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THE FUTURE IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE Three films by Mika Taanila, including his new documentary on the pioneering Finnish electronic music and cybernetic artist Erkki Kurenniemi, who began to build computer instruments in the 1960s. More recently, he has become manically preoccupied with achieving immortality by documenting his every thought and movement. Also screening: Futuro<\/em>, about the flying-saucer shaped plastic house created by visionary architect Matti Suuronen, and A Physical Ring<\/em>, a kinetic found-footage film with music by Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic.<\/p>\n Mika Taanila, Futuro: A New Stance for Tomorrow, Finland, 1998, 30 min<\/strong> Mika Taanila will introduce the screening and answer audience questions on 16 October. Advance booking is recommended. Presented by LUX in association with The Finnish Institute and The Wire.<\/p>\n Wednesday 15 October 2003 (UK Premiere) Thursday 16 October 2003 [repeated Tuesday 28 October 2003] Saturday 18 October 2003 Sunday 19 October 2003 Wednesday 22 October 2003 Tuesday 28 October 2003 Thursday 6 November 2003 Saturday 22 November 2003 Mika Taanila (born 1965) has studied cultural anthropology at Helsinki University and graduated from Lahti Institute of Design, video department in 1992. Lives and works in Helsinki as free film director and video teacher at Academy of Fine Arts. Producer of new media arts in the Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture in Finland. Mika is a member of Team Avanto, organisers of Helsinki\u2019s Avanto Festival of electronic arts and media.<\/p>\nPROGRAMME NOTES<\/a> FUTURO – A NEW STANCE FOR TOMORROW<\/strong> A PHYSICAL RING<\/strong> FUTURE IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>15 October\u201422 November 2003<\/strong>
\nUK Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMika Taanila, A Physical Ring, Finland, 2002, 4 min<\/strong>
\nMika Taanila, The Future is Not What it Used to Be, Finland, 2002, 52 min<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSHEFFIELD International Documentary Film Festival<\/p>\n
\nLONDON The Other Cinema<\/p>\n
\nGLASGOW CCA<\/p>\n
\nBRIGHTON Cinematheque<\/p>\n
\nDUBLIN Electronic Arts Festival<\/p>\n
\nCANTERBURY Kent Institute of Art & Design<\/p>\n
\nNEWCASTLE Cineside<\/p>\n
\nBIRMINGHAM MAC<\/p>\n
\nMika Taanila, Finland, 1998, colour, sound, 30 min
\n<\/strong>In 1968, the Finnish architect Matti Suuronen designed Futuro, a house made of plastic, which resembles a flying saucer and reflects the 1960s optimism of space travel. It was another classic of Finnish design alongside the famous ball-shaped \u201cglobe chairs\u201d by Eero Aarnio. This film chronicles the rise and fall of Futuro during the 1970s oil crisis, which rendered the commercial manufacture of the plastic house nearly impossible. A journey back in time to our recent futuristic past, and the story of a Space Age utopia that almost came true.<\/p>\n
\nMika Taanila, Finland, 2002, colour, sound, 4 min
\n<\/strong>A minimal found-footage film based on material from an anonymous Finnish physical test that took place in the 1940\u2019s. The original purpose of the test remains unknown today. Through careful editing, inanimate research footage is assembled to a piece of kinetic fantasy. An integral part of the final work is the specially commissioned, haunting soundtrack by \u00d8 (Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic).<\/p>\n
\nMika Taanila, Finland, 2002, colour, sound, 52 min
\n<\/strong>A film about Erkki Kurenniemi, the human memory, computers and immortality. Kurenniemi is a forgotten visionary and pioneering figure in the history of Finnish avant-garde film and music, whose career represents a surprisingly natural blend of music, film, computers, robotics, science and art. He composed computer-based music and designed his own electronic instruments as early as the 1960s. His project of collecting everything around him will perhaps be the most significant of all his works. Kurenniemi records his thoughts, observations, objects and images constantly, with manic precision, with the ultimate goal of merging man and machine – reconstructing the human soul. The film looks into the past, but very clearly sees far ahead into the future through it.<\/p>\n