Elvis & Onerva

Onerva is new to both this provincial town and to school, Elvis is a popular swimmer and heartthrob. In the company of friends they spend evenings at the lake and at illegal raves in an old industrial building. When, in front of his laddish friends, the otherwise rather reserved Elvis claims to have slept with Onerva he soon thereafter finds himself discredited in the eyes of the local community as a possible rapist. All the more so since the now unnerved Onerva has only patchy memories of the party night. A suspicion that Elvis finds difficult to counter. In his debut film director Mikael Syrjälä allows an authentic scenario of shame, guilt and fear to unfold. Over the course of an hour the intuitive, unpolished images speak of falling in love for the first time and growing up, all the while torn between peer pressure and the courage to find your own voice. ELVIS & ONERVA is a modern, often introspective coming-of-age film from Finland that stays true to the everyday lives of teenagers. KS