DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival takes place on 20th – 25th January 2009 in Helsinki. DocPoint 2009 celebrates exceptional filmmakers and films on politically charged subjects. The main guests of the festival have their own series in the programme: a retrospective of Nick Broomfield films and a five-film tribute to Richard Leacock.

Truth and change are the main themes of this year’s festival. Tell Me the Truth series approaches the subject of how a filmmaker constructs the truth. The IDFA award winner Burma VJ – Reporting From a Closed Country shows a strikingly truthful image of what happens in a country closed from the rest of the world. Truth and change are at play also in the Kekkoslovakia – the Land of Illusions series, which takes the viewers decades back to the Finland of 60’s and 70s. Also a record number of eight new Finnish documentaries will have their premiere at DocPoint.

Waltz with Bashir, the recent Golden Globe winner, will be seen in the AnimaDoc series. The director Ari Folman will attend the festival and tell about the film that he made based on his own war experiences. Since animation is a fairly new form of documentary art and this year’s DocPoint is the first opportunity to see a selection of animated documentary in Finland, the festival holds a seminar on animated documentary and what it has to offer to the documentary film.

Theme countries Italy and India are also strongly present in this year’s programme. Both series Italy for Beginners and New India include new films with fresh viewpoints, and tackle difficult subjects of society and change, nevertheless focusing on people and the realities of individual lives.


DocPoint International Guests

Richard Leacock’s wife and co-filmmaker Valerie Lalonde will also be attending the festival. Swedish director Jonas Odell has two of his animations in the programme, and will also speak at the AnimaDoc seminar.

Other guests include Jan Harlan, the maker of Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, Ranjan Palit (King of India), Giovanni Piperno (Atomic! A Train of Mad Italians in China), Vitali Mansky (Virginity), Hossein Torabi (For Freedom).

The filmmakers attending the festival will be present at the screenings of their films. Whenever possible, they’ll answer questions after the films and will also participate in the DocPoint panels and seminars.


Battle of the Somme special screening

DocPoint’s silent film concert combines the classic Battle of the Somme of the First World War with contemporary Finnish music. The documentary was the first realistic depiction of war atrocities for the general public in its time. Internationally renowned DJ and producer Jori Hulkkonen will provide a new soundtrack for the film. He reports having looked for inspiration from the early 80’s horror films and especially John Carpenter’s work.
Battle of the Somme film concert on 21st January, 20:00 at Bio Rex.
Tickets 12/15€.


Panels and Seminars at DocPoint

DocPoint panels and seminars are open to the public. They bring the filmmakers and the audience together to discuss their views on the themes of this year’s programme.

*Wednesday, January 21st:
Peter von Bagh: Lecture on the History of Documentary Film (In Finnish) *Thursday, January 22nd:
Dimensions of Documentary Cinema
*Friday, January 23rd:
AnimaDoc
*Saturday, January 24th:
Change 09 – Lively Talk about How to Change the World (In Finnish)


DocPoint clubs

Even a documentary film festival is not only about films.

DocPoint DJ’s play every night from Wednesday till Friday at Nolla (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 21), free entrance. The DocPoint Club will be held at Gloria (Pieni Roobertinkatu 12-14), entrance 10€. Radio Helsinki DJ’s will start the night and main acts are Finnish indie bands Regina, Joensuu
1685 and Alpo & Tomi.


The 8th DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival grows into a six-day event and it takes place in Helsinki downtown cinemas between 20th – 25th of January 2009. The documentaries will be shown in Ateneum, Bio Rex, Bristol, Kiasma, Maxim and Orion. The tickets are sold in the DocPoint online Box Office, Finnkino and Bio Rex in advance and in the theatres during the festival.