After an unlucky and scandalous premiere the actress Leila escapes to the family summerhouse by the lake. The peaceful holiday with her two sons Ilmari and Unto is disrupted when Leila invites some friends over for a rowdy weekend. After the party, Leila asks the charismatic and unpredictable writer Aimo to stay for a few days. But her 19 year-old son Ilmari who has a very close relationship with his mother, at times acting as her personal bodyguard, is hostile to Aimo.

Jury motivation: The symbiotic relationship between a mother and her son is stretched to breaking point in Zaida Bergroth’s drama The Good Son. Actress Leila flees to the countryside with her two sons, Ilmari and Unto, in the wake of a scandal at a première. But some of the guests she has invited spoil the idyll of the country cottage. On the morning after the party, only Leila’s new flame, Aimo is left behind – but Ilmari thinks he is a dangerous intruder.

The Good Son, which is initially characterised by a sparkling satirical style, evolves into a dark psychological drama. The sharp psychological perspective of the narrative is underlined by the depth of composition in the imagery. When the child’s and the mother’s responsibilities get mixed up, they lose faith in each other and neither speaks the truth anymore. The tensions simmering beneath the summer tranquillity break out like thunder, resulting in the inevitable climax.

National jury: Outi Heiskanen, Harri Römpötti & Johanna Grönqvist