Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki serves as patron for Armas Festival’s 2026 anniversary year!

A greeting from Aki Kaurismäki
Warm greetings to the organizers and participants of the Armas Festival.

There are those who view elderly citizens mainly as an unnecessary expense for the national economy. It is worth pointing out that these very citizens made possible Finland’s rise from post-war scarcity to a prosperous and educated European nation. Without any particular irony, one could also note—based on statistics—that as athey have retired, the nation’s economy and general level of education have declined just as sharply.

As consumers of art, culture, and the library system, we are nevertheless their foundation. Without us, it would be impossible to imagine the countless exhibitions, theatre and music performances, and museum activities across the entire country as they exist today. An essential part of this whole are also the “silent people’s” self-made museums, where objects long vanished elsewhere have been preserved—from kanteles and milking stools to slot machines and landline telephones.

A nation can endure scarcity, but without culture it suffocates.

Respectfully,
Aki Kaurismäki
An elderly film director