Final Scenes of Disaster Movies – Open Call


Submit an idea for the final scene of a disaster movie or sign up to volunteer as an actor

The past 20 years may seem like a chain of disasters: the banking crisis, the eurozone crisis, environmental disaster, the COVID pandemic, the energy crisis, the war…. This participatory film project allows you to have a say in the outcome of your chosen disaster!

Artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen invite people to write final scenes for fictional disaster movies. The only requirement is that the scenes must take place in Kansalaistori Square in Helsinki. 

The artists will select three final scenes from the ideas submitted to be filmed by a professional film crew. Actors will be volunteers from Helsinki – perhaps including you?

The final scenes that are filmed will premiere on a huge screen in front of the Helsinki Central Library Oodi on 17 August 2023. The free event will be part of the Night of the Arts and the launch of the Helsinki Festival.

What disaster will your movie feature, and how will things be resolved in the last minutes of the movie – or will they be resolved at all? Be brave, describe in your own words what the topic brings to your mind and click on ‘Participate’. Ideas for a final scene can be submitted until 31 March 2023. If you are interested in signing up as a volunteer to act in the scenes, in addition to or instead of sharing your idea for a final scene, the ‘Participate’ button works for that too. The call for volunteer actors will be open until the end of April.

Participate and fill the form below 

You can take part in the project by submitting an idea for the final scene of a disaster movie and/or by registering your interest in appearing in the movie. 

What disaster is your movie about? How does it end? Set the final scene in Kansalaistori Square in Helsinki and answer the questions below by 31 March 2023. Once finished, click on ‘Participate’.  You can find more information about participating in the Questions and Answers section. You can also email us at katastrofi@helsinkifestival.fi

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CONTACT INFORMATION



TELL US ABOUT YOUR DISASTER MOVIE

In order to understand your final scene, we need to be able to imagine the general idea of your movie. We therefore ask you to answer all the questions below.

Please answer the questions in your own words, don’t worry about being formal; you can even be brief.

1. What disaster does the movie you’ve come up with feature?

2. How will this disaster affect the lives of Helsinki people? - Are any attempts made to contain the disaster in some way? How?

3. Who are the main characters in the movie? Provide us with details that will help us imagine them.

4. How does the movie end? - The final scene must be set in Kansalaistori Square in Helsinki. Describe the final scene. What will viewers see during the final minutes of your fictional movie? Who and what will we see in the scene?

As we will shoot only three scenes, we would be happy to publish some of the ideas in text form. Will you give us consent to do so?
The option you select will not affect whether your idea can be selected for filming.


APPLY TO BECOME A VOLUNTEER ACTOR

The final scenes of the disaster movies will be acted by volunteers from Helsinki. The filming will take place in late May and early June – more details will be announced later. By clicking on the box below, you are not committing to anything yet. We will contact everyone interested in volunteering to ask additional questions such as whether you are only interested in appearing in the background in a large group scene or whether you’d be willing to be shot close up. We’ll have details of the roles on offer in April.

I’d like to put my name forward to act in some of the scenes selected.


Helsinki Festival may save my details for further communications.*
Questions & Answers

Questions & Answers

Original image: Yehia Eweis / Helsinki City Museum, edit Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen