Lights in the Dusk(AK)
Concluding his ‘Loser Trilogy’ is the tale of a lonely night watchman, whom the world has turned shadowy for holding old-fashioned virtues and humanity. When a mysterious blond’s sudden interest…
Le Havre(AK)
Moving to the port town of Le Havre, Aki’s stylised and offbeat film gives a new heartfelt urgency on the refugee crisis. Marcel, the playwright in La Vie de Bohème, now retreats as a shoeshiner,…
The Other Side of Hope(AK)
Back to his hometown for another coolly comic and sympathetic take on the refugee crisis, Aki brings together two men from different worlds – a sour Helsinki restaurateur and a fleeing Syrian asylum…
Juha(AK)
It's an age-old story of love and tragedy – a peasant couple whose simple life is ruined by a city slicker, who seduces the naïve wife and sells her into prostitution. Proclaiming that ‘stories…
The Man Without a Past(AK)
Aki’s compassion for the marginalised comes to its most refined expression in this second part of the ‘Loser Trilogy’. His tenderness embraces a nameless man, who loses his memory after being…
La Vie de Boheme(AK)
Three down-on-their-luck artists – a French writer, an Albanian painter, and an Irish composer – live the bohemian life in 1960s Paris, which looks like the forgotten fringes of Helsinki.…
Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana(AK)
Discovering his fierce mom is out of coffee, a caffeine addict leaves home and hits the road with his auto mechanic friend. It soon becomes a wayward road movie, when the twosome takes on two…
Drifting Clouds(AK)
Misfortune begets misfortune – a man is laid off by the tram company, and his wife loses her job at a bankrupt restaurant. As the desperation and humiliation of searching for work begin to take…
Ariel(AK)
A compelling blend of gritty realism and escapist fantasy, this second part of the ‘Proletarian Trilogy’ elevates Aki to the pantheon of world cinema. It all begins when a hapless coalminer is…
Leningrad Cowboys Go America(AK)
Digging into his roots in the anarchism and nihilism of 1970s punk rock, Aki champions his deadpan comic musicians in this international cult hit. With pointy pompadours and winklepicker shoes, the…
I Hired a Contract Killer(AK)
Sacked from his civil service job, a lonely and desperate Frenchman tries to kill himself in vain, so hires a contract killer to bump him off. Tasting his first whiskey during his final hours, he…
Calamari Union(AK)
In a complete turn-around from his solemn debut, Aki heads straight for comic absurdity in his personal favourite. Featuring 17 shades-wearing weirdos, all named Frank, on a quest to reach the fabled…
Shadows in Paradise(AK)
Distinct minimalist aesthetics, motifs, and character sketches that define Aki’s blueprint of austere yet humanistic black comedy came into sharp focus in this first part of his ‘Proletariat…
Crime and Punishment(AK)
Challenging Hitchcock and himself in adapting Dostoevsky’s epic novel, Aki’s bold and disarmingly assured first solo transposes the solemn literary text to early ‘80s Helsinki, where an endless…