Children of War and Peace

synopsis

After the First World War, the nationalism of Finnish society increases and with it the need to create a nation with fighting power. One of the strategies of the government and propagandists of the time was the indoctrination of children and youth, together with their education to love the nation and hate the enemy. Using archival footage, radio recordings, photographs, as well as authentic diary entries of Finnish teenagers, the film depicts how state power can abuse children's innocence and malleability to achieve its political and war goals. This creates a parallel between the historical reality and the young fighters of today's wars.

“They only need to believe, obey and fight. Our battleground is the soul of the Finnish youth.”

biography

Ville Suhonen (1964) is a Finnish documentary film-maker, screenwriter and author of books for young people. After studying art history and theatre science at the University of Helsinki, he worked as a film and cultural critic. He has made natural science and political-historical documentaries and is the recipient of the Jussi award (Seamstress, 2015).

more about film

director:	Ville Suhonen
producer:	Jouko Aaltonen
script:	Ville Suhonen
photography:	Pekka Uotila
editing:	Sanna Liinamaa, Sanna Liinamaa
sound:	Pietari Koskinen
production manager:	Oona Saari