The Light in Darkness

Available for over a year

In summer the sun barely sets, bringing long nights of partying and heavy drinking. But in Lapland, as winter closes in, the lights go on, not to be extinguished until the sun finally begins to rise again above the horizon nearly three months later. Some find the seemingly endless darkness forbidding, but others find it comforting, enjoying the way the starry blackness allows their minds to play over thoughts of the infinite... Programme makers Hannu Karisto from Finland and his Swiss colleague Jean-Claude Kuner were shortlisted last year in the prestigious Prix Italia for their contemplative documentary feature exploring the pleasures and profound pessimism that this ineluctable seasonal flux brings on. In this English language version of the programme first broadcast by Finnish radio, the programme makers travel to the far north of the country in both seasons to catch the spirit of those 'endless days and nights'.