Second Lane

Second Lane is a story about drug addiction, living with it and fighting it. It is a documentary about people who use intravenous drugs and the professionals and peers working with those people. The film tells us abot a world that the so-called common man never really gets to see.
In the film, we follow the lives of drug addicts and hear their life stories. We get to peek into a world that is right next to us but hidden from sight, because of its illegal nature. In that world, we meet ordinary people from different backgrounds, who have led difficult lives. Under less happy stars, we could be there instead of them – in a place where conflict is ongoing, and every day can literally be your last.

  • Sampsa Huttunen
    Director
    The Growing Season
  • Sampsa Huttunen
    Writer
    The Growing Season, Perkele
  • Sampsa Huttunen
    Producer
    The Growing Season
  • Kaapo Huttunen
    Composer
    The Growing Season, Constructing Finland, The Last Wash
  • Sampsa Huttunen
    Editor
    The Growing Season
  • Sampsa Huttunen
    Cinematographer
    Danny, Tolonen, The Growing Season, Perkele
  • Anssi Tamminen
    Sound editor
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Toinen linja
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    28 minutes 35 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 11, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    9,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Finland
  • Country of Filming:
    Finland
  • Language:
    Finnish
  • Shooting Format:
    HD video
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • TV premiere (Finland)

    Finland
    December 11, 2018
    Finland
  • Tampere Film Festival
    Tampere
    Finland
    March 6, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Festival internazionale Segni della notte
    Urbino
    Italy
    November 29, 2022
    Italian premiere
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • Yle (The Finnish Broadcasting Company)
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Sampsa Huttunen

BIOFILMOGRAPHY OF THE DIRECTOR

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Sampsa Huttunen
Tel: + 358 50 344 8709
Email: sampsa@mediareaktori.fi

EDUCATION:

PhD student, University of Helsinki, 2016 –
M.Soc.Sc. in Communication Studies from University of Helsinki, 1999.
BA in Film and Media Design from Helsinki Polytechnic, 2004.

AS A CINEMATOGRAPHER:

”The Undocumented” - documentary (2021)
Running time: 50 minutes
Directors: Sampsa Huttunen & Ann-Mari Leinonen.

”Hempman vs. the State” - documentary (2019)
Running time: 29 minutes
Director: Sampsa Huttunen.

”Second Lane” - documentary (2018)
Running time: 29 minutes
Director: Sampsa Huttunen.

”Danny” - documentary (2016)
Running time: 105 minutes
Director: Sakari Saksa

“Tolonen” – documentary (2014)
Running time: 75 minutes
Director: Lasse Keso.

“The Growing Season” – documentary (2012)
Running time: 70 minutes
Director: Sampsa Huttunen.

“Rannalta toiselle” – documentary (2006)
Running time: 45 minutes
Director: Arto Tuohimaa.

“Pappa” – short film (2005)
Running time: 17 minutes
Director: Maarit Koskinen.

“Perkele” – short film (2004)
Running time: 18 minutes
Director: Arto Tuohimaa.

“Mama Milka” – documentary (2003)
Running time: 25 minutes
Director: Tea Stolt.

AS A DIRECTOR:

”The Undocumented” - documentary (2021)
(with Ann-Mari Leinonen)
Running time: 50 minutes.

”Hempman vs. the State” - documentary (2019)
Running time: 29 minutes.

”Second Lane” - documentary (2018)
Running time: 29 minutes.

“The Growing Season” – documentary (2012)
Running time: 70 minutes.

“Home for the Evening” – documentary (2002)
Running time: 13 minutes.

“The Promise” – short film (2002)
Running time: 8 minutes.

“On the Road Again” – short film (2002)
Running time: 3 minutes.

+ music videos, TV commercials and corporate & educational videos.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Second Lane – Director’s Statement

"If your dad taught you to shoot up when you were 13, how is it your own choice?”

Second Lane is a documentary film about the employees and customers of ‘Vinkki’ health and social care centres that were especially designated to users of intravenous drugs and that operated in Helsinki from 1997 to 2015. The main characters of the film are the peers, former and current drug users who work in Vinkki with other social and health care professionals.

The goal of Vinkki’s operation is not to stop its customers’ drug use, but to reduce the harm of use and improve the quality of life. And even when a drug addict's path often leads to a premature death, sometimes someone can also kick the habit.

I filmed the peers in Vinkki and on the streets, backyards and flats around Helsinki, and eventually some of these journeys also ended up in hospitals and funerals. During this time, I encountered people, whose stories we usually don’t hear and saw places that we usually don’t see. I also realised that there is almost always something else behind a drug addiction than just the person’s own actions – very often, at least a somewhat broken childhood.

Someone has wisely said that the moral level of a society can be seen in how it treats its weakest members. If this movie has a message, it is that we must also take care of those whose weaknesses somebody might consider their own fault. Taking care of others is a morally right thing to do, and very often the poor situation of an individual is not his or her own choice or fault.

I personally think that the purpose of our existence on this small planet is to help each other. That is what makes our life meaningful, and that is what the movie Second Lane is all about.

In Helsinki, Finland
1 February 2019
Sampsa Huttunen
Writer/Director/Producer