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A Finnish party girl falls in love with an Iranian refugee in this enjoyable dramedy. Unspooling during snowy winter in rugged Finnish Lapland, Aurora cleverly exploits the location and unconventional characters to add something fresh to familiar romantic comedy beats.
Despite its raucous surface, Aurora is suffused with tenderness and melancholy. Moreover, it examines big themes: the plight of asylum seekers and female alcoholism, while capturing the feelings of restlessness derived from being stuck in a remote place with a lack of opportunity. Aurora is a wild, commitment-phobic, good-time girl with a drinking problem that she denies. When Aurora and Iranian refugee Darien, both at their most desperate, accidentally meet at a local hot dog stand, the fateful encounter leads to an agreement of sorts. In return for a significant sum of euros, Aurora will help him find a wife -- and educate him about Finnish women to boot. (Alissa Simon)
Director Biography
Miia Tervo was raised in Finnish Lapland, and is the director of the short films “The Seal” (2005), “The Little Snow Animal” (2009), and “Clumsy Little Acts of Tenderness” (2015). She was inspired to direct from watching Sally Potter’s Orlando at age 15. Aurora (2019) is her first feature.
Press
"[A] feel-good, starkly-contrasted romance about two people at their ends of life, looking for a new beginning." - Film Threat
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