Indie Films Fernie brings Aki Kaurismäki’s tale of a Syrian refugee who stows away to Finland mines the deadpan humour he’s famous for while refusing to flinch from heartbreak and hardship.

Khaled, syrian refugee stows away on a freighter to Helsinki. Meanwhile, Wikström is a traveling salesman who wins big at a poker table and buys himself a restaurant with the proceeds. When the authorities turn down his application for asylum, Khaled is forced underground and Wikström finds him sleeping in the yard behind his restaurant. He offers him a job and a roof over his head and, for a while, they form a utopian union with the restaurant’s waitress, the chef and his dog.

“Aki Kaurismäki’s tale of a Syrian refugee who stows away to Finland mines the deadpan humour he’s famous for while refusing to flinch from heartbreak and hardship,”

$9 for Arts Station members, $10 for non-members.
You can also buy a 4-film festival pass for $32 for non-members or $28 for members. Buy a pass for yourself or as a gift here.
Indie Films Fernie (IFF) screens independent films at the Vogue Theatre on the first Sunday of every month from September – April at 5pm. Read more about IFF here.