THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA (MELANCHOLIAN 3 HUONETTA)

The Three Rooms of Melancholia is a quiet contemplation of the consequences of the Chechen War upon children from both sides of the conflict. The first room of Melancholia, "longing", takes us to the Kronstadt Cadet Academy near St. Petersburg. Russian boys in uniform, aged from nine to seventeen, many of them orphans or coming from dysfunctional families, are submitted to military discipline and drills in order to teach them how to kill "the enemy" - the Chechen. The ultimate results are shown in the next two rooms. In "breathing", we enter the infernal chaos of Grozny. In these surreal images of a city in ruins, there are no signs of life except for dogs roaming around and human beings coming out of their holes like rats. On the streets, small children, orphans in rags, play with toy guns or search for pieces of firewood in the ruins. The third room, "remembering", takes us to a refugee camp in the neighbouring province of Ingushetia where the Muslim Hadizhat Gataeva takes care of 75 children who have been orphaned and abandoned by the war and who are all deeply traumatised.

Pirjo Honkasalo's keen attention to detail, her beautiful cinematography, and the combination of folk and classical music with vocals from the Orthodox Church succeed in creating an emotionally loaded and poetic portrait of the devastating reality of war.

"Children have taken on a burden of hatred which they believe springs from within. The transposed hatred casts a shadow in the depths of their minds; they are accompanied throughout their lives by an inexplicable melancholia and sudden outbursts of rage." (Pijro Honkasalo)

"This documentary keeps you focused on - and forces you to think about - how the fate of Chechen and Russian children is determined in times of war. It paints the horror and consequences of this violent conflict in subtle images set against emotional but not overly dramatic music. With few words and powerful portrayals the filmmaker of the Three Rooms makes splendid use of the medium of film and manages to create poetry. This poetic style is a powerful tool in capturing the complexity of a devastating reality." (IDFA, International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam)

Awards: Big Stamp Award, Zagreb 2005; Main Award in the category of films longer than 30 minutes, Tampere 2005; Amnesty International Award, IDFA Amsterdam 2004; First Award, Copenhagen Int. Documentary Film Festival 2004; Human Rights Film Network Award, Film Biennale in Venice 2004, FIPRESCI-Award, Thessaloniki 2005; Arie & Bozena Zweig Innovation Award, Chicago 2005