Screenings: Eija-Liisa Ahtila 1 | Eija-Liisa Ahtila 2

Ahtila's Art on the Screen

Eija-Liisa Ahtila (b. 1959) is one of the international stars of Finnish contemporary art. Her installations have been exhibited in the leading museums and galleries worldwide. Tampere Film Festival now wishes to recognize her signifigance as a film artist, too. Two retrospective screenings feature seven of her films during the festival.

Ahtila began her studies at the Faculty of Law, but entered soon after the Free Art School of Helsinki. Shortly after her graduation as a painter she got interested in film, a subject which she studied in London and Los Angeles. Since 1993 Ahtila has enriched the field of arts with her works that break the boundaries of visual and cinematic arts.

Ahtila's works are narrative, but at the same time they question the notions of time and place. She often makes two versions of her works; an installation and a film shot on 35 mm. The two versions aren't necessarily identical, even though they use the same visual material. This underlines Ahtila's background both as a visual artist and a film artist.

Two films that were completed this year and have previously been displayed as installations will be showed at the Festival. Where Is Where? (2009) will have its Finnish premiere and The Hour of Prayer (2009) its world premiere in Tampere. The first screening also features the film If 6 were 9 (1995).

The border between fantasy and reality is a carrying theme in Ahtila's works. A good example of this is a film included in the second screening of Ahtila's works titled Love Is a Treasure (2002), a story of women who have experienced psychosis. Other films featured in the screening are Today (1996), Consolation Service (1999) and Me/We; Okay; Gray (1993). Today and Consolation Service have won the main prize in the category for films under 30 minutes at Tampere Film Festival.

Eija-Liisa Ahtila's masterclass on Saturday at 16:00 in Werstas auditorium. The event is in English.

MORE INFORMATION

Riina Mikkonen, Press Coordinator
tel. +358 3 213 0034 or +358 40 532 2912
riina.mikkonen@tamperefilmfestival.fi

Sanna Kyllönen, Press Coordinator
tel. +358 3 213 0034 or +358 40 067 7667
sanna.kyllonen@tamperefilmfestival.fi

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