International premiere
Giant's Kettle
This impeccably visual and visionary sci-fi is unlike any independent Finnish film you have ever seen. It’s mysterious, splendid, sonic, bizarre, humorous, dreamlike, shadowy, and unexplained. One of the two duos in the First Feature Competition brings us to an inhuman black-and-white bureaucratic ultrasound world, where nobody uses any words, and all willingly submit to routine.
A man with a hat is late for a bus near the factory. A woman sits on a bench under a massive rock. He is a lonely writer, who waits for inspiration and plays with a yo-yo. She is a rebellious researcher, who is not invited to secret lectures with other students. They are doomed to get married and welcome a boy child. And then a chained giant shows up. Gravitation changes. Glaciers melt. A pothole expands.
Patiently filmed from 2017 on a minimal budget with no support and constantly without crew. Markku and Mari awesomely staged, decorated, choreographed, photographed, edited, learned everything together and cast only non-professional actors they spotted by chance.
In 31 seemingly unrelated shorter or longer static scenes every step, move, sound, shout, scream, or detail has a significant meaning. Unforgettably enchanting and eerie cinematic experience for all attentive spectators to interpret through unspoken silences.
Edvinas Pukšta
Markku Hakala is a filmmaker from Finland. He started in computer software, but despite success turned to philosophy and self-inquiry. However, it was not until a year in Africa that he allowed himself to open up to the artist within. After a series of experiments with short films, he embarked on his first feature film project with his partner in love and art, Mari Käki, a mad six years of working together on all aspects of the film from pre- to postproduction. The resulting film, “Giant’s Kettle”, may be seen as a personal account of being trapped in the wrong story unable to find a way out.
Filmography:
Hiidenkirnu (Giant's Kettle, 2023)
Mari Käki is a creative coach and professional supervisor working in the field of media and education. Since 2020 she has been teaching leadership and group dynamics for upcoming filmmakers as a visiting lecturer at the Aalto University film school, Finland. “Giant’s Kettle” is also her first feature.
Filmography:
Hiidenkirnu (Giant's Kettle, 2023)