Star Wars Uncut in Turku

On Saturday, October 8, the Turku 2011 foundation will host a Star Wars Uncut mini festival in Logomo.

Star Wars Uncut is a project where the movie was cut into 15-second segments that were then recreated by fans of the film and edited together. The father of the idea, Casey Pugh, won the Participative Media category of the Turku 2011 Foundation’s competition last year.

Before the screening, there will be a discussion featuring Professor and creativity researcher Alf Rehn and Star Wreck scriptwriter Jarmo Puskala. The day’s program will also include other winning entries from the Live 2011 Grand Prix media art competition and a concert featuring 8-bit video game–inspired band Desert Planet, and local X-Rust with Transistor Rhythm, Burdock, and Pepeto.

Doors open at 2 PM, there is no entrance fee but attendance is capped at the first 1 000 visitors.

Virtual Flea Market for Fandom

Turun fandomkirppis is a virtual flea market where you can sell or donate your old stuff and let other people know if you’re buying something.

The market uses Facebook, but you can browse the content without logging in. The title says “Fandom flea market for Turku”, but it can of course be used from outside the area as well.

Noviisi 2011 Competition Announced

The third Noviisi short story competition for young writers has been announced. Noviisi is a juried competition meant for writers aged 13 to 17 years, and is organized by the Finnish Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, the Turku Science Fiction Society, and the Science Fiction Culture Cabinet at the University of Turku.

Rare Exports Awarded with State Prize

The makers of the movie Rare Exports have received the State Prize for Cinema in recognition of their work. The State art prizes are awarded annually by the Central Arts Council and the National Art Councils. The prize is worth 15 000 €.

Sinisalo Shortlisted for Prix Escapades

Johanna Sinisalo’s Oiseau de malheur (French translation for Birdbrain) is one of the nominees for the Escapades literary award along with five other books by Nordic writers. The winner is to be selected by popular vote and announced next March at the Vernon Book Fair (Nordic literature is their theme next year). Congrats to Johanna for the nomination!

via Helsingin Sanomat

Arts Council Grants to Sf Writers

The Arts Council of Finland has awarded their annual grants for artists, and there are familiar names among the writers given grants this year. So congratulations to Sari Peltoniemi (5 year grant), Jukka Laajarinne (3 yr), Johanna Sinisalo (3 yr), Marko Hautala (1 yr), Tiina Raevaara (1 yr), Anu Holopainen (½ yr), and Miina Supinen (½ yr) for the grants! (Plus, of course any others I might have missed.)

Tsunami Fiction

The members of the Paperiarkki writers forum have published an anthology called Suolaa hiuksissa (”Salt in the Hair”). The anthology has a collecting theme of a tsunami that hits the Canary Islands. The anthology is edited by Venla Lintunen and Saara Kuha, and includes such writers as Jussi Katajala, Anne Leinonen, Tarja Sipiläinen, and more. The anthology can be downloaded as a pdf at Paperiarkki.