Light Light Light has been awarded the Best Feature Film Award at the Exgrund Filmfest in Wiesbaden, Germany, and the Queer Film of the Year Award here in Finland. The film is based on the award-winning novel with the same title by Vilja-Tuulia Huotarinen.
Brilliant news for Light Light Light by Vilja-Tuulia Huotarinen: the film based on the novel has been released in October, and the accolades are already coming in.
Light Light Light was awarded the Best Feature Film Award and the Audience Award at the Exground Filmfest in Wiesbaden, Germany. The jury have motivated their choice as follows:
“The film manages to relate the typical themes of coming-of-age genres, like first true love, loss and problems within the family, in an original and innovative way. This is especially evident in the Chernobyl symbolism, the haunting soundtrack and the nostalgic flashbacks.
The use of lighting is also brilliant. Scenes where one would rather look away are illuminated in glistening bright light. The way the most emotional scenes unfold mesmerises the viewer visually. It is this masterful treatment of the themes of trauma and abuse as well as the magnificent actors that make this film an absolute ‘must-watch’ for us.”
Light Light Light is the story of two explosions: the nuclear explosion in Chernobyl, and first love. It is the summer of 1986, and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine has exploded, and Maria is a teenage girl who lives in a small town with her family. Everything in Maria’s life changes when she meets the radiant Mimi. Mimi lives with her grandmother, aunt, and two great-uncles in a household they refer to as Mayhem. A fierce, passionate, desperate love flares up between Maria and Mimi. Hot summer days at the beach and ’80s hits mingle with death, old age, illness, and fear of radioactive fallout. But the girls’ lives are filled with light light light.
Light Light Light also won the Queer Film of the Year Award, a recognition awarded on a yearly basis by the student organisation Qaareva.
Vilja-Tuulia Huotarinen’s Finlandia Junior Prize-winning Light Light Light is a heart wrenching romance and a story of impossible choices made at the age of fourteen. The protagonist Mariia hates to write, so she tells her story in ways that surprise the reader and give the book depth.
The award-winning movie Light Light Light is directed by Inari Niemi, produced by Lucy Loves Stories and distributed by Nordisk Film Finland. You can watch the trailer here.
Warmest congratulations, and don’t miss out on this title!