Pekka Ruuska (Finland)
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Interview: 10 questions
1 Tell me something about your lfe and the education background?
I have born in a small village in Finlans as the youngest one of three children. My dad is an imitator. He is the best person in whole earth to imitate the the finnish president who is a woman. And my mom. She´s a director of handicapped people. Our home have allways been full of them. That´s about family but for me it is important at the very beginning. I believe that at the end the genetics matters more than the enviroment where you live. The procents are 80% for genetics, 20% for enviroment. About me and my genetical code. My persontality is strongly chinetic. I learn by doing and loves to be in this very moment of millisecond. In a narrow minded small village my action orientated behaviour did not get a lot support. The only accepted way to express my capasity was to act in the sport lessons. So after secondary high school I was sure that I become a sportsteacher. But happened on one exams to the sportsschool that I met a fucking beautiful old sircus artist who was applying there also. We changed numbers and I leave to Japan where I had been elected to stand for Finland for 2 months. I don´t know why they choose me because I was not a role model of the society. Japan was a cool place back then and I recommend everyone to visit there. The family where I lived was super rich and I flew with them all the time. They pay me my most expensive meal ever 8000euros which was big rare fish. I wanted to give something back so I started to keep cooking courses for pregnant women where I learn them how to make Finnish meals. Well I was not a strong cook back then but it was more like a place where to come together. It can be boring to wait baby alone at the home, so I think that this was better. I did not want to return but I had and get little depressed, also because any school I applied had not give me a positive answer. But then I remembered this mysterious sircus girl, call her and she tell me about this weird theater dircetor school in the middle of forest where you will live a year with your classmates actually in the school also. So I thinked that ok, it sounds strange but let´s go to see and I can allways quit it and it went out to be a one of the best decissions of my life. Well I was not so interested about the theater but everything else, contact improvisation, yoga, devicing theater, chinese medicin, dancing, creative writining… Everything where I get to express the strong action what have allways been inside me. And the most deep enthusiasm was that there were a lot of old hippies, sad actors, U-turn change made ex-lawers, grazy bad dancers.. Because of my storng curiosity towards stories I get older very soon. After this year I had to serve my country and went on Finnish Navy during 13 months and became a officer of fixing Oil Recovery Vessel Halli`s motors. It was hard time and I totally retarted there. The good thing was that I had live in a kind of naive bubble where I could allways been able to choose the people I am with. But in army you will see the truth of your generation and that is very sad. The big mass of people is something that I´ve never been able to connect with even I am don´t feel myself any more special than other. But it just feels that there´s not a lot of will to questionize things. It´s so easy to follow: Sit, give a paw, buy. The army totally retarted me and you can see it from the pictures. There´s just nothing but loneliness behind my eyes. After Navy I continues my theater director studies in university of applied sciences in Turku, but very soon I saw that theater was not the thing why I am here. The teacher Untamo Lepola was also very bad, but good because if he would be good I would probably try to hit my head to the wall. I did not syncronize with other students but the girls were fucking beautiful so I expolred them all. The most talented of the class was an estonian woman who I taked as my girlfriend. Her both parents were artists and one day she did not want to listen my cry anymore and said that I the contemporary arts is the only thing I am ment to be here. Contemporary art. What that means? I was thinking that Fine Arts is just making boring landscape paintings. The issue was also the money what the society teach us to measure the value of life- Where the artist gets the money? Well then I went to the exams and am still on the road living and making my stuff in Barcelona. Traveling and keeping lectures here and there. This is what I am good at.
2 When, how and why you started you filming?
There was some stupid classes kept by some moron teachers who have been afraid all of their lives. So we wanted to pass the class the easiest way with my dear friend Olli Horttana, who works now Finnish television. The first film was a comedy about rally and weather. Later the films started to come more and more strange. For example I remember that there was some film where we had bought some cow organs with our own money and tried tape those on our own bodis to create a better function humanbeing.
3. What kind of subjects have your films?
At the moment I use hidden camera to catch the real moments. If there´s nothing interesting happening I can start to suffle my surroundings that something worth of filming would happen. But this goes over to my personal life also? Ofcourse! My works are quite often like photographs but instead of one still image I try to catch the hole moment. I try to film allmost everyday something. To catch a full moment is super difficult but worth to try. At the editing point I use as simple estethics as possible to point out the “thing”. I see a huge problem in filmschools because the focus is on technical stuff. These loser who have also been focused on technical become teachers because they don´t know or can live lie a real filmmaker. Filmschools are living cruely with these young persons curiocity- the only positive thing is that you can meet people who can share the way how you look the world.
4. How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?
Probably I said something also in a last chapter but this is a very typical example what happens: Two years ago I was flying at christmas eve from Finland to Geneve and the stuert who is showing how to wear a lifejacket was wearing a red christmast hat what is totally against the rules of plains to make people to feel safe. Last week I was flying from Geneve to Barcelona and there was a man wearing as a bee serving the food! It was probably a some group who´s one member is going to get married soon so they had force this stupid costume on him. Later at the editing desk I tried different ways to combine these two images and finally found a way where the chistmasman comes first, then the bee and then both are working in a same image. Miracles on air.
5. Tell me something about the technical equipment you use.
Final cut. DVD PAL (mpeg2+aiff) and .mov. Sometimes I use even windows movie maker to point out that it´s not about the technics what you use, but how you look the world.
6. What are the chances of new media for the genre film/video in general and you personally?
New media for me is only a one genre under bigger issue which is culture. What makes people to come to see culture? My answer is that when you make a decission to go to see culture you have a need to see a piece of life in front of you. Something to communicate with. Understand more but also to be understood. Something where you can recognize yourself. When this happens it does not matter anymore has it happen thru new media or some other genre under culture. Usually a talk with a stranger can give you more than a some boring exhibition. The problem in new media is that usuallu it is not been used for conversation with the viewer. The viewer is just the receiver. I believe that the near future on new media is on robots, holograms and virtuality.
7. How do you finance your films?
If you´re obsessed towards something, you´ll find your way.
8. Do you work individually as a video artist/film maker or do you work in a team?
Workign alone is easier and faster but can be lonely. When you work with other people the film will look as you make the group to work together for the goal. If you have weak link you have to re-adjust his capacity again. The most important is to put right man to right place. And then just trust.
9. who or what has a lasting influence in your film/video making?
David Mamet. Usually the best influences comes out from video or film context. So I see it very important to force yourself to live outside the context of moving image. Is the only way you have a possibility to say something new. I see it also the basic principle of all creativity. So take care to stay out from the moving image contexts.
10 what are your future plans or dreams as a film/video maker?
Get model chics, create a remarkable work that will remain in history one hundred years after I die. Avoid beeing a narsistic pigshit. To have a lot of good friendships all over the world. Sell a videoart piece with expensive price to someone who has money and have been afraid all of his life in next 5 years.