Trailer
Year
2013
Length
52/90 min
Director
Viviane Blumenschein
Midsummer Night’s Tango
Finns have a quirky sense of humour – and are a bit shy. But: Tango is THE folk music of the Finns. The documentary discovers the Finnish tango from the viewpoint of the singer Chino Laborde, the guitarist Diego “DIPI” Kvitko and the bandoneonist Pablo Greco. The three Argentine musicians travel to Finland to find out whether Aki Kaurismäki is telling the truth when he asserts that tango music was invented in Finland.
Synopsis
Tango was born in Buenos Aires and no one dances tango as passionately as the Argentineans do – that is at least what the Argentineans themselves believe. Tango is as Finnish as sauna and skiing – that is what the famous Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki and many of his fellow countrymen are convinced of. Two countries, two opinions, two musical traditions.
“Midsummer Night’s Tango” is a humorous, light-hearted road movie, accompanying three Argentinean tango musicians as they leave the milongas of Buenos Aires behind to discover tango in faraway Finland.
Singer Chino Laborde, guitarist Diego “DIPI” Kvitko and bandoneonist Pablo Greco are the stereotypical Argentinean tango musicians. They are noisy, passionate and one hundred percent convinced that their music is the only true tango. Travelling through Finland, they dive into a completely new world. Long strips of forests, hundreds of lakes, bright summer nights and, above all, slightly shy and quiet people who play this foreign music called Finnish tango.
Travelling through the scenic landscape, they encounter great Finnish tango singers and composers such as Reijo Taipale, Sanna Pietiainen and M. A. Numminen. They stumble across open-air dance halls in the deep forest, where people dance through the long midsummer nights to the sound of the melancholic Finnish tango.
Director Viviane Blumemschein created a delicate music documentary, using big, beautifully shot images to capture a longing every tango song sings about. The film is filled with great tango music and the masterpieces of Finnish tango, like “Satumaa (Wonderland)“.
“Midsummer Night’s Tango” is a music-laden, humorous cinema documentary, capturing the many comic and charming moments when musicians from two worlds come together – to discover that they all share the same love for tango music, however different it might sound.
Script/Director
Viviane Blumenschein
With
Walter „Chino“ Laborde, Diego „Dipi“ Kvitko, Pablo Greco
Assistant Director
Lisa Häfner, Ella Ruohonen
Director of Photography
Björn Knechtel
Assistant DoP 1st Unit
Diego Mendizabal
Assistant DoP 2nd Unit
Bruno Carbonetti
Editing
Oliver Weiss
Sound
Risto Hankala, Manuel de Andrés
Assistant Sound
Valtteri Rajamäki
Sound Postproduction
Guido Berenblum, Manuel de Andrés
Music
Diego Kvitko
Producer
Georg Tschurtschenthaler
Associate Producer
Anahita Nazemi, Sarah Maret
Line Producer Germany
Kathrin Isberner
Line Producer Finland
Venla Hellstedt
Line Producer Argentina
Gema Juárez Allen
Production Manager
Mayra Bottero, Fito Pochat, Marianne Mäkelä
Production Assistant
Nick Pastucha, Judith Fächner
Technical Supervisor
Philipp Weigold
Production Administrator
Sandra Zentgraf
Executive Producer
Christian Beetz
Co-Producer
Gema Juarez Allen, Gema Films (Argentinien),
Pertti Veijalainen, ILLUME Ltd. (Finnland)
Commissioning Editor ZDF/3SAT: Sonja Schneider
Music
“La Cumparsita / Tropiikin Yö” – Gerardo Matos Rodriguez
“Nueve de Julio” – José Luis Padula / Lito Bayardo
“Buenos Aires mi querido” – Carlos Gardel / Le Pera
“Union Civica” – Domingo Santa Cruz
“Sus Ojos se cerraron” – Carlos Gardel / Le Pera
“Don Juan” – Florindo Sassone
“Guitarra dimelo tu” – Atahualpa Yupanqui
“Satumaa” – Unto Mononen
“Die Welt ist wie Seide nur” – M.A. Numminen
“Onnenpaivät” – Kari Linquist
“Canción de Buenos Aires” – Orestes Cúfaro / Azucena Maizani / Romero
“Unikuva” – Tapio Lahtinen
“Liljankukka” – Toivo Kärki
“Cambalache” – Disceepolo / Enrique Santos
“Lltatähti” – Kari Linquist
“Tulisuudelma / El Chocklo” – A.Villoldo
“Hiljainen Kylätie” – Metro Tytöt
“Volver” – Carlos Gardel
“Tähdet meren Yllä” – Unto Mononen
“Kevät” – Risto Ollila
“Azucena Alcoba” – Yuri Venturi / Roberto “Palo” Pandolfo
“Nido gaucho” – Marco / Hector / Carlos di Sarli
In co-production with Illume Ltd. (Finland), Gema Films (Argentina), SF and 3sat.
With the support of the MEDIA Progamme of the European Union.
Funded by Filmförderungsanstalt – FFA, Mediaboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen,
Finnish Film Foundation and the Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales.
