Journal

OF MY DOCUMENTARIES

by Seija Hirstiö

Mitä on terveys?

Oct 18, 2025 | health, humans

MITÄ ON TERVEYS? Terveys on liike. Liike on elämä. (Only in Finnish) Osteopaatti Topias Aro-Harle kertoo oman näkemyksensä siihen, mitä on terveys. Topias on ystäväni, tutustuimme 1980 luvulla ja nyt uudelleen 5 vuotta sitten. Olen saanut paljon apua hänen hoidoista,...

Entering the Sharia governed Aceh almost fully covered

Sep 7, 2023 | cultures, humans

HOW DID I COME TO FILM IN ACEH, INDONESIA? So we finally got a filming permit from the Embassy of Indonesia in Helsinki. We were to go to film evidence of a glorious paradise, a model of a holy city, built according to Sharia´s law. In this case, it is Banda Aceh,...

Me, myself and I – need for some self-reflection

Sep 6, 2023 | humans, love

LEARNING THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY MAKING “I found myself repeatedly with an empty fridge. A child inclusive this is not a good combination. I thought it might help if I felt good about food and maybe even started enjoying it. There are many sides to eating problems....

I completely froze in Namibia

Sep 5, 2023 | cultures, humans

HOW DID I END UP IN NAMIBIA? I was working in the HUB co-working place in Tampere, year 2011. I met Jutta George there as she had just finished her studies in the Proakatemia business school and was looking for ways to get back to Namibia which she loved so much! TAMK...

Thaipusam Festival is a purification ritual

Sep 4, 2023 | creativity, cultures

SUFFERING AND THE BEAUTY OF IT Thaipusam Festival is a Hindu festival celebrated by the Tamil community. It is a very strong celebration for the purification of mind and body. Harsh body piercing, shaving heads of the whole family and carrying ’paal kudam’ offerings...

Smuggling filming equipment to Thailand

Sep 3, 2023 | humans, love

THIS WAS IN THE NINTIES! We dressed up as sporty people carrying sports equipment in sports bags but in those bags, we had hidden a huge U-matic camera and a big heavy recorder and 25 video tapes each being about 25cm long and 5 cm high (those times they were huge)!...