It’s Christmas and the table is set. A family gets ready to be seated. The TV is on in the background, relatives greet each other only to be interrupted by the problem of three packages of raisins that were on sale. Obviously, no one is amused by the drunken grandfather’s jokes about blondes, and slowly three generations of this family are revealed. The grandmother is fed up with the pretence of conciliation, the sisters Susanna and Helen, who grew up fighting, continue their rivalry, meanwhile the son-in-law is resigned, and the members of the younger generation try to find their own ways in which not to be like their parents. The party can begin.

A very human comedy, where tragedy is closely intertwined with humour. Finnish director Tia Kouvo’s debut feature, which screened in the Encounters section of Berlinale, is based on her 2018 short film of the same name. Constructed as a diptych of static shots, first allowing an anthropological close-up of the family, then each character individually in their own way, the film is a dynamic character study. There is room for years of resentment, scatological, or toilet humour, bonding therapy, festive anxiety and tributes, a midnight burger or two, and epiphanies on what really constitutes a happy family.

Jury statement: Whether we want it or not, we are all part of a family. Formally impressively staged and full of love for its characters that each has a different motivation, this film shows not only the complexity of relationships, but also how universal our personal problems are.