The Helsinki Effect

Finland, Germany & Norway, 2025 (87 min.)

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In Finnish with English subtitles

The Cold War was frozen solid when world leaders from East and West met in Helsinki in the summer of 1975 to discuss security and cooperation. The three-day conference was documented in great detail. ‘The Helsinki Effect’ brushes the dust off the film reels and analyzes the diplomatic theater with formidable, ironic wit and a keen eye for the vanity and pettiness between the formal lines. Based on hundreds of hours of archival footage, director Arthur Franck also uncovers how the Helsinki conference came to have a profound impact on the world – and how it resonates today in a troubled world, 50 years later.