CPH:DOX 2022: ‘Just Animals’ Interview of Saila Kivelä and Vesa Kuosmanen
How can one change the world? We were delighted to chat with the directors of Just Animals, a powerful, profound, and multilayered documentary feature chronicling an activist’s journey in Finland, fighting for animal welfare.
One of the best discoveries we’ve made at CPH:DOX 2022 is indubitably Just Animals, a striking, entertaining and multilayered feature documentary from Finland, directed by Saila Kivelä and Vesa Kuosmanen. Dealing with animal welfare in the food and fur industry, the film centers on the following question: how can one change the world? With mastery and flair, the film explores the power and limits of activism through the prism of Saila and her sister who chose two different paths.
As a young woman, Saila broke into hundreds of Finnish farms at night to document the miserable conditions many farm animals live in. Later, she publicly admitted her trespassing and is sued by the farmers for large sums. Years later, Saila Kivelä – who is both the protagonist and director of her first film – turns her attention and camera on her sister, who ignited her activist spirit and is now running for the Finnish parliament, and her old mate Kristo, who still breaks into farms to document the animals’ suffering. How much should idealism be allowed to rule one’s life? After a personal crisis over how difficult it is to change the heavy hand of the world, Saila has reached a new place in her activist life. But she is no less steely in her determination to make a difference. Just Animals is a film about becoming politically aware, and about allowing yourself the space to mature with the times without losing your political spark.
We were therefore thrilled to meet Saila Kivelä and Vesa Kuosmanen in person in Copenhagen for an interview.
