People in the Summer Night Film Screening and Talk at EU Film Days 2026

As part of the Classic Selection programme for the EU Film Days 2026, People in the Summer Night (Ihmiset suviyössä, 1948) will be screened twice. The second screening is followed by a talk by Mikko Kuutti, Director of the Audiovisual Culture Department at the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency, on the origins and work of film archives, and modern digitisation.

People in the Summer Night (66 min)

A tale of life and death in the Finnish countryside, illuminated by the white nights

Based on the eponymous novel by Nobel laureate Frans Eemil Sillanpää, this film was produced by Suomi-Filmi, the largest Finnish film studio of the time, and directed by Finnish master Valetin Vaala, who continues to profoundly influence filmmakers today. A depiction of intertwining events involving life and death, love and hate that unfold over the course of a single day in a rural Finnish town, beautifully presented with shots of the forests and lakes bathed in the poetic light of the White Nights.

Director: Valentin Vaala / 1948 / 66 minutes / with Japanese subtitles

Screening times:
May 21 at 19:00 (Thu)
May 23 at 12:00 (Sat)
★The screening on Saturday will be followed by a talk by Mikko Kuutti (approx. 60 minutes, with consecutive interpretation in Japanese).

Venue: National Film Archive of Japan (3-7-6 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)

Tickets

・Online sales
　From noon three days before each screening until 15 minutes before start.
　https://www.e-tix.jp/nfaj/index.html

・Box office (1F)
　From 1 hour before each screening until 5 minutes before start (limited tickets, cash only).