HopeaCiné: The Kidnapping of a President

Designed for seniors, HopeaCiné’s programme features new Finnish films once a month.

Each screening invites filmmakers or film experts as guests, who will discuss the filmmaking process and offer fresh insights to deepen the viewing experience after the film.

Inspired by true events, The Kidnapping of a President transports the viewer into the heart of absurd events in 1930. During a night of heavy drinking, a group of ambitious officers decide to kidnap Finland’s first president – the already retired K. J. Ståhlberg. Ester Ståhlberg, the president’s headstrong wife, refuses to leave her husband’s side even in those dire circumstances, and instead stubbornly insists on getting into the backseat of the car with the kidnappers. An incredible journey begins through a turbulent Finland, where rumours and history are intertwined – and even now, it remains unclear what was fact and what was fiction in the president’s kidnapping.