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XL 2

Stump

Silva KUUSNIEMI

Finland202318min World Premiere

Synopsis

Once prominent executives of a powerful corporation inexplicably turn feral and wander the forest. They are hunted and traded by hunters as retribution for their crimes against the environment. One of the hunters encounters someone unexpected, and loyalty is tested.

Program Note

Ruthless entrepreneurs depleting the Earth’s resources have transformed into wild animals, and a group of young people hunt them. Inspired by Shel Silverstein’s fairy tale The Giving Tree, this work can be interpreted as a warning about human greed. However, Stump also seems to reveal an unbridgeable gap between the generation MZ (Millennials and Generation Z) and the older generation. It suggests that a better world cannot be created through one-sided communication alone. (Kristin JI)

Diretor

Silva KUUSNIEMI

A writer, filmmaker, and game designer based in Helsinki. She has written and directed three short films, including Stump (2023). She has been published in prestigious publications such as The New York Times and Washington Square Review. She is interested in interpreting modern society through folklore and fabulism and dreams of writing a gothic novel in the future.