Reindeerspotting: Escape from Santaland

Joonas Neuvonen's 2010 Finnish documentary follows a group of young people in Rovaniemi. The city's tourist face is Santa's village; the face the camera shows is theft, drugs and empty days. At the centre is Jani, addicted to Subutex, funding it through stealing and welfare, and saying he wants out. Neuvonen filmed while living among these people for years, and the result is a closeness no documentary observing from outside could build. The camera does not judge what happens; it records, and at times the director enters the account himself. That closeness is the most argued-over ethical aspect of the film. The tone is dark and offers no hope. Who it's for: viewers who can take hard documentary and Nordic independent film. Who it's not for: anyone who would rather not approach detailed footage of drug use; the film records it directly.