February 6, 2023 in Helsinki, Finland with Director Annie Berman
Our International Premiere of The Faithful: The King, The Pope, The Princess at DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival was something special. Helmed by the brilliant Head of Programming filmmaker Inka Achté, and Executive Director Tape Riihimaki, and team, Docpoint Helsinki presented risk-taking films from around the world, a celebration of truly independent works of nonfiction after three long years without in-person togetherness. Throughout the festival, the chosen films showcased the many different ways to tell important stories and interpret the world through filmmaking, never avoiding difficult subjects or bold experiments. Each year, over one hundred of the best and most talked-about creative documentary films from all over the world are brought to screens in Helsinki, and we were honored to see The Faithful chosen as one of those films this year. Even more honoring was our nomination for the 2023 YLE Award for Best International Documentary Film–many thanks to all who made it possible.
It’s hard to describe the pure joy and delight of finally uniting with our closest collaborators, converging on Helsinki from Portugal, Ireland, England and Spain...to see our film projected in a beautiful theater with a thoughtful, inquisitive, gracious audience. It was a week of films, art, dinners, saunas, dancing, music and immense, gratifying joy.
Thank you Docpoint Helsinki for all of your hard work, generosity, and risk-taking programming. Thank you for bringing us all together. Thank you for introducing us to these brilliant films and filmmakers. And, thank you for showing us the beauty of Finland and its people. We will cherish these memories for a lifetime.