The Cafe of My Memories is the love story of Emilie and Philippe. The story takes place in Helsinki, where Emilie works in her mother’s café and Philippe, a Frenchman, has moved to Finland to work as a French teacher. Their love story develops like a musical, with and song and dance – until they have to face some cold realities of life. The world surrounding our lovers grows tougher and true humanity is not easy to find. The society is becoming increasingly fragmented, and not everyone can keep up. Philippe stumbles, but despite all of his struggles decides to survive. 

The Cafe of My Memories is an international, French-Finnish music film. The movie is written and directed by Valto Baltzar. The plot runs partly through songs composed originally for the film by a Finnish jazz composer Heikki Sarmanto.  The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the most respected symphony orchestras in the world plays the score in the film. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra is a classical orchestra with Czech classical, jazz and guest musicians. Previous work of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra includes world renowned feature films like Skyfall and Game of Thrones.

 
The movie is an homage to the French movie classic The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) directed by Jacques Demy. The film is filmed in Finland and France. In Finland the film is filmed in Helsinki, Kauniainen and Sipoo. In France the filming took place in Cherbourg and Paris. Finnish design plays a central part in the set design. The film highlights Finnish design and designers. Yrjö Kukkapuro's design and Marimekko's textiles, among others, are featured in the film. The cities of Helsinki and Cherbourg are in collaboration with the film. The film is filmed with clean energy. The film’s cinematography and technical work were led by Jussi Award–recipient cinematographer and director Kimmo Koskela. The costume designer by Anu Gould, a costume designer who lives and works in France, creates a world of film that is timelessly elegant and colourful. Many of the costumes and set designs are made from recycled furniture and clothing, which also supports the ecological values of the film. 

The film has received several international awards at film festivals around the world, including in France, Italy, Norway, India, the United States and Spain. It was also honored with the Best Feature Film Award in Prague. At the Ischia International Film Festival, the film was awarded the Aenaria Award for Best Artistic Direction. The Cafe of My Memories also won the Audience Award at the Calella International Film Festival, where festival visitors and local audiences selected it as their favorite film.  In addition, the film competed at the Catania Film Festival, where Eveliina Kauhanen, the female lead, won the Best New Actress award. The male lead, Lionel Nakache has received two awards for his role in the film, winning the Best Actor Award at the Eastern Europe Film Festival in Romania and the Best Actor Award at the Art Block International Film Festival in Denmark.

Thoughts on the film 

“It was my turn to arrange a movie night for my neighbours. In the video rental shop I just so happened to choose the movie “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, which made an incredible impression. That was when Cherbourg first appeared in my life, and I decided to go see the town in person. On the spot I discovered it gave out that same feel as the movie, and once more I praised Jacques Demy’s genius. A small, idyllic town. First love. Deneuve. Castelnuovo. How safe and magnificent to have the chance to grow up in such an environment.
 
I have grown up in a small town, one which may seem lonely and abandoned on the outside. I’d like to remind people that there is life outside the major cities. We live in a time where small counties’ value goes undetected, and big cities keep hogging the attention of the authorities. The depression of the small counties goes unseen. Cherbourg got me to think of authenticity, which you often encounter outside the city. "
 
Valto Baltzar
Director & Scriptwriter

​"After the advent of the postmodern cinema (which I call the second new wave) it has seemed impossible to come back to a certain innocence in moviemaking. However, Valto Baltzar's new work seems to make exactly that impossible move,  bearing a possibility in becoming a strong example of the third new wave of personal cinema. Baltzar's collaboration with the composer Heikki Sarmanto in the movie project "Le Café de mes Souvenirs" reminds me strongly of the collaborative work between the 1960's new wave director Jacques Demy and the composer Michel Legrand. Like Demy, Baltzar brings in his worldmaking his realm of fantasy in a close connection with the issues of the contemporary reality. Music is inseparable of the love story, which invites the spectator with itś familiarity to be surprised of how the events will develop."

 Kari Yli-Annala
 AVEK Awarded lecturer 


"This is my first film project with director Valto Baltzar, but hopefully not the last. It all began when Valto gave me some scraps of paper with what appeared to be poetic texts and asked, “Do you think these could turn into something?” I looked at the papers and replied, “Absolutely—I will compose music for the texts.” Over the years, I have received countless texts—from poets like Paavo Haavikko and Elisabet Laurila to aspiring writers tucked away in drawers—but few have inspired me to compose. Valto’s texts, however, sparked an immediate response, and it was natural to begin work with those texts. Valto and I first met at a Tove Jansson birthday celebration when he was a young man, and since then we have met frequently in cafes around the city. Our film The Cafe of My Memories came later. The songs in the film convey a variety of moods, but if there is one word that tells  the spirit of the collection, it would be longing: an ancient, timeless longing that seems to resonate from the soul of director Valto Baltzar. All the songs have their own charm and character. "

Heikki Sarmanto
Film composer

Valto Baltzar is a Finnish film director, screenwriter and lyricist.  Le Café de mes Souvenirs is Baltzar’s first feature film. Baltzar is a professional actor and has also worked in theatre and film. He studied theatre at the University of the Arts Helsinki. He has written and directed several theatre and musical productions in Helsinki. Lyrics written by Valto, Heikki Sarmanto is the composer of the film. Heikki Sarmanto is a Finnish jazz pianist and composer. Sarmanto began to play jazz during the 1960s. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Sarmanto has released numerous recordings, published scores, and has composed several film scores. Sarmanto has worked with jazz musicians such as Sonny Rollins, Art Farmer and Helen Merrill.  

Team

​Director, Scriptwriter & Lyricist, producer
Valto Baltzar​

Composer
Heikki Sarmanto

Orchestra
The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Cast
​Lionel Nakache - Philippe​
Eveliina Kauhanen - Emilie​
Anouchka Delon - Maria
Irina Björklund - Charlotta​
Ilkka Merivaara - Elias
​Minna Koskela - Inna
​Jorma Uotinen - Ilmari​
Elias Keränen - Timo
​Victoire Vecchierini - Emma
​Ines Kakkonen - Anna​
Anna Nevala - Lissu
Niko Saarela - Tapani
Gaëla Le Dévéhat – Colette
Marja Packalén - beggar
Larissa Saari - young beggar
Matti Onnismaa – Arska 
Eero Siren - Pena
Rainer Kaunisto - Jare         
Ursula Salo - Doctor 
​Fedor Grigorev -  Street musician
  ​                                                                                                                                                                                      
Unit Production Manager
Alf Hemming 

Cinemaphotographer 
Kimmo Koskela

Editor
​Kimmo Koskela

Second editor
Meri Itäkodes

Set designer
Maria Jännes

Costumer
Anu Gould

Assistant director
Mikael Marignac

Script supervisor
Kari Yli-Annala
​​