Musical film

Valto Baltzar is a Finnish film director, screenwriter and lyricist.  The Cafe of My Memories 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.  

"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 create music. Valto’s texts 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