On April 17, at 7pm Baltic Analog Lab invites you to meet our current artist-in-residence Milja Viita (FI). She will present two of her works -  a film in progress “People on Sunday” (74’)  and “SKÖNÄRIT” (63’, Eng. Seafarers – a Tale of a Young Sailor). During her time in residency Milja is focusing on the sound design for “People on Sunday” -  searching for and creating sounds with synths and instruments, making field recordings, and engaging in new collaborations with the accidentally met locals.   Milja Viita is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Porvoo, Finland, working with analog cinematic formats. Her works often deal with nature or natural science observations, and they convey a strong personality in relation to the wider social phenomena and examine the fate of an individual in the flow of time and history. More: https://miljaviita.live  

“People on Sunday” consists of strong and powerful 35mm portraits of people I care, spending Sunday, says Milja. Each person is cinematographed in their own unique environment, aware of the moment of shooting, - and clearly expressing it to the viewer.  Serlachius Museums, where the film will be premiered this coming fall, state, that  film refers in its name to the German classic film Menschen am Sonntag (1930), which depicts the leisure time of young adults, is now seen above all as the “last summer” before the rise of Nazism and the devastation of the Second World War. In her own work, Viita reflects on the fragility of life, the cyclical nature of history and the inexorability of time.   

SKÖNÄRIT (2025) is a collage film about seafarers based on 8mm footage shot around the globe by the sailors themselves. Through the tragic true-life story of a young sailor, Jalmar Yrjänen, the film shows the life of those working at sea at the mercy of the natural elements, while also touching upon themes of colonialism and globalization. 

The event will take place in the Baltic Analog Lab 2nd-floor residence rooms, Lienes iela 19a. 

Event language: English. 

Free admission, drinks for donation. 

Baltic Analog Lab Residency is supported by the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation.