In the spring of 1986, an accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant lit up the skies and a radioactive cloud drifted over neighbouring countries. It rained in the small village in Finland where 15-year-old Mariia (Laura Birn) lived, and safety precautions were announced.
As Mariia narrates the story, recalling that it was not the nuclear explosion that lit up her life, but the arrival of 15-year-old Mimi (Rebekka Baer) in the village. The much older Mariia recalls the intensity of her first love when she returns home to care for her sick mother.
Sleeping in her old bedroom that still has the posters of eighties pop music sensations, Mariia revisits the old haunts to recapture that summer when the fear of radioactive fallout was overshadowed by the joy that Mimi brought to her life as they sought excitement, adventure and passion away from adult worries.
Mimi, in particular needed the respite from her chaotic house. Living with her aunt, two great uncles and grandmother who needed care, Mimi was desperate for a normal friendship in the new town.
Based on an award-winning coming-of-age novel of the same title, Light Light Light received the Queer Film of the Year Award in Finland. Like so many Scandinavian films, it is visually stunning, moody and memorable.
Light Light Light screens as part of the Scandinavian Film Festival that runs from Thursday 25 July to Wednesday 14 August at Luna Leederville and Luna on SX.
As well as the best new cinema from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, the festival is screening a retrospective recognizing the works of iconic Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann’s collaboration with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman.
This is a chance to relive Autumn Sonata, Persona, Scenes from a Marriage and Cries and Whispers on the big screen.
Lezly Herbert
