Letters to Katja (1995)

A chronicle of Finnish-born photographer Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen's return to her roots in Finland with her daughter Katja, after 23 years in Britain. An intimate journey of the heart, revealing the emotional turning points of their year in Finland, and their attempt to come to terms with the complex feelings around personal and national identity. While in Finland Sirkka raised funds from the Finnish State Television Yleisradio, and the Finnish Film Foundation, to make a documentary film about her year there. She took her daughter with her, hoping to share her experience with her, but eventually homesickness and the harsh Finnish winter drove Katja back to dad in England. Sirkka stayed on, and together with Peter Roberts, created the film from photographs on her return, as well as the family video and cine film shot during the year. The film has been screened on Finnish and German TV, and at international film festivals at Tempare in Finland, Rivertown in Minnesota, Melbourne, London, Christchurch and Auckland in New Zealand, Gothenborg, Amsterdam, Cork in Ireland, Lubeck, Grimstad in Norway; Amascultura in Portugal, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in Canada, and at the Margaret Mead International Film Festival in New York City.