News

*available in English only*

Here is what they report about their enriching encounter:

What motivated you to visit each other’s cinema after Karlovy Vary?

Leena: Curiosity. During Karlovy Vary, in addition to talking about films, we also spoke a lot about our work and our cinemas. From the very beginning, we had a good connection, which made it natural to continue getting to know each other. We are all curious by nature, and our conversations have been an excellent way to explore our work from different perspectives and to discover both differences and similarities in cinema operations between Finland, Hungary, and Denmark. 

Kis: Taking part in a Europa Cinemas Label Jury had been a fantastic experience – professionally as well as personally. We wanted to see each other again; and so, we did.

Edit: I feel that the possibility to cooperate with cinema managers from other countries at international film festivals is a great way to get some insight into our similarities and differences. I worked as a jury member for Europa Cinemas at several film festivals, but this was the first time we kept in touch so closely. I was really touched by the love Leena and Kis showed when they talked about their work in the cinema and their audience. This inspired me a lot.    

How did you prepare for the arrival of your colleagues in your own venue? What aspects of your cinema or your way of working did you want to highlight or share with them?

Edit: For me it was important to invite Leena and Kis while an event in our cinema was happening, so they could see what enriches our program, additionally to the general screenings. Therefore, I timed the invitation so that it would coincide with the Kecskemét Animation Film Festival.

Something that was also important to me was to highlight the architecture of Otthon Cinema, as most art cinemas in Hungary are architecturally remarkable. Our cinema is one of the outstanding buildings of Hungarian Art Nouveau.

Leena: I arranged a visit to Cinema Orion for Edit and Kis, during which we visited both the auditorium and the projection room. They also met our cinema and distribution managers. In addition, I organised visits to two other art-house cinemas in Helsinki (Kino Engel and WHS Union), where we met with their cinema managers. During those visits and meetings, we had in-depth discussions about each cinema’s operations, including audience engagement, programming, and marketing.

Kis: In 2025, I welcomed Leena and Edit in my cinema to show them the cultural center, that contains not only the cinema, but also a state archive, a venue for kids, young creative people and associations, a small art gallery and a concert venue. I planned for us to go to a nearby town, Odense, where they held a feature film festival – the first one in Denmark for quite some years. We had the opportunity to meet up with Birgitte Weinberger, who oversaw the festival and is partly owner of a local art Cinema, Café Biografen.

What did you take away from visiting your colleagues’ venues abroad? Were there ideas, practices, or perspectives that you brought back and integrated into your own work?

Edit: When we visited Cinema Orion, we were introduced to the cinema's staff and the technical conditions. I was amazed by the architecture of the Cinema Orion's building. Just by looking at the facade, you would never guess that is a beautiful Art Deco cinema. While we were there Leena introduced us to two other cinemas (Kino Engel and WHS Union) as well, so even though our time spent there was short we could get a picture about the colourful cinema life in the Finnish capital. 

Leena: Visits to each other’s home cinemas and cities have been fascinating. Our discussions have turned into something concrete. We have seen the working environments and experienced the atmosphere in each cinema. This has been valuable, as it has helped me better organise and understand the vast amount of information I always receive when we meet.

Visiting Edit’s Cinema Otthon Mozi in Hungary has opened Eastern European film culture to me in a new way. I had already admired the region’s remarkable film production in Karlovy Vary, as well as Edit’s extensive knowledge of the area’s film culture and the connections it has within the wider film industry. Unfortunately, this all receives little visibility in Finland, so I feel that through Edit I have gained an entry point into a part of film culture I would not otherwise have access to. Since my visit, we have tried to find screening opportunities for Eastern European films at Cinema Orion — and have managed to do so, at least on a small scale. For example, the Latvian animated film Flow came to Finnish distribution through our association Elävän kuvan keskus ELKE ry.

My visit to Kis at Nikolaj Biografen in the summer of 2025 was also a very positive experience. Danish film culture is more familiar to Finns than Hungarian culture. Though a handful of Nordic films are screened in Finnish cinemas each year — which is still significantly more than Eastern European films. Denmark, therefore, felt more familiar from the outset, and visiting Nikolaj Biografen and Cafe Biografen in Odense reinforced that impression. Our working culture and programming are similar. My visit to Denmark also provided me with concrete event ideas — for instance, the red-carpet event during the Oscars, which we should test at Orion at some point.

Kis: I was grateful to Edit and Otthon Mozi for welcoming us and letting us get an insight of Hungarian culture and their thriving world of cinema. One thing of interest as an Art-Cinema worker is of course the architecture and physical appearance of the Cinema, and Otthon Mozi was just a beautiful example of it.

Of course, Leena’s Cinema, Orion, was worth the visit. A beautiful 1920’s art deco venue, that is apparently the oldest Cinema in the whole of Helsinki, that still has the original interior. The Art-Cinema scene in Finland was of outmost interest to me, and Leena had made sure that we were introduced to different managers of these screening venues.

One thing that I remember is that when we arrived there, they were celebrating the annual International Cat Day - One full day with screenings of different “cat films” from Aristocats to horror movies. The staff were dressed up in cat costumes, and there were sponsored gadgets and treats for cats that you could take home. Even my childhood magazine Garfield was there. I made sure to keep the idea somewhere in my head, because that might be something that would also work on our premises!

Would you like to add some last words about your experience?  

Leena: We have been considering possibilities for more concrete collaboration in the future. This has not yet taken shape, but Kis has mentioned a proposal for a Month of European Film, so we will see if our wish could materialise next winter.

Each of our meetings has felt too short for truly getting to know one another work in depth. After three years of acquaintance, it feels like we now have the basic groundwork in place. In the future, we can focus on deepening our connection and maybe launch new projects together.

Kis: Who knows, how and where the three of us will meet up after that, but I’m confident, that our tradition of exploring the world of Cinema together and strengthening our professional connections and our friendship will continue. I want to thank Europa Cinema for bringing us together.

-------------------

September 2025

Céleste Franchomme Quenton and Lisa Püscher

-------------------

Photo credits cinema Orion © Mikko Lyytikäinen

Photo credits EC Label Jury in Karlovy Vary © Film Servis Festival KV, a.s.