In English

Seamstress

a documentary film about the last executed woman in Finland during the war in 1943
Directed by Ville Suhonen
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Production Illume Oy / Venla Hellstedt and Pertti Veijalainen

Martta Koskinen was a Seamstress who lived in Helsinki during the Second World War. She was one of the post-civil war (in 1918)  generation for whom the war had meant a disappointment in the system and failure in unity of the Finnish nation. The legacy of the civil war had left systems of persecution in place for those with socialist ideals. Martta and her fellow revolutionaries were determined to continue the resistance movement although they knew that at wors it could cost their lives.

The prevailing atmosphere in Finland was that of paranoia, where one could not trust even their own relatives. Sisters were informing on brothers, nobody who had different ideals were safe from state surveillance. Essentially, the nation was divided into those who controlled and those who resisted. The wounds of the civil war were still prominent in the everyday society.

Martta was imprisoned twice before she was shot. She was an idealist, whose seemingly harmless, naive beliefs in peace and justice  were the most dangerous traits a person could have at the time. 

Production company Illume Ltd

ILLUME is a multiple award-winning film production company that specialises in creative documentaries. It is one of the largest Nordic documentary producers. ILLUME’s films are entertaining and inspire debate about culture, politics, religion and the human condition.             ILLUME was established in 1987, and since then ILLUME has completed more than 100 documentary and fiction features as well as factual TV series and experimental short films. It is unique in its investment in new talent and in co-productions. ILLUME has a wealth of experience of productions in Finland as well as internationally in the Soviet Union and Russia, China, the US, the Baltic region, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Africa and India.