Punishment

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

  • 22.02.2009 YLE TV 1

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

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