Susan Seidelman and Abderrahmane Sissako to headline Sodankylä Midnight Sun Film Festival

The Sodankylä Midnight Sun Film Festival has announced American director Susan Seidelman and Mauritanian-Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako as its featured guests for this year’s event, reports Finnish broadcaster Yle.

Seidelman, best known for her 1980s cult comedy *Desperately Seeking Susan* starring Madonna, will present four of her films at the festival. Sissako, whose acclaimed works include the jihadism-themed *Timbuktu*—winner of multiple international awards—and *Bamako*, a critique of the World Bank and IMF, will showcase four of his films. His recurring themes explore colonialism, migration, and religion.

The festival will also host the Finnish premiere of *Yellow Letters*, a political thriller by German-Turkish director İlker Çatak, which won the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival.

Finnish highlights include *13 Cold Songs*, a concert film featuring legendary musician Tuomari Nurmio, who will also perform at the festival’s club event. Tributes will be paid to late actors Elina Salo (*Le Havre*) and Silu Seppälä (*Zombie and the Ghost Train*), both of whom passed away last year, as well as editor Timo Linnasalo, a Jussi Award winner who died earlier this year. Screenings of Aki and Mika Kaurismäki’s *Le Havre* and *Zombie and the Ghost Train* will honour their contributions.

Founded in 1986 by Anssi Mänttäri and the Kaurismäki brothers, the Sodankylä Midnight Sun Film Festival runs from **10–14 June**, with tickets going on sale in late May.