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29 Jan – 8 Feb 2026

Mika Taanila

Mika TAANILA (1965, Finland) studied video and filmmaking at Lahti University of Applied Sciences, and usually works in documentary, avant-garde filmmaking and visual arts. Many of his films and installations deal with utopias in historical and contemporary science. Return of the Atom (2015) won the Nordic Dox Award for Best Nordic documentary at CPH:DOX, and Six Day Run (2013) was nominated for a Tiger Award at IFFR. His documentaries have screened at festivals including Toronto International Film Festival, IFFR and IDFA. He also served as a programmer at Avanto Festival in Finland for several years. In 2024, he joins IFFR with Failed Emptiness (2024).

Filmography

(selection) Thank You for the Music – Elokuva muzakista/Thank You for the Music – A Film About Muzak (1997, short), Futuro – tulevaisuuden olotila/Futuro – A New Stance for Tomorrow (1998, short doc), RoboCup99 (2000, short), Tulevaisuus ei ole entisensä/The Future Is Not What It Used To Be (2002, short), Fysikaalinen rengas/A Physical Ring (2002, short), Stimulus Progression (Rotterdam) (2005, instal), Optinen ääni/Optical Sound (2005, short), Sommerreise/A Summer Trip (2006, short), Täydellisen pimennyksen vyöhyke/The Zone of Total Eclipse (2006, instal), Puijo (2010, short), Laitos (2010, short), Ihminen ja tiede (2011), Pneuma (2011), The Most Electrified Town in Finland (2012, instal), Kuuden päivän juoksu/Six Day Run (2013, short), My Silence (2013, short), SSEENNSSEESS (2013, instal), Return of The Atom (2015, doc, co-dir), Tectonic Plate (2016, short), The World (2017, short), Monica in the South Seas (2023, co-dir), Failed Emptiness (2024)

Mika Taanila op IFFR

  • Monica in the South Seas

    Sami van Ingen, Mika Taanila | 72' | Finland | World premiere

    Elegant, ironic and melancholic essay on authenticity, based on the making of Monica Flaherty’s Moana with Sound.

  • The Punched Tape of Life

    Erkki Kurenniemi | 8' | Finland | International premiere

    Is everything recorded on film destined to become digital data, or does life still resist?

  • Failed Emptiness

    Mika Taanila | 70' | Finland | World premiere

    An apocalyptic mood-piece from Finnish experimental multimedia artist Mika Taanila, mixing thermal imagery and text.

  • Oblivion Way

    Kai Oka | 15' | Canada | World premiere

    Suggestions of paradise as a young man runs and leaps through the streets.

  • Before and After Zeno

    Kai Oka | 7' | Canada | World premiere

    The magnum opus and only sound film from Kai Oka is an elliptical journey.

  • Blue Green

    Kai Oka | 6' | Norway | World premiere

    Inspired by Brakhage, the light dances as Kai Oka’s camera freely roams the countryside.

  • The Zone of Total Eclipse

    Mika Taanila | 6' | Finland | European premiere

    The Finnish artist Mika Taanila manipulates found scientific footage – a registration of an eclipse – that he shows in both positive and negative.

  • The Zone of Total Eclipse

    Mika Taanila | 6' | Finland | -

    The Finnish artist Mika Taanila manipulates found scientific footage – a registration of an eclipse – that he shows in both positive and negative.

  • Optical Sound

    Mika Taanila | 6' | Finland | International premiere

    A rhythmic choreography of printer parts and their now classic typography, interspersed with observations of office life.

  • A Physical Ring

    Mika Taanila | 4' | Finland | -

    Raw material from an anonymous Finnish physics experiment is assembled into a piece of kinetic fantasy. An integral part of the piece is the haunting…