Screening series
29.1-19.2.2026
Institut finlandais is presenting a new series of screenings during the winter months 2026, as part of A Season in Dialogue with Pekka Halonen, a programme echoing Petit Palais’ exhibition Pekka Halonen – An Ode to Finland.
The four films plunge us into the lives and minds of several outstanding Finnish creatives and characters: architects Alvar and Aino Aalto, Marimekko co-founder Armi Ratia and accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen. In the emotional thriller Orenda, interpersonal relationships intertwine with nature’s mysteries.
As always on screening evenings, our gallery and Café Maa will remain open until the film starts at 7pm. Enjoy a drink or a snack before the film! Buy your tickets from our online shop, 5€ per ticket, 15€ for the full series.
PROGRAMME:
Thursday, 29 January at 7pm
Aalto (2020)
Directed by Virpi Suutari
103 min, in Finnish with French subtitles
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Virpi Suutari, Aalto tells the story of the modernist, avant-garde artists and entrepreneurs Alvar and Aino Aalto and their creations around the world. The documentary emphasizes Aino Aalto’s role as Alvar’s equal, as their personal narrative is organically intertwined with work and architecture. The film presents a lot of unprecedented archive material, such as love-letters of the Aaltos and interviews with relatives and researchers.
→ Click here to book your tickets.
Thursday, 5 February at 7pm
Orenda (2025)
Directed by Pirjo Honkasalo
118 min, in Finnish with French subtitles
Orenda is about the encounter between two determined women, played by Alma Pöysti and Pirkko Saisio. In the language of the North American Iroquois, orenda means an invisible force, a spirit of life that inhabits the living and the inert: people, wind, birds, rabbits, stones. Exploring themes of guilt and grace, the destinies of the two women intertwine in an intense emotional thriller set on a remote island.
→ Click here to book your tickets.
Thursday, 12 February at 7pm
Armi Alive! (2015)
Armi elää!
Directed by Jörn Donner
84 min, in Finnish with French subtitles
Armi Alive! is a fictional film by Jörn Donner about one of the most prominent Finnish business executives of all time – Armia Ratia, founder of the design brand Marimekko. As a manager as well as a person, Ratia was brave and boundless, excessive and relentless. The captivating story is told through a theatre group that is preparing a play about her. A recurrent question remains – who is the peculiar woman behind the legend?
→ Click here to book your tickets.
Thursday, 19 February at 7pm
Soundbreaker (2012)
Directed by Kimmo Koskela
88 min, in Finnish with French subtitles
Soundbreaker is a documentary that immerses us in the world of Finnish accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen, a virtuoso with a deep understanding of his instrument, which he has played since childhood. With his handmade instruments, his voice, and his creative genius, Pohjonen invents a new sound and produces unique performances. Kimmo Pohjonen is one with his accordion and nature, where everything inspires him, especially the light of the Nordic skies.
→ Click here to book your tickets.
The screening will be followed by an exceptional concert by Kimmo Pohjonen, at Institut finlandais. Booking opening early 2026.
Curated by Irmeli Debarle.
Irmeli Debarle is the specialist on Finnish cinema in France. A lifelong student of literature, languages, art history and cinema, she completed a thesis on the director Teuvo Tulio in 2013. Having lived in France for almost 50 years, she has decided to promote Finnish cinema, which is still little known internationally, always guided by the same will: the desire to share. Irmeli Debarle contributes to the visibility of Finnish filmmakers by translating their works and by helping to screen their films at various festivals in France. Among her many projects is La Finlande en 3 films festival, which she has been organising every year for the last 16 years at the Reflet Médicis cinema in Paris, with the support of the Finnish Film Foundation. She translates Finnish films and works closely with filmmakers such as Aki Kaurismäki and Markku Lehmuskallio, among others.