After 8 years, Soulweaver: Requiem for Earth (2009–17) the film is now finally finished!
World premiere will be at this planet’s greatest Sci-Fi convention Worldcon 75 in Helsinki, Finland, Messukeskus – Thursday, August 10th 2017 at 5:15 PM. Warmly welcome!
Also a multi-art exhibition will be held at at Worldcon 75 on every day in the Exhbitions Hall; August 9th–13th 2017.
“Animals of the future awaken in a memory of tomorrow”
Soulweaver (Sielunkehrääjä) is a poetic Finnish post-apocalyptic science fiction film of epic proportions. It is set in future Finland following the years 2839 – 3153. Cities of Earth are in ruins. Man is no more. New species have evolved. These are the last days of once flourishing blue Earth when an alien vessel arrives in the proximity of Earth…
Tulevaisuuden eläimet ja uudet olennot elävät Maan uudessa todellisuudessa. Kaupunkien rauniot toimivat nyt eläinten elinpaikkoina ja muistona menneestä, kun ihmistä ei enää ole. Tapahtumat alkavat kun vieras esine saapuu Maan läheisyyteen vuonna 2839. Yllä elokuvan Trailer A 2017.
8 vuotta tekeillä ollut post-apokalyptinen tieteiselokuva Sielunkehrääjä (2009–17) on viimein valmistunut! Elokuvan ensi-ilta on maailman suurimassa Sci-Fi-tapahtumassa Worldcon 75:ssä Helsingin Messukeskuksessa 10. elokuuta 2017 klo 17:15. Lämpimästi tervetuloa!
Elokuvan taidenäyttely pidetään myös Worldconissa joka päivä näyttelysalissa 9.–13. elokuuta 2017.
Nähdään siellä – seuraa uutisia täällä blogissa ja:
Elokuva on tehty nollabudjetilla. Se on rakkauden ja omistautumisen kunnianosoitus luonnolle, eläimille, elämän monimuotoisuudelle, kasveille, taiteelle, universumille ja tieteisfiktiolle. Tämän elokuvan lajityypit lukeutuvat scifistä fantasiaan, kauhusta runolliseen draamaan ja luontoelokuvaan. Sitä voisi myös luonnehtia uudeksi genreksi, luonto-scifiksi.
A Stream of Tears (2007). Above is a version colorized with computer. Next to it here is the whole original pencil drawing also, 74×46 cm.
A sad yet gentle and hopeful image of a girl sleeping in a stream of her own tears, surrounded by a misty forest. A white pigeon – her soul – flies away.
Girl with a pigeon seems to be one of my many reoccurring motifs – also see the ending of Venus and the Dream Machine comic.
The image was used as a cover of my 2CD ambient album collection Kyynelten virta (2008).
Apokryfia is my poetic series of graphic novels and comic strips. Graphic poems, if you will. The illustrations, visions and ideas often start from my sketch books that I’ve had as visual diaries since 2009. I usually carry the newest book with me wherever I go in case of wanting to draw an idea down.
The story of Apokryfia – Venus and the Dream Machine: it all began with a singular dot. In 2011 I decided to make a metamorphing or animating drawings out of sketch book #6 (Zeta). I wanted to see out of curiosity what kind of visions would happen along the way from such small beginnings. Meaning, in the 110 pages the images slowly transform and animate into the next image. Happenings and characters appear and disappear. It starts and ends with a dot.
Here is the final 8 page result as of 2017 when I drew and constructed the final graphic novel / comic strip. This was the core of it but there is additional left-over material that I might publish some day too. Especially if I hear interest from You, dear readers.
Everything you’re about to see and read is from my imagination without outer stimulants. Everything was improvised. (Except for the final color image that was partially inspired by the graphics of 1980s version of a Finnish cherished board game from the 1950s.) Now let us begin.
Venus passed a busy market street full of beautiful fertile naked women.
The images of strange beings in her mind merged with the memory of a girl from her youth. And all the animals she had always loved.
It all became a reality – just from mere thoughts. Who would’ve thought?
It was only a matter of seconds and by chance this even ever became a reality of its own.
This was all thanks to her dream machine.
She had purchased a peculiar machine from an old woman in a bazar tent; not knowing at the time how powerful it truly was.
In the corner of everything this thing made it all happen – it was a machine that created real life from dreams.
Her lips turned tulip red and began to blossom, her eyes turned into tears and her voice softened like a trumpet stuffed
with an orange in its mouth.
Touching the crystal images made every step easier for her. And for them. She could see and hear it all now clearly.
So it came, that Gorki and Bantu met for the very first time. They got frightened at each other at first, but when they saw there was nothing to fear they were happy to finally have found a friend. A much needed precious life form companion — a lasting friend that we all would like to have and hold in our hearts. Even for that brief moment that we call… life.
How different they were in appearance yet so similar in habits and everything else… and in dreams. They shared a mixed combination of all the good qualities that beings can have; supporting the other where the other was lacking in.
The encounter was brief yet joyous and full of excitement. It had been the most important handshake of their curious lives.
(And not one of those outrageously hilarious rope-pulling manoeuvres à la Mr. Trump, that no one was luckily exposed to in this universe.)
Now it was time to move on – and to let the tiny Venus find her way too.
Venus grew bigger and bigger, and swam to the shore of emptiness. Surprisingly she met Mr. Ambivalent there — a curious featureless fellow from Mars, that she tried to greet. But missing mutual language they didn’t really understand each other…
Still there was something universal in their essence and form of life.
A snake broke free from its fractal face. It crawled in hot dessert passing a black mirage walking by in the distance.
Perhaps the image belonged to a redeemer she was after?
Unfortunately it turned out to be something much more sinister. It was a Slave Dealer in the land of the dead.
Surrounded by poor fragile skeleton souls, a skeletal giraffe and their Dark Dealer master in between, a mysterious sign in the mountains gave her the last and only gleam of hope of ever finding peace.
The bird, a white pigeon, was firmly held by the dealer. After 3000 days of war, misery and struggle it finally broke free from its master’s shaking, tired and bitter grip. The bird merged with the Moon where it received its wings and force of light.
The pigeon guided Venus from this day onward – till the rest of her days.
Now Venus will flourish once again and drink ice from the fountain of Africa.
Haraya the Winter Crown | Haraja Talvikruunu (11.8.2009). Pencil, 11×15 cm.
Also known as The Crown King. A character from the fantasy world of New Nature in the Springbringer comic books. This sketch is from the Apokryfia book #1 Alpha.
Round-tummy Tommy the Troll (Pullea peikko in Finnish) is the main character in the adventures of Troll Land.
He likes to create origamis that come to life – for example they start to fly and fire away. The first pencil drawing seen here is from August 19th 2011. But Tommy was born already almost three years before that in December 18th 2009 on the Apokryfia sketch book #2 Beta.
In the other drawing Tommy is by the Bonfire (Pullea Peikko leiritulen äärellä, September 6th 2011). Original pencil 15×10 cm, from the upcoming Narcosis the Cat & Flapsticks comic book stories.
Unlike the Internet trolls, Tommy is a nice sympathetic fellow.
I participated in a competition organized by Posti in 2009. I chose suitable works from my etchings, comic books and pen and pencil drawings. Some of the works were originally in black and white so I colorized them on computer. I also united the color schemes to match the pictures in a given stamp sheet.
An etching aquatint: Kantele Swan | Kantelejoutsen | Aurinkojoutsen (2008-09). 14×11 cm. Below is the pencil sketch.
I made this as a Finnish national-romantic theme with our national bird Whooper Swan (“laulujoutsen”) having our national instrument, kantele, as a wing. There is also a stamp with this motif I designed for a competition.
Sprite of Spring or the Springbringer or Calÿaja (in my fictional language) is one of my most important beings and characters. It represents life and rebirth in the world of Springbringer. It fell from space as a seed and landed on a pond of swans one ancient evening “3000 suns ago” and began to sprout.
I saw the Sprite in my dream on December 2002 (the comic book image where the sprite and the swan meet). I woke up and drew it so I could remember it.
Here are various manifestations of this fragile beautiful flower-like being of light:
an etching aquatint: A Garden of Stars (2009), 11×25 cm
a digital work made from a water color painting (2009), used as a poster for the Springbringer film
a color pencil drawing (2011), 10×15 cm
a clay statue (2007), 21x17x15 cm
comic book pages where the Sprite meets Qwaidun the swan (2002-09)