Hölmö nuori sydän

Stupid Young Heart
‘Your belly pic already has 372 likes.’

They are an unlikely couple: Kiira, with her brightly-coloured hair and star of the dance troupe, and Lenni, a skinny skater. At a party the two finally get together, the fulfilment of a long-held dream for Lenni. Then Kiira becomes pregnant. They decide to keep the baby, but feel increasingly overwhelmed by this new situation. Lenni in particular needs support. He seems to find it among a group of men in the neighbourhood who have begun to prepare for the supposed threat of Muslim migrants. Lenni feels strong as a member of the radical group, but Kiira and her tolerant friends are perturbed. An increasingly violent chain of events, filmed close-up to the troubled young protagonists.
by Selma Vilhunen
with Jere Ristseppä, Rosa Honkonen, Abshir Sheikh Nur, Pihla Viitala, Ville Haapasalo, Katja Küttner, Joona Helenius, Wäinö Vänskä, Elsa Marjanen, Aamu Milonoff
Finland / Netherlands / Sweden 2018 Finnish 102’ Colour

With

  • Jere Ristseppä (Lenni)
  • Rosa Honkonen (Kiira)
  • Abshir Sheikh Nur (Abdi)
  • Pihla Viitala (Ansku)
  • Ville Haapasalo (Janne)
  • Katja Küttner (Satu)
  • Joona Helenius (Mylde)
  • Wäinö Vänskä (Lari)
  • Elsa Marjanen (Neea)
  • Aamu Milonoff (Pinja)

Crew

Director Selma Vilhunen
Screenplay Kirsikka Saari
Cinematography Lisabi Fridell
Editing Michal Leszczylowski, Yva Fabricius
Music Timo Dirksen
Sound Design Jan Schermer
Sound Tuomas Klaavo
Production Design Eva Torsvall
Costumes Karoliina Koiso-Kanttila
Make-Up Kaisu Hölttä
Assistant Director Jolle Onnismaa
Casting Anastasia Lobkovski
Production Manager Katri Myllyniemi
Producers Elli Toivoniemi, Venla Hellstedt
Co-Producers Nima Yousefi, Annemiek van der Hell
Co-Production Windmill Film Amsterdam
Hobab Stockholm

Selma Vilhunen

Born in 1976, the director and screenwriter studied film at the Arts Academy in Turku, Finland and has been directing documentaries and feature films since 1998. She is a co-founder of the Tuffi Films production company. In 2014, her short film Pitääkö mun kaikki hoitaa? was nominated for an Oscar; and her short film The Girl and the Dogs, a collaboration with Guillaume Mainguet, premiered in Cannes in the same year. Her debut feature film, Tyttö nimeltä Varpu, premiered in Toronto in 2016 and was nominated for ten Jussis, the Finnish film award. She currently lives in Helsinki, Finland.

Filmography

1999 Päivä isän kanssa (A Day with Dad); short film 2003 Minun pikku elefanttini (My Little Elephants); short film · The Crossroads; short film 2007 Jätkät (Loggers); short film · Pietà 2008 Ponitytöt (Pony Girls); short film 2012 Pitääkö mun kaikki hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?); short film 2013 Disco; short film 2014 Laulu (Song); short film · The Girl and the Dogs; short film 2016 Tyttö nimeltä Varpu (Little Wing) 2017 Hobbyhorse Revolution 2018 Hölmö nuori sydän (Stupid Young Heart)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019