Let Her Speak

Isolated is an antology of short films made by seven Finnish film directors during the covid-19 pandemic. The films are about encountering oneself in isolation. People feel loneliness and it erupts in absurd ways. Family members witness unexpected reactions during the crisis.

Successful classical flutist Pauli returns to his small hometown after a breakdown. Reconnecting with old schoolmate Iiris, he is drawn into experimental music. Pauli, who has always sought perfection, is drawn to her chaotic energy, and finds comfort in their sonic experiments.

Teenage girls take their shirts off at their own party but get an audience. Emmi says no but does it really mean no? Sonja is tired of her body being a problem to others. Why has nearly every woman such experiences? One-Off Incident short films are part of a film sensation made by fifteen filmmakers, artists, researchers and social activists collectively. The films reveal the hidden way power is exercised on women in both private life and in society. The films are fiction but the stories come from the writers’ own real-life observations.

Eden is a coming-of-age film about a Protestant Confirmation camp on a summer’s week, set in the archipelago of Helsinki. Aliisa is the intellectually confident non-believer, Jenna is the queen bee and Panu is the scared bird. The experience of these teenagers is affected by Tiina, a young and eager priest.

Siiri, a hardworking millennial, wants to be successful in her job as the advisor to the Minister of Economic Affairs. She craves a promotion. Siiri’s job takes her and the hard-to-handle minister, an unpredictable eccentric boss lady, to a big tango festival in a small Finnish town. Siiri’s father Petri, a former tango artist and an overly optimistic middle-aged man, wants to make himself useful to Siiri while trying to hide the fact that he himself is homeless, bankrupt and finally at his wits end. Over the course of one summer weekend both Siiri’s and Petri’s facade comes tumbling down but the tango keeps going on in the sweet Finnish summer night.

10-year-old Inari is preparing for the traditional May Day celebrations with her enthusiastic mother and reluctant father. In order to ensure an enjoyable evening for everyone Inari decides to make a deal with God.

Oona (20-something) runs a small coffee shop in the heart of hipsteresque Kallio district in Helsinki. Oona’s is not really the classic entrepreneur type: she’s often late to work and throws out customers she dislikes. She’s also constantly in a state of existential crisis over what she should become and whether she’s a somebody or just a nobody. Oona’s best friend is Arttu, a 25 y.o. gay artist-dj-creator-whatever. Together they hate, love, party and cry and try to become adults.

After the bankruptcy of their fine dining restaurant, the Eerolas are stuck in the seaside village of Nauvo with no clear plan for the future. In the shadow of the father’s depression both the mother and the teenage daughter rebel against the stagnant life, each in their own way. In the magical light of the midnight sun, new loves begin while others come to an end.

Stigu and Ella have a just-sex relationship. Stigu is secretly in love but settles for what he can get because Ella wants nothing more. Until they find themselves in a same work project: designing an advertisement for the Family Federation on sustainable relationships. It seems like mission impossible since Ella doesn't believe in the whole concept and Stigu knows nothing about it.

Madde, 30, is out shopping with her best friends Aura and Julia, when she suddenly sees a dark figure from the past: her ex-bff Elsi. Traumatized and panicked, Madde tries to hide. However, her friends won’t let her, and she is forced to make peace with her past. It’s Elsi’s turn to listen.