When I learned that Aki Kaurismäki was building the first movie theater in the town of Karkkila, Finland, I set out to follow this ambitious initiative at a time when the trend was leaning towards the closure of theaters. On my way to Karkkila, I reflected upon André Bazin’s question, “What is Cinema?”, transforming it into “What is a movie theater, and what can it offer people?”.
On-site, I discovered how Aki and his small team of workers were handcrafting this cinema, using recycled wood, metal, and furniture. I sensed the enthusiasm of the locals, who saw this cinema as a transformation of their town.
During the construction of the movie theater, cinema became the main and almost exclusive topic of local conversations. The entire town was breathing in rhythm with the progress of the construction work. This emerging space was gradually becoming the new heart of the town. Nearby, the metallic heart of the old forges resonated day and night, reminding us that the town was built around this factory…
The magic of cinema lies in its power to transform reality and create fictional memories. When reality meets fiction, we begin to perceive the reality through this new transparent filter. When discovering a place for the very first time, we have the sensation of having already visited it thanks to cinema, which becomes a kind of guide, a point of reference, a context.
Imbued by Aki Kaurismäki’s films, the characters we encountered in Finland bore the imprint of his movies. We felt as if they were emerging from fiction as we entered it. And so, by living for almost a year in this small town, we also became characters in this fiction, and the film Cinéma Laika has become a fiction of reality.

Veljko Vidak