“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.” (the jury in DocPoint)
63min / colour / 1.37:1 / 35mm, stereo / DCP 5.1 sound / 24 fps 2024 screened from 35mm with live wind music by young players of Rauma Youth Orchestra with Lönnström Art Museum Lönnström Project #6 Read more
Original S8 footage: John Konkola, Sakari Leino, Martti Mankonen, Yrjö Mankonen, Ari Mylly, Jukka Salokaarto Jallu’s voice: Aapo Salonen Improvised wind music: Rauma Youth Band and Kalle Kataja Score: Juho Laitinen Recorded sounds in vessels: Matleena Mäkelä, Matti Lahti and Jezreel Limpangog. Foley artist: Miro Mantere Sound design: Veli Granö Colour grading: Pentti Keskimäki Mentor for film lab work: Etienne Caire
SKÖNÄRIT 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.
All the S8-films and other archive materials are found from one little port town, Port of Rauma, located on the coast of Baltic Sea, west Finland. Shooting locations: e.g. Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Greenland, South Africa, Senegal, Mauritius, Morocco.
The film’s narrative and footage span different periods. While the borrowed footage was shot between the 1960s and the 1990s, the script also draws on letters written by Jalmar “Jallu” Yrjänen, a 17-yearold who set sail from Rauma in the early 1900s. Other sources include ships’ logs, telegrams, newspaper articles, and interviews with seafarers. As the narrator of the film, Jallu travels the globe to places like northern and southern Africa, China, Arctic Canada, and South America. He finds his place in the seafarer community, until his adventure unexpectedly turns into tragedy. While Jallu’s story touches on major themes arising from cultural encounters, such as colonialism and globalisation, the film also shines a light on the fates of individuals, both those at sea and those left behind on the home front, who had to accept the merciless power of the elements and live with the constant longing and worry for their loved ones at sea. The word “skönäri” is Finnish sailor slang, meaning seafarer.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I’m inspired by the markings found in archives, the truth and its variations they might convey. I found the seafarers’ letters, logbooks, and telegrams from the late 19th and early 20th century in a small Finnish port city of Rauma, and was touched by the voice of the young sailor Jalmar Yrjänen. The retired sea captains from the same port town gave me dozens of S8 films they had shot around the globe decades after Jalmar’s time on Earth. I was fascinated by the beauty and playful attitude of the films, but also the different echelons of time that were present – the planetary time and deep history, as well as the layered nature of human life. I found myself asking, what and who will be remembered of the times we are living now. I used the footage I received from the old sea captains to tell the story of Jalmar, working like a micro-historian, but with an attitude of an artist, and with a heart of a poet.
SCREENINGS: 28.2.-8.3.2026 6th IDFF Artdocfest, Riga 16.-18.1. 2026 Ekenäs Filmfest, Raasepori 6.12. 2025 m/v UDINE Gargo Ship at Pacific Ocean near Mexico 9.-16.11. 2025 Saarijärven elokuvaviikko 13.-15.11. 2025 Experimental Superstars 11, Novi Sad, RS (Best experimental documentary) 6.-23.11. 2025 European Film Festival Scanorama, Vilnius, LT 3.11.2025 Järvenpää elokuvakerho. Elokuvateatteri Studio 1. 17.10.2025 Midnight Sun Film Festival visits Kino Laika, Karkkila 11.10.2025 Home Movie Day, Bergvalla, Parainen 26.-30.9.2025 Archivio Aperto Festival, Bologna, IT 11.-14.9. 2025 Kokkolan kinojuhlat, Kokkola, FI 3.-13.7. 2025 9th Festival ECRÃ de Cinema e Arte Experimental, Rio de Janeiro, BR 31.8.2025 ”Harbour” Kinoclub Helsinki, purjelaiva-esitys Kalasatamassa 21.8.-24.8. 32. Blue Sea Film Festival 29.-31.8. 2025 Sensommar Film Festival Reposaari 14.6.2025 Midnight Sun Film Festival, FI 5.-7.5.2025 Henry Nielsen nostalgiaristeily XIII, m.s. Cinderella 4.5. – 31.12. 2026 as installation, Lönnström Home Museum in collaboration with Rauma Maritime Museum 19.3.2025 Dokkariklubi, Cinema Orion 4.-9.2.2025 Helsinki Documentary Film festival Doc Point (Jury Special Mention in National Competition) 20.9.2024 35mm live screening with KInoton projector and improvised wind music played by Rauma Youth Orchestra in Rauma-sali (Lönnström project #6 premiere)
Palkinnot: 2025 Paras dokumenttielokuva, Experimental Superstars – festivaalit 2025 Juryn erikoismaininta, DocPoint 2024 Suomen musiikkioppilaitosten liiton Vuoden pedagoginen teko -palkinto myönnettiin SKÖNÄRIT elokuvan improvisoidulle puhallimusiikille.
SKÖNÄRIT is a Lönnström project 6 by Lönnström Art Museum
