by 
A dance film about climate grief and loss of snow by choreographer Silja Tuovinen
Avalanche draws inspiration from a climate change scenario where the northern part of the world heats up and suffers a loss of below zero, snow-filled winters. The one-take film Avalanche traces emotional textures triggered by climate collapse, in a world where snow is history. Avalanche places gaze specifically on how massive environmental loss and climate grief can impact human psyche and disturb the bodily experience of the world. At the heart of the film is the main characters’ crackling sanity and fragile, fumbling bodies. Snow is merely a mirage that, however, creates a real sense of both comfort and distress.
The threat of snow-loss is already felt today as the snow line is receding increasingly higher up North. The loss of snowy winters would both signify the loss of winter landscapes, and be a major social and cultural shift causing the vanishing of snow-related traditions. Losing snow would be its own kind of end of the world. Avalanche functions simultaneously as a warning about a possible devastating climate scenario while also offering an avenue for grieving the changes in our landscape that have already happened.
Film premiere 16.1.2026 Oulu Market Square, Oulu2026 Opening Festival
Duration: approx.10 min
The film is suitable for viewers of all ages and languages.
Credits
Script, Choreography & Camera Operation Silja Tuovinen
Performers Anton Hedevang, Wilma Seppälä
Director of Photography Atte Männikkö
Composition Antye Greie-Ripatti (AGF)
Co-Composition Silja Tuovinen
Camera Assistant Elli Kannasmaa
Colour Grading Atte Männikkö, Silja Tuovinen
Costumes Silja Tuovinen
Dressmaking Services Ateljee TikinTaika
Assistant Performers Nikke Launonen, Johanna Keiski
Still Photos Atte Männikkö, Silja Tuovinen
Production Flow Productions, Silja Tuovinen
Residency Pulukasa / Lumo Company, POOL – Movement Art Film Festival
Filming location: Oulu, Finland, 2025
The film has been supported by Oulu Culture Foundation – Oulu2026, Finnish Cultural Foundation – North Ostrobothnia Regional Fund, Culture Moves Europe by Goethe Institut
The work was developed as part of the Film Workshop project run by the Arts Promotion Center Finland and the Oulu Cultural Foundation.
“Flow Productions is acting as a production platform for a dance film for the first time. We are happy and proud to be involved in Silja Tuovinen’s production, and are pleased to support her ambitious work with dance film.”
– Pirjo Yli-Maunula, Artistic Director of Flow Productions
Bio – Silja Tuovinen
Silja Tuovinen is a choreographer and filmmaker from Oulu, focusing in her work on so-called “eternal topics” such as death, finitude and change. These themes interest Silja especially in the context of the modern world, that is defined by the climate crisis, the enormous and rapid development of technology, poly-crises and the Western culture of exhaustion. Her work on these themes is supported by her bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies (Malmö University, 2018).
Silja’s works feature sensitive bodies, gestural and pragmatic movement, various landscape images and diverse weather conditions and elements. Her works may seem rather simple and sparse on the surface, but they reveal a vast and complex network of meanings that offer no simple interpretations.
After graduating with a Master’s degree in Choreography (Stockholm University of the Arts, 2022), Silja has focused mainly on the dance film form, both as an artist and researcher. She works in collaboration with the Berlin-based POOL Dance Film Festival, writing an investigative article series on the dance film form, and being part of a film-choreographic research group. She has worked on her artworks at among others the Kone Foundation’s Saari Residence and Goethe Institute’s residency programs.
Silja’s experimental debut film Sun Touched (2024) has travelled to several international dance and experimental film festivals. The film Avalanche (2026) is the first part of a dance film trilogy that deals with northern winters and snow in the context of climate collapse and climate grief. Alongside her film work, Silja works in a various roles in the field of arts as a facilitator, dramaturg, dancer, writer and producer.
Find out more: Silja Tuovinen
