Helmi Donner to Future Frames at Karlovy Vary

The Lightning Rod made an impression on the selection committee.

The Lightning Rod

The Lightning Rod is the MA film for Helmi Donner who wrote and directed the film at Aalto University’s ELO Film School Finland. The film had its world premiere at La Cinef, the official student film competition of Festival de Cannes.

Future Frames: Generation NEXT of European Cinema is a programme presented by European Film Promotion (EFP) and Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Its aim is to support newly graduated filmmakers by highlighting ten films nominated by the members of EFP. The Lightning Rod was nominated by the Finnish Film Foundation.

The short film is a poetic horror drama about Irina, a young mother on the run from her poisonous relationship, and her grandmother who has her own wounds too. Currently, Donner is writing a feature film with the support of the Finnish Film Foundation’s scriptwriting grant.

Previous Finns in the Future Frames programme include Veera Lamminpää (2025) and Max Ovaska (2022).

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival takes place July 3–11, 2026.