Helena Öst

A man lives alone on his island. He keeps in contact with his sick wife every day by phone but shares his everyday life with a cat. His seasonal activities are tinged with his quirky humour and philosophy of life and also music in its many forms.

Helena, the main character of the film, grew up in a small town on the west coast of Finland in the 1960s and 70s, together with the emerging welfare in Finland. Her parents lived through the Second World War; her father was on the frontline, and her mother in her family home, burdened with helping to maintain the family. Helena’s family, the surrounding society and the era of her childhood profoundly shaped her experience. The landscapes of her childhood still live vividly in her mind.