Experiencing Interruptions?

Giant's Kettle

Somewhere up north at the age of peak reason there is a man longing for connection but unable to break loose, and a woman feeling alien to the world which has everything figured out for her, without her.

They make their best to fit in and fulfill their roles. But something important is missing, as if the whole world was drained of love. During the family trip back to the past the surreal takes over and everything starts to break apart.

Giant’s Kettle is a love story without love, a cinematic journey into the unconscious, an epic tragicomedy of the mundane, and a mystery in a world emptied of mystery.

  • Markku Hakala
    Director
  • Mari Käki
    Director
  • Markku Hakala
    Writer
  • Mari Käki
    Producer
  • Henri Malkki
    Key Cast
  • Kirsi Paananen
    Key Cast
  • Atte Vuori
    Key Cast
  • Markku Hakala
    Sound
  • Ari Karema
    Sound
  • Jaakko Niemelä
    Sound
  • Paula-Leena Jokitie
    Costume Design
  • Markku Hakala
    Cinematography
  • Markku Hakala
    Editing
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Hiidenkirnu
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Feature
  • Genres:
    Slow Cinema, Arthouse, Post Drama, Experimental
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 11 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 17, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Finland
  • Country of Filming:
    Finland
  • Language:
    No Dialogue
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
    Tallinn
    Estonia
    November 17, 2023
    International Premiere
    1st Feature Competition
  • Cinequest
    San Jose, California
    United States
    March 16, 2024
    North American Premiere
  • Girona Film Festival
    Girona
    Spain
    November 9, 2024
    Best Debut Film
  • Ann Arbor Film Festival
    Ann Arbor
    United States
    March 31, 2024
    Official Competition
  • Art of Brooklyn Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    June 6, 2024
    Outstanding Cinematography Award
  • Ashland Independent Film Festival
    Ashland
    United States
    October 3, 2024
    Special Jury Recognition Award
  • New Jersey Film Festival
    New Brunswick
    United States
    February 8, 2025
    Best Feature Film
  • Sound Screen Film Festival
    Ravenna
    Italy
    September 24, 2024
    Best Director Award
  • Prague Independent Film Festival
    Prague
    Czech Republic
    September 15, 2024
    Best Director Award, Best Experimental Film Award
  • Manchester Film Festival
    Manchester
    United Kingdom
    March 21, 2024
    Official Competition
  • Ars Independent
    Katowice
    Poland
    October 11, 2024
    Official Competition
  • North East International Film Festival
    Newcastle
    United Kingdom
    November 23, 2024
    Official Competition
  • Blow-up Arthouse Film Fest 2024
    Chicago
    United States
    Founder's L'Eclisse Award
  • Experimental Brasil
    Rio de Janeiro
    Brazil
    Best Experimental Film, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Design, Best Editing, Best Actress
  • Atlanta Film Festival
    Atlanta
    United States
    April 26, 2025
  • Xposure Photography & Film Festival
    Sharjah
    United Arab Emirates
    February 21, 2025
    Cinematic Arts Award, Runner-up
  • MonteCine World Film Festival
    Montevideo
    Uruguay
    Best Experimental Film
  • 'AVIFF' le festival du film d'artiste
    Marseille
    France
    Official Competition
  • 41st Asolo Art Film Festival
    Asolo
    Italy
    June 8, 2025
    Best Artistic Film
  • Venice Film Week
    Venice
    Italy
    August 11, 2025
    Best Experimental Film
Director Biography - Markku Hakala, Mari Käki

Markku Hakala, M.Sc, b.1975, is a Finnish artist/filmmaker exploring cinema as a medium of intuition. For six years he worked duo with his parner Mari Käki on his first feature Giant’s Kettle, which was introduced at Tallinn Black Nights, was awarded as The Best Debut Film at Festival de Cinema de Girona 2024, and has brought him multiple awards for direction, cinematography and sound design. Prior to films he has also worked as a computer science researcher and entrepreneur.

Mari Käki, M.A., is a creative coach and professional supervisor working in the field of media and education. Since 2020 she has been teaching leadership and group dynamics for upcoming filmmakers as a visiting lecturer at the Aalto University film school, Finland. Giant’s Kettle is also her first feature.

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Director Statement

We advocate cinema as a medium of intuition and explore film as a more personal form of art more akin to fine arts and photography. We make use of the all the latest digital technology to move the mountains needed along our way. We do this because we believe a new world needs to be built, not on stories but intuition. Let us explain...

The trailer of our film summaries the world we live in as follows:

The past forbidden,
the future foreknown,
the present concealed.

But what does this mean?

By renouncing parts of ourselves (the past forbidden) we come to exist as separate beings, from others, the world and the self. Operating from this egoic state of knowing results in not seeing what is (the present concealed) and the repetition and reinforcement of patterns and power structures (the future foreknown).

But every time we turn a blind eye to what is – that’s when the renounced gains mass. The spiritual awakening is to unite with the Giant, to surrender to the unknown.

For the film making process,

this means acknowledging that we don’t know what we are doing. The artist must suspend their knowing and surrender to the process. If they have been successful in this, connecting to a deeper form of knowing beneath the egoic ideas, then

for the viewer,

there’s a feeling of suspense. The viewer too attempts to know, but is eventually taken to the a place where knowing is no longer possible. What is bubbling under the surface is the concealed meaning ready to be contacted by letting go.

For the character(s) of the film,

letting go is not an option. They make their best to supress their spontaneity and function in the often insane world of rationality. For them too, the unity with the Giant is up for grabs pending surrender, a metamorphosis.

This is true

for the civilization as a whole.

The life on the planet is in abeyance, waiting for a new ruler. As long as there is still hope of business as usual there will be business as usual.

To suspend
to surrender,
to lose all hope.

This is our statement as expressed by and within the film Giant’s Kettle. The characters of the film are lost. They do not know, but they attempt to appear as if they do. The place of not-knowing is uncomfortable and scary. There is a leap of faith to be taken. For the viewer this is possible only if they feel safe with the film. That sets a high bar for the film maker. They need to be brave enough to make the leap first. Or else the audience will not follow.

Have we been able to? Do you feel safe with the film?

Yours,

Markku & Mari