Riemuruhtinaat
Jaakko Kilpiäinen:
Riemuruhtinaat (Finland, 2009)
58 min. - Finnish
Riemuruhtinaat, Home-Made Heroes, is a documentary film about courage and about finding one's limits. The narrators in this funny, yet touching, film are a number of
colourful stage artists whose golden era spanned the 1950s through 1970s,
the time period when Finland was going through a powerful transformation.
These folk artists, who toured with travelling amusement parks, were
home-made stars whose timid “glamour†was loved by the audiences. The
arrival of magicians, escape artists, acrobats and daredevil drivers was an
escape from the everyday grind. In the ecstatic atmosphere of their show,
the artists felt their work had a meaning, even though their lifestyle and
their daring acts came at a cost. The film pays tribute to the forgotten
folk artists who toured around the country, entertaining Finns who were
building their future during the hard times.
Director Jaakko Kilpiäinen present for Q&A after the screening.
