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30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025

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 at IFFR

  • Monica in the South Seas

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

    • Cinema Regained

  • The Punched Tape of Life

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

    • Short & Mid-length

  • Failed Emptiness

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

    • Harbour

  • Oblivion Way

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

    • Cinema Regained

  • Before and After Zeno

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

    • Cinema Regained

  • Blue Green

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

    • Cinema Regained

  • The Zone of Total Eclipse

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

    • Short: Starting from Scratch

  • The Zone of Total Eclipse

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

    • Exploding Cinema: Speed of Light

  • Optical Sound

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

    • Short: As Long As It Takes

  • A Physical Ring

    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 soundtrack by Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic.

    • exploding cinema