SKÖNÄRIT (2025) is a collage film about seafarers based on footage shot around the globe by the sailors themselves. ‘Skönäri’ is old Finnish sailor slang, meaning a seafarer. The script is based on the logbooks, letters and telegrams the filmmaker obtained alongside the footage from a small Finnish port town called Rauma. Through the tragic true-life story of a young sailor, Jalmar Yrjänen, the film shows the life of those working at sea at the mercy of the natural elements, while also touching upon themes of colonialism and globalization.

SKÖNÄRIT

“The jury was sensitive to the care that the director has put into such a story that might have gone unseen otherwise. The clever editing work on the archival footage, portraying this working class at sea sailing towards a tragic loss, reflects on their difficult conditions.” (Jury of National competition, DocPoint, 8.2.2025)