Mattijuhani Koponen is a pioneer of Finnish underground and performance art, who had sexual intercourse on the top of a grand piano and threw the conservative Finland off its rails. The fine line between art and pornography was discussed in several courts of justice. The artist was sentenced to one year in prison. One public act in his youth has stigmatised the man and his whole life. The incident turned his life upside down and almost destroyed him. His friends disappeared, and Koponen was almost completely forgotten.
Much of the time and era is culminated in Koponen’s fate. The film is one man’s romantic journey amidst the complex set of values of our recent history, when the idealism of an individual made the powers-that-be nervous. At the same time, it reminds us of similar problems we face today.
Information
Original name |
Mies ja Tuomio |
Original language |
Finnish |
Subtitles |
English |
Genre |
Documentary film |
Production year |
2007 |
Production country |
Finland |
Running time |
40 min |
Crew
Direction |
Timo Peltonen (also scriptwriter) |
Performers |
Mattijuhani Koponen, Maria Koponen, Pekka Airaksinen, M. A. Numminen, Meri Vennamo, Pille Karoliina Kiil, Peter Widen |
Cinematography |
Timo Peltonen / Marita Hällfors |
Sound recording |
Jouko Aaltonen / Martti Turunen |
Sound design |
Martti Turunen |
Composer |
Samu ja Ville Kuukka |
Editing |
Samu Kuukka |
Producer |
Jouko Aaltonen |
Screenings and awards
TV-screenings
Festivals
- 01.01.2008 DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival 2008, Kettupäivät Finnish Short Film Festival / Finland
- 01.01.2008 1001 Documentary Film Festival 2008 / Turkey
Production
- Jouko Aaltonen, Illume Oy