History of Kinos

Below you’ll find a short but all the more exciting history of Kinos in a nutshell.

2004

A small group of friends has an idea of a different kind of a film festival, which would be held in Lahti in the middle of the harshest winter, and where the focus would be on small production videos and films that are not generally included in the other festivals.

Word gets around and soon there are large amounts of he most diverse productions on offer for the repertoire. The festival is named Kinos and the locations for the events are found along Kymintie, a residential road full of old wooden houses. The festival held in artist studios, student flats and in the local Kymi pub gets a good reception and plenty of publicity.

2005

In it’s second year, Kinos expands outside of Kymintie. Päijät-Hämeen elokuvakeskus joining the festival enables the showing of films in the movie theatre Kino Iiris. It is there that the viewers have a rare opportunity to see post-war American underground films. However the real treat is the outdoor movie sauna, built by the artists and brothers Markus and Seppo Renvall, which is in fact used for screenings. Kinos05 gets even more media attention than it’s predecessor.

2006

Kinos grows from one-day festival to a three-day entity. The arrangers are sent over a hundred short films, of which ninety are selected for the actual repertoire. On offer are also even more international works.

A more light hearted evening event, Kinos club, is held in Taulu bar instead of Kymi pub where it was located in the previous years. As the main focus is on showing the films, there are no other extra events this year.

2007

Over 70 films are shown during the weekend. Alongside Kino Iiris the venues include The Art Centre Taidepanimo and The Restaurant Tirra, hosting The Kinos Club. Kinos collaborates with a seminar on photography, Valokuvan Kevät, and boosts its place as a recognised event in Lahti.