MY SECRET FOREST
For Lauri, 20, an autist unable to speak, the only key to life in general is to write with the help of Pirjo, his personal interpreter – it is Lauri’s only way to express his deepest thoughts. In the midst of the challenges brought on by autism, love is his highest dream. Lauri feels he is like a bear that must be perpetually tamed, while trapped inside him lives a feeling and thinking man. Although Lauri, a lover of philosophical deliberations, fears he will remain bound to the mere yearning of infinite love to the end of his days, through his writings he is able to reveal a beauty about life not perceived by everyone.
MY SECRET FOREST IMPACT CAMPAIGN
The current impact campaign of My Secret Forest is designed to generate debate on social issues. The campaign theme is human rights, particularly the rights of people belonging to special groups and their right to be seen and heard. The “Cinema Changes The World” impact campaign is a joint project of The Church Media Foundation, The Finnish Film Foundation, and The Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture AVEK with the aim of supporting films with an impact on the society.
During our 2017-2018 impact campaign we develop co-operation with different organizations and operators. Our co-operation partners are The Finnish Association for Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, School Cinema Association, the Finnish CP Association, The Threshold Association, the Finnish Association for Mental Health, Kuuloliitto ry, and The Finnish Federation of Settlement Houses.
We arrange screenings, expert discussions on the documentary’s themes and human rights, workshops, and many other collaboration events. The campaign will also release video material on the film’s themes and Lauri Katajainen, its main character. Pedagogical material tailored to support the film and the option of an audio description are elements of the impact campaign.
AUDIO DESCRIPTION
The documentary contains an audio description in Finnish for the visually impaired. A person with sight loss can listen to a description of the film’ s visual contents through earphones using the Movie Reading application downloadable for mobile phones. The experience is extremely eye opening and interesting also for seeing people. We have already noticed that also non-neurotypical people can benefit from the audio description. The application will be available from October 2017. Live audio descriptions can also be ordered for screenings. Live audio descriptions will be carried out in co-operation with Cultural Service for the Visually Impaired and audio describer Pipsa Toikka.
Listen to a teaser of how the audio description sounds like (in Finnish)!
YLE AREENA
Mi bosque secreto es la primera película de la historia con audiodescripción en finés en el Archivo nacional de programas. En el canal nacional TV1 hubo emisiones el 16/10/2017 y el 2/4/2018, después de las cuales estuvo disponible durante 1 mes en el Archivo nacional de programas.
FILM SCREENING SCHEDULE
* Live = Audio description for Finnish speakers / Pipsa Toikka
* MR = Audio description in Finnish with Movie Reading application / Pipsa Toikka
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Lauri’s thoughts on Finland100
When I go into the forest, I hear the soughing of the wind in the trees.
Deep inside me, I can feel the trees talking to me. The story they tell is much larger than the traditional yesterday or the coming tomorrows. They have seen our country grow and develop. Sometimes they have rejoiced at her success, sometimes mourned the direction taken by the progress.
Trees are older than us, and also wiser. They know that when you put your roots down in good soil, you must love it. You must respect your roots and tend to everything near you. Provide shelter from excess sun or rain. You must offer branches for fire and feed the birds and caterpillars. Ancient trees are older than Finland; let us allow them to point the way to the coming centuries.
Hooray for Finland100!
-Lauri Katajainen
ARTICLES IN ENGLISH
ARTICLES IN SWEDISH
Nordisk Panorama 2017 screening in Malmö: Filmtopp.se / Oscar Vilhelmsson gives highest points to My Secret Forest – read it in here (in Swedish)
ARTICLES IN FINNISH
Listen to Radio Ramona’s interview with Saara Helene Murto about the film here (in Finnish)
At Nordisk Panorama Film Festival director Niina Brandt visited Sverigesradio.se Radio Sisu in Malmö (26.9.2017). Listen to the interview here (in Finnish)
PEDAGOGICAL MATERIAL
Using My Secret Forest in teaching and education:
“The documentary film is an impressive depiction of Lauri’s life and his dreams. My Secret Forest highlights many current teaching and education themes about diversity and the uniqueness of each individual. It provokes you to contemplate your own place in this world, the question whether your can be truly yourself, and will be accepted as you are. This film befits wonderfully the confirmation school work in congregations, and for educational work in general.”
– Jari Pulkkinen, Pedagogical Expert, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
Pedagogical material based on the film can be viewed here (in Finnish): http://koulukino.fi/index.php?id=3971
NEWS FROM OUR FACEBOOK
Niina Brandt
Director, Impact Campaign Producer
p: +35845 6732 606
email: niina@doubleback.fi
Saara Helene Murto
Impact Campaign Producer
p: +35844 0546 005
email: saara@doubleback.fi
