Alumni and students worked for “Garden” screened at the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy

Screenplay: Minna Havukainen, Kristiina Karsten (Film student 2003-07)
Cinematography: Otso Reunanen (Film student 2003-07)
Editing: Kristiina Karsten (Film student 2003-07)
Production assistants: Emma Poutanen (Film student 2019-23) & Muura Parkkinen (Film student 2019-23)

Welcome to the garden. The late summer sun has ripened the fruits in the apple trees. The landscape is reminiscent of Eden.

The summery apple orchard creates the background for the BDSM sessions of the five main characters and their meditations on the meaning of being kinky. Trust, play, and joy are at the centre of the documentary. A playmate can transform from a tea party table to a ride in an instant. New uses are found for the shovel, familiar from the sandbox. The viewer gets close to something truly intimate. You can almost feel the touch on your skin. The camera’s gaze is gentle and observant. The red latex shines in the light of the setting sun.

Visual artist Minna Havukainen’s work brings forth a new kind of depiction of being kinky. Fundamentally, it is a sexual identity, not spice in the form of fluffy handcuffs. Playing with power dynamics can be sexual, but it does not necessarily have to have anything to do with sex. BDSM can be a source of care and tenderness. During a session, an opportunity can appear for understanding and filling the deepest of needs.

Inari Nikkanen (translated by Inari Ylinen)

https://hiff.fi/en/elokuvat/puutarha/

The film was also screened at SPECTRUM – Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Art 8.10.2021–9.1.2022 at WAM, Turku City Art Museum