Composer Antye Greie-Ripatti (AGF)
Co-composer Silja Tuovinen
Camera assistant Elli Kannasmaa
Color grading Atte Männikkö, Silja Tuovinen
Costume designer Silja Tuovinen
Sewing Ateljee TikinTaika
Photographer Atte Männikkö, Silja Tuovinen
Production: Flow Productions, Silja Tuovinen

Siirtoväki (Lost Land) 6’44 FI 2025

Siirtoväki is a Finnish poetic dance film that explores the experiences of evacuees who fled to Rauma in the 1940s. The film is part of an exhibition by visual artist Leena Vainio, which examines the stories of her own family and other evacuees.

Directors Leena Vainio ja Tuulia Soininen
Choreographers Linda Kuha ja Sini Muranen
Sound Desinger Konsta Leinonen
Music Anne-Mari Kivimäki
Costume Designer Laura Lipiäinen
Producers Leena Vainio ja Tuulia Soininen

GONE 16’00 IS 2014

A mysterious man entertains himself in a house full of memories. The person portrayed by actor Ingvar E. Sigurdsson takes viewers from one mood to another with his comprehensive dance.

Director Helena Jónsdóttir & Vera Sölvadóttir
Choreographer Helena Jónsdóttir
Dancer & actor Ingvar E. Sigurdsson
DOP Bjarni Felix Bjarnason, Arri Alexa
Editing Yves Bertrand
Sound Bart Jilesen, Helena Jónsdóttir
Music Valgeri Sigurdsson
Producers Vera Sölvadóttir & Helena Jónsdóttir
Production company Wonderfilms / HProductions

EINMIN 5’19 FO 2024

Set in the aftermath of a party, Einmin is a film shot in one continuous take, which leaves room for the viewer’s imagination to ponder: what has possibly happened in each space?

Concept & Production RAMMATIK: Rannvá Káradóttir & Marianna Mørkøre
Dancer Vár Bech Árting
Choreography RAMMATIK & Vár Bech Árting
DOP Rúni Friis
Composer Jens L. Thomsen
Production design Marianna Mørkøre

Kati Kallio is an award-winning Finnish dance filmmaker. Kallio lives in Helsinki and works internationally as an artist, curator, and dance filmmaking instructor. Her films have been screened internationally at film, dance, and dance film festivals, as well as on television. In 2024, she received the Tanssin maineteko -award from Suomen Sirkus- ja Tanssiliitto for her work in dance film.

Kati Kallio became interested in the film format in 2008 and, together with her colleagues, founded the Loikka Dance Film Festival, where her debut film “Breath” premiered that same year. At the Loikka Festival, she served as festival coordinator, audience development officer, curator, and, from 2015 to 2018, artistic director. During these years, Kallio has been responsible for promoting Finnish dance film and has contributed to its strong rise.

Kallio is an undisputed expert in dance film, teaching and mentoring dance filmmakers through courses in collaboration with various organizations. Kallio has curated the Moving North – Dance Films from the North screening.