Aki & Mika Kaurismäki:
Saimaa-ilmiö (Finland, 1981)
Production: Villealfa Filmproduction Oy
128 min - 35mm. Finnish.
This year, Rokumentti is proud to present the world premiere of Ulapalla, the documentary on Tuuliajolla 2006 tour. But when the first Tuuliajolla tour took place in 1981, the youngest participants of this year's boaty-licious experience were almost fresh from the womb. Back then, Mika and Aki Kaurismäki used to be the young hopes of Finnish cinema: now they have established themselves as the most famous and the most highly appreciated filmmakers in the country. The Kaurismäki brothers joined the then top favourites of Finnish youth, Juice Leskinen & Grand Slam, Eppu Normaali and Hassisen Kone onboard SS Heinävesi on the waves of the Saimaa lake. What they managed to catch on tape was a lot of music in the middle of breathtaking nature, mischievous pranks on a night-time lake and, of course, an endless stream of obnoxious jokes. From these building blocks, the film Saimaa-ilmiö, one of the fundamental works of Finnish rock'n'roll cinema, was constructed.
Saimaa-ilmiö is an ambitious film: there were several cameras and lots of film, and for the director of photography the Kaurismäki brothers wanted nobody else but Lasse Naukkarinen, a Finnish top veteran documentarist. Tuuliajolla 2006 tour has made this film more topical than it has been for a long time. One of the highlights of this year's Rokumentti festival is to compare who exactly has been responsible for the worst jokes on Saimaa waves ever – Juice Leskinen or A. W. Yrjänä of CMX fame.
