MOTHERS OF LIFE
Original language title: ELAMAN AIDIT

Country of production: Finland
Year: 2001
Language: Finnish, other languages
74 mins.

A film of great power and beauty, in which the glistening landscape dominates the film even more than the compelling characters and striking narrative style. This is a film that exists somewhere on the border of lived experience and folklore. At the film's beginning, the family's father tells a legend of a crime committed by an ancestor. This ancestor fled with his family, and after a while made his way to where the family is based today. We then encounter today's harsh realities - the weather, of course, but also family problems, and problems with possessions and reindeer. The film centers mostly on the mother and daughter, Mjusena and Tatyana, who search out solutions to their problems in these very difficult times.

Director: Anastasia Lapsui, Markku Lehmuskallio
Script: Anastasia Lapsui, Markku Lehmuskallio
Cinematography: Markku Lehmuskallio
Music: Usko Merlainen
Editing: Anastasia Lapsui, Markku Lehmuskallio
Sound: Antero Honkanen, Anastasia Lapsui
Production Company: Giron Filmi Oy
Source:
Marja Pallassalo
The Finnish Film Foundation
Kanavakatu 12
00160 Helsinki, Finland
marja.pallassalo@ses.fi

Markku Lehmuskallio was born in 1938. He worked in forestry during the 1960s, but his life changed when he lost everything in a fire. A friend encouraged him to buy a 16mm camera, and he began to make documentaries for Finnish television. He and Anastasia Lapsui have collaborated on several documentaries.

Sunday, March 23
9pm
Biograph Theatre