Watch Jenni Toivoniemi feature debut Games People Play (2020) preceded by the director’s short film The Date (2013).  

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY / SEURAPELI  

Eight friends gather to celebrate Mitzi’s (Emmi Parviainen) surprise 40th birthday party over a nostalgic weekend at an idyllic seaside villa, just like they used to do as teenagers. The party gets off on the wrong foot immediately, as the birthday girl is none too pleased with the surprise. But tensions cool when Mitzi’s best friend Veronika (Laura Birn) arrives with her new boyfriend Mikael (Christian Hillborg, FLEABAG, THE LAST KINGDOM), a Swedish Hollywood star. Old habits rear their ugly heads as familiar surroundings and old party games upset the group dynamic, making them reassess the past as well as the present. Writer-director Jenni Toivoniemi crafts a bittersweet comedy about the tragedy of being forever young. (Note adapted from LevelK.)

Jenni Toivoniemi, 2020, Finland, 177 min. In English, Finnish, and Swedish with English subtitles.

Preceded by:

THE DATE / TREFFIT 

Teenaged Tino’s manhood is put to the test in front of two women when he has to host a date for Diablo, the family’s stud cat. Official Selection, 2013 Sundance, AFI FEST, Sundance and Berlin film festivals.

Jenni Toivoniemi, 2013, Finland, 7 min. In Finnish with English subtitles.