In this atypical coming-of-age drama selected as Finland’s contender for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, Stupid Young Heart uses the nine-month lead up to a life-changing event to explore contemporary connections between manhood, race, and nationalism in an economically depressed Finnish suburb.
Carefree 15-year old Lenni and his longtime crush, the popular dancer Kiira, are nowhere near ready for adulthood when, after a casual hookup at a party, Kiira discovers that she’s pregnant. But when they decide to keep the baby, the search for independence brings them into complicated new territory as their prospects for jobs and stability prove increasingly elusive. And when Lenni’s insecurities about providing for the coming child lead him to seek advice from his new friend Janne — a member of a far-right group plotting against the growing Somali population — the young couple’s challenges are complicated further as they are drawn into the all-too-real events being faced by immigrant communities throughout Europe.
As their due date approaches, both Kiira and Lenni must question what parenthood means to them; and more importantly, what world they want to bring their new child into. Directed by Selma Vilhunen (Finland, 2018)
“Set against the backdrop of immigration tension in Finland and the rise of neo-Nazis, Stupid Young Heart is more than a teen romance”—NOW Toronto
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Selma Vilhunen is an Academy Award-nominated director and screenwriter of both fiction and documentary films. She has graduated from Turku University of Applied Sciences. Her works as a director include the feature documentary Song which premiered in theaters in Finland in April 2014, and the Oscar-nominated short film Do I Have to Take Care of Everything? (2012).
Her other works include awarded films such as the follow-up documentary Pony Girls (2008) and TV film Pietà (2007) and feature fiction film Homesick (2005, as co-writer together with Petri Kotwica). Vilhunen is also a founding member and co-owner of the Helsinki-based production company Tuffi Films.