Midnight Sun Film Festival attendance saw a strong boost in 2025. Held from June 11 to 15 in Sodankylä, the 40th anniversary edition of Finland’s iconic Arctic Circle film event brought in more visitors than last year. The turnout marked the second-highest attendance in the festival’s four-decade history.
A new venue, the Red Tent, improved crowd flow and made more tickets available across screenings. This adjustment gave the audience better access and helped spread attendance across all showtimes.
This year’s estimated attendance reached about 34,000 visitors. That is a full thousand more than in 2024. Only the 2023 edition drew a bigger crowd. With improved ticketing tech, the process ran much more efficiently, allowing smoother daily operations.
Queues still formed early, with dedicated fans arriving over an hour before sales began. But upgrades such as better scanning systems and additional seating meant that every venue had same-day ticket access.
Festival Executive Director Ari Lehtola praised the improvements. “Ticket capacity was higher and availability stayed steady throughout the week. Even last-minute visitors could find something to attend,” he noted.
Among the standout screenings was Kronos Kairos (2025), the first film directed by musician Herra Ylppö. Dreams (2024) by Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud, fresh off a win at the Berlin Film Festival, also captured attention. Classic Finnish cinema took center stage with the 40th anniversary screening of Aki Kaurismäki’s Calamari Union (1985). French actress Dominique Sanda made a live appearance for the screening of her 1969 film A Gentle Woman.
A total of 44 screenings sold out. This included all the silent film concerts and the karaoke movie events, which are beloved staples of the festival’s cultural fabric.
The educational side of the festival saw a noticeable expansion. The opening day launched with a Film Education Matinée, led by cinema expert Kaisa Kukkola. The session explored how film can be used in school systems. Later, a hands-on silent film workshop invited children to become sound artists, adding live effects to Georges Méliès’ Le Voyage dans la lune.
Later in the day, Film Club Muisti and Suomi hosted a community dialogue about film’s role in services for the elderly and municipal integration programs.
These activities showed that the festival continues to grow not only in size but in social value.
This year’s program featured more Masterclasses than ever. American film editor Melody London, Russian critic Andrei Plakhov, Austrian director Alexander Horwath, and German expert Olaf Möller all gave deep-dive sessions. Finnish visual artist and director Mika Taanila returned with his “Night School of Experimental Cinema” to a packed audience.
International directors Julien Temple, Léonor Serraille, Chris Petit, and Athina Rachel Tsangari also attended. Actress Dominique Sanda was among the most celebrated guests.
All Festival Club nights sold out. Finnish acts Pietarin Spektaakkeli, Olavi Uusivirta, Rillumarei, and Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha filled the evenings with live performances and energy.
As is tradition, the event closed with audience-choice screenings. These included 100 Liters of Gold (2025) by Teemu Nikki, Universal Language (2024) by Canadian filmmaker Matthew Rankin, and Stranger by the Lake (2013) by Alain Guiraudie.
Blending nostalgia, new cinema, and community warmth, the Midnight Sun Film Festival once again proved why it remains one of the most unique film gatherings in the world.
