With filmmaker Veljko Vidak in attendance! Following Q&A with Vidak, we'll screen ARIEL (1988) by Aki Kaurismäki.
In a small village in Finland, which has relied solely on metallurgical activities for the past two centuries, Aki Kaurismäki and his friend, the poet and writer Mika Lätti, are constructing their own cinema within an old foundry. Employing recycled wood, metal, and pre-owned furniture, Kaurismäki and the residents of Karkkila collaboratively craft Kino Laika. The venue is surrounded by Cadillacs, motorcycles, rock bars, and the awe-inspiring beauty of nature, encapsulating the very essence of cinema’s enchantment – a place where the magic resides in its profound capacity to instigate change.
In chronicling the creation of Kino Laika, Croatian-French filmmaker Veljko Vidak has created a modest yet finely-crafted film that is simultaneously a documentary about a particular cultural project, a more wide-ranging filmic meditation on the nature of cinema, and a portrait of a small-town community. Transcending the usual documentary trappings, CINEMA LAIKA radiates a deadpan charm and bemused curiosity about humanity that calls to mind nothing so much as the work of Kaurismäki himself.
