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.