Girl Picture

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.

Amanda Aaltonen refuses to resign herself to the miserable fate of a poor woman and daringly seeks her happiness in the world. As punishment for breaking the rules, society deprives her of the most important thing of all, her freedom, and imprisons her on the island of Seili.

A couple’s romantic evening changes when a strange man gropes the woman.

During the 1950s, Helsinki was the focal point of the Cold War, as global powers and their intelligence agencies coalesced in the small neutral country that stood between the East and the West. Shadow Lines is an international spy thriller that follows a secret intelligence team whose mission is to defend the independence of Finland no matter the cost.

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.

In 1980s Helsinki, a city about to burst with young energy and rebellion, two young writers determined to conquer the world fall madly in love. For Inka, the love affair puts everything in motion: she finds her own voice, publishes her first novel, and becomes a sensation. The intensity of their relationship has a different affect on Juhana, who starts to lose his grip on writing and, finally, life. At the height of the love affair Inka starts to suspect that their mad love might actually be real madness.

Force of Habit follows the lives of various women throughout one day. Hilla is having a romantic vacation, Emmi is throwing a house party, and Milja is on her way to school when they’re approached by a stranger and things take an unexpected turn. At the same time, Emppu, a young actress, is conflicted as she rehearses for the biggest role of her life. Elsewhere, Aleksi, an inexperienced prosecutor, is preparing for his first court case in haste; Niina, the victim of the crime, has been waiting years to see her case tried. Miia throws a company party, and the mood dramatically changes when her colleague Katja opens up about their boss coming on to her. Miia and a couple of her closest colleagues try to resolve the situation, but how do the others react?

It's Christmas Eve in Helsinki. Young taxi driver Samu is working to escape a family Christmas with his fiancé and baby. At the airport Samu picks up a fascinating customer: a Finnish mercenary Hans, who has returned to Helsinki after an absence of 20 years. Hans hires Samu to go on a mission with him: to find Laura, the daughter of his recently deceased best friend and brother in arms. The quest to find Laura leads the men around the wintry city, to places and people from Hans's past. As Samu watches Hans confront his past, he begins to open his eyes to his own future. When the eventful mission reaches its end, both of the men's lives are forever changed.