Anu Pennanen (FI/FR) | Sõprus-Druzhba / Friendship

SYNOPSIS

Sõprus-Druzhba (Friendship) reflects the recent rapid development of the cityscape of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, from the perspectives of teenagers who live there. Two groups, Estonian and Russian speaking, separated by language and history, are getting curious about each other.
Their interactions are framed against the contrastive backdrop of historically charged public sites and new gathering places such as a recently opened shopping centre. The teens, who spend a lot of time drifting, occupy and transform these places into venues for events that differ from their official use. Their daily experiences float casually in these public spaces, despite the dominant nature of the environment. The film is based on workshops, texts and discussions with the nine teenagers featured in the film.

ARTIST’S BIOGRAPHY

Anu Pennanen was born in 1975 in Kirkkonummi, Finland. She is currently working in Paris, France, and has worked in various countries after graduating from the Helsinki Fine Arts Academy in 2003.
She has been exhibiting widely internationally since 2004. Her work focuses on the influence spatial organization, urban architecture and modernization have on human behaviour. She works collaboratively and site-specifically with people, who represent the mirrors and investigators of built environment in her works. Frequently she collaborates with experimental musicians.

FILMOGRAPHY

• Sõprus-Druzhba (Friendship), 2006, 30'00", documentary fiction, S16mm/Digibeta, Dolby stereo
• A Day in the Office, 2006, 16'00", video installation, DVcam HD/DVD
• A Monument For the Invisible (Monumentti Näkymättömälle), 2003, 12'00", documentary fiction, S16mm/ Digibeta. 5.1 surround
• Heavy Snowflakes (Raskaat Lumihiutaleet), 2003, 5'00", experimental video, MiniDV/DVD, stereo
• Detached (Irtautunut), 2002, 3'50", experimental fiction, S16mm/Digibeta, stereo