On May 28th, the ceremonial ceremony inaugurated a film journey to the happiest country in the world – a special section of this year’s edition of the Krakow Film Festival “Focus on Finland”. Viewers saw the film “Gods of Molenbeek” by Reetta Huhtanen.
– This year we are presenting the cinematography of the happiest country in the world – Finland. During the selection of films for the program, we learned what interests the local artists and why Finland seems to be the ideal country to live in. But is it really like this? The films selected for this section showcase both the tangled history of this country and contemporary problems that the Finns are facing – emphasizes Barbara Orlicz-Szczypuła, Director of the Program Office of the Krakow Film Festival.
Focus on Finland was officially opened by representatives of the Finnish Film Foundation, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The creators of Finnish productions presented at the festival also took the stage.
– The festival made a very interesting selection. The films not only show different aspects of life of the inhabitants of Finland, but also have been made by various artists: those debuting and those already known in the film industry. The program includes both documentaries presented at Sundance or in Berlin, as well as premiere productions – said Suvi Paavola from the Finnish Film Foundation.
Focus on Finland has started , p . Klaudia Szatan
Focus on Finland has started ph. Klaudia Szatan 
Focus on Finland has started, ph. Klaudia Szatan
The “Focus to Finland” section was opened by the documentary “Gods of Molenbeek” directed by Reetta Huhtanen. This is a moving and universal story about the search for answers to the most important questions shown trough the adventures of 6-year-old boys, Aatos and Amine. In the infamous Molenbeek district in Brussels, they listen to spiders, discover black holes and argue over who will get a flying carpet that will take them to the lands of their ancestors. Although they come from two completely different worlds, they share not only a common backyard, but also a great friendship.
The “Focus on Finland” section presents the latest documentaries and short films. The screenings will take place throughout the festival week in the Pod Baranami Cinema, the Agrafka cinema and the Małopolska Garden of Arts. Representatives of the film industry from Finland and Poland will also meet at a joint conference within KFF Industry and at many special events.
The “Focus to Finland” section showcases six full-length documentaries. In addition, there will be a screening of short films made with the participation of a friend from the Krakow Film Festival, the Tampere Short Film Festival, and in the series of Nights Etues we will see Finnish student films selected by the DocPoint festival – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival. In the “Kids & Youth” section will also include films from Finland. Representatives of the film industry in Finland and Poland will also meet at a joint conference and many special events.
Each year, as part of a special section, the Krakow Film Festival presents the latest documentaries, short films and animated films of the selected country. So far, the section has included presentations of cinematography from, among others Israel, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Lithuania, Great Britain, Sweden, Estonia and Germany.
The partners of the “Focus on Finland” section are the Finnish Film Foundation, the Tampere Short Film Festival and the DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival.