Karvan verran – By The Hair is a short documentary of an old woman and her hair. This 87-years old woman, Hilkka, has always suffered from her curly, nappy and untamed hair. She even asks via tv-screen advices from a famous finnish talk-show performer Sean Ricks, how does he tame his afro-hair.
Hilkka enjoys life a lot, although her memory is already rather fragile. She loves spending time in her Eastern summer cottage, going to sauna and baking Carelian pastries with her daughter. And the youngest daughter is eager to hear what kind of hair-experiences, “key-experiences” her mother had in different ages.
Hilkka was born in Suistamo, in Alattu village, which is nowadays Russia. She was evacued with her family during the
second world war from this village to Savonlinna area. There is her cottage nowadays.
Because her hands are weak and invalid to make a fine hair dress anymore, she wishes a practical solution in her hair-problem. We will see what kind of solution she chooses.
The third generation in her family has their hair-problems and wishes. 23-years old grand-daughter keeps chinchillas and changes her hair-colour nearly every month.
Because Hilkka is greek-orthodox, she likes to go to Church. She also enjoys good poetry.
In film she reads aloud two poems of archbishop Leo, the head of finnish orthodox Church.
These poems reflect her inner feelings in her ages.
By the Hair is an Ode to Joy and self conciousness of elder people.
Credits:
Director-scriptwriter: Anne Välinoro
DoP: Tiina Makkonen
Sound, music: Kyösti Kallio
Editor, colour: Jan Senius
Translation to english: Liina Härkönen
Translation to czech: Jan Senius
Subtitle technics: Teijo Pellinen
Poster, flyers: Jaana Teräväinen
Photos: Anne Välinoro
Producer: pyypic (Anne Välinoro)
Cast: Hilkka Välinoro, Anne Välinoro, Aino Mäkinen, Sean Ricks, Netta Parkkonen, Taneli Muhonen, Mirja Köttö.
Karvan verran will be performed in Prague, cinematheatre U Pilotu, Donska 19, Praha, Vrsovice www.kinopilotu.cz on Tuesday 18th Decembre 2018, 7 pm. Free entrance.
There will be subtitles in Czech in the film.
After the 20-minute long documentary film there will be open blanket for audience. We will serve home-made Carelian pirogs with egg-butter and refreshments.
Biography (and filmography) of director:
Anne Välinoro (born 28.11.1961) maturated in Iisalmi, in northern Finland and started her journalism studies at Tampere University 1980. She has always been interested in theatre. So, she had a great opportunity to work both as a culture journalist and theater critic in the second largest daily newspaper in Finland in Tampere, called Aamulehti, where she worked for 25 years. Beside this she has done some 12 professional theatre productions for finnish theatres.
Last year she quitted and started to make her first short documentary Karvan verran, inspired by her mother. She had already made many short videos in her work and directed many plays in professional theatres, translated plays and dramatized different texts. She got some scholarships from finnish foundations to make this film.
Karvan verran is invited to Kuopio Silver Stars Film Festival next November 2019. This festival is the only and biggest film festival for elderly people in Europe.
She has also written a book, What a Role! – an actor from Tampere (Tampere-Seura 2013). Tampere is the most important theatre town in Finland with 12 professional theatres, international Theatre Summer -festival and several amateur groups.
Nowadays she works on freelance-basis. She has started with a new short film and third will be in progress next spring. That will be a parallel-film to Karvan verran, it tells about joy of life of an old man.
She has also been studying in DAMU in Prague, alternative theatre, in 1988 and 1991 with finnish foreign ministry scholarship. She loves Czech and Czech language. In her theatre works she translated also some czech texts (f.e. Uvadicka by Arnošt Goldflam) and directed them in professional finnish theatres. She speaks some czech. Once she had also honour to act in a production Píseň Bohatýrů Kalevaly, directed by Josef Krofta for puppet theatre Mukamas in Tampere.
Most of her puppet-productions are inspired by the period she spent in DAMU.
