Finntastic! Tove
Finntastic! Tove
Finntastic! New Films from Finland | September 8-10
The Finntastic! film series showcases the exciting vision and new work by prize-winning female directors from Finland. Finntastic! is curated by MSPIFF programmer Alissa Simon in collaboration with the Finnish Film Foundation.
Tove | Saturday, September 9 at 6:00 PM | A biopic by director Zaida Bergroth that originally screened at the 2021 MSPIFF online festival and is being presented at The Main Cinema for the first time.
About the Film
Set from 1944 to 1956, the Swedish-language film shows how painter Tove Jansson finds worldwide success from an unexpected side project, in the midst of artistic struggles and an unconventional personal life.
Helsinki, 1945. The end of the war brings a new sense of artistic and social freedom for painter Tove Jansson. Modern art, dizzying parties and an open relationship with a married politician: Her unconventional life puts her at odds with her sculptor father’s strict ideals. Tove’s desire for liberty is put to the test when she meets theatre director Vivica Bandler. Her love for Vivica is electric and all-consuming but Tove begins to realise that the love she truly yearns has to be reciprocated.
As she struggles with her personal life, her creative endeavors take her in an unexpected direction. While focusing her artistic dreams on her painting, the work that started as a side project, the melancholic, haunting tales she told scared children in bomb shelters, rapidly takes on a life of its own. The exploits of The Moomins, infused with inspiration from her own life, bring Tove international fame and financial freedom. There’s a daily comic strip, a stage play and stories that continue to delight people around the world. But as she begins to find her artistic identity she has to learn to find herself. Her unrequited love for Vivica is preventing her true liberty and only by learning to break away from her can she truly be free. Tove is a captivating drama about the creative energy of an iconic talent and her turbulent search for identity, desire and freedom.