Eastern Memories by Niklas Kullstrom and Martti Kaartinen

Eastern Memories at SIFF on May 18 – 19, 29

Finland | 2018 | 86 minutes | Niklas Kullstrom, Martti Kaartinen

Past and present collide in this travelogue that uses 100-year-old diaries to comment on modern-day Mongolia and Japan, and modernization in general. The diaries were written by G.J. Ramstedt, a Finnish linguist and all-around fascinating guy who was sent to Mongolia to study the language and help create a written record of it, and who fell in love with the land and the people. Instead of searching for archival footage to support the history, co-directors Martti Kaartinen and Niklas Kullstrom set out on the same journey and shot new footage of the cities and lands that Ramstedt wrote so eloquently about.