Itä-Pasila (2025)

Itä-Pasila, the rough-around-the-edges neighbourhood filled with concrete building blocks, office buildings and diverse inhabitants, is at the centre of Anu Pennanen’s experimental film that mixes documentary with fictional sequences. This mostly dialogue-free film, scored by Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1, explores the eastern side of the Helsinki borough divided in two by train tracks. As inhabitants of Itä-Pasila reminisce about everyday life in their beloved part of town, their thoughts are conveyed to the viewer through text on the screen. To some, Itä-Pasila is reminiscent of grey and depressing barracks, but to others the area is a cherished home filled with good memories.