Mikko Kallinen is a choreographer and multidisciplinary artist who has created numerous theatre works since 1992. His pieces have been presented widely both in Finland and internationally. Having studied dance in London and New York, Kallinen’s artistic expression is rooted in the intersection of embodiment, technology, and visual thinking. Over the past 15 years, he has focused on projects that combine elements such as video dance, animation, and interactive technology. Kallinen’s multidisciplinary team includes sound artist Girilal Baars, whose work combines vocal folk music with experimental contemporary music, and Timo Luomanen, who specializes in color grading for moving images. Together, the team forms an ensemble where sound, image, and embodied expression are tightly interwoven.
Presented at the festival, w i t h i n is a dance film that explores the human connection to nature through embodied experience. Filmed in a natural forest using natural light, the work is shot primarily from a first-person perspective, where the dancer also acts as the camera operator. The movement language emphasizes the hands and feet as well as subtle internal bodily sensations, while external camera angles provide glimpses of the environment’s own “awareness.” The film’s soundscape combines breath and environmental sounds, and visual processing contributes to a partially estranging atmosphere that highlights a sense of otherness.
Curators’ comments: ”w i t h i n captures an elusive, even nightmarish atmosphere with its elegant technique. The film is so strongly physical that its movement can be felt all the way in the audience, just as if you were at a live performance—it conveys a completely unique way of existing with the earth, as a part of the forest.”