Hanasaari A
NEW DOCS

Running Time:
15 minutes
Screening Info:
Thursday, April 8
1:20 pm
Cinema One
Director(s):
Hannes Vartiainen, Pekka Veikkolainen
Producer(s):
Hannes Vartiainen, Pekka Veikkolainen
Editor(s):
Hannes Vartiainen, Pekka Veikkolainen
Cinematographer(s):
Hannes Vartiainen, Pekka Veikkolainen
Release Year:
2009
Country:
Finland

US Premiere

There can be beauty in destruction. Based on half a million still photographs, Hanasaari A documents the abandonment and demolition of a coal-fired power plant in Helsinki, Finland, transforming it into a stunning work of art. Time-lapse photography gives the dismantlement a frenetic energy. Anthropomorphized metal jaws suspended from a crane eat away at the building while a wrecking ball thuds against the bricks. Day speeds to night in a matter of seconds, a thunderstorm rips across the sky, and shadows scud across empty rooms with purpose. The images are rhythmic but silent, accompanied only by music that ranges from industrial percussion to sparse tones. There is a textural quality to this experimental film that allows the audience to feel the destruction as well as see it.  NT