Controversial Dox

When Heroes Lie

Arto Halonen
Screening time  
25.02. / Tuesday, 20:00 - 22:00 Theatre 4  
"When Heroes Lie" is a bold documentary film that exposes the brutal doping history of Finnish cross-country skiing and reveals the international framework of lies that exists in professional sports.

When an entire group of Finnish skiers tested positive for doping in the Lahti World Championships of 2001, it revealed the systematic and long-term history of the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs in the sport. The investigation documentary portrays, through the lens of sport, the way our society creates the foundation for lies and double-standards in our attempts to win. It also raises the question of whether the distortions in sport are a reflection of the distortions in society in general: is society working under the same rules as sport is?

Arto_halonen

Arto Halonen

Arto Halonen has directed numerous award-winning films, including the feature fiction film Princess (2010), and the documentary films Shadow of the Holy Book (2007), Pavlov’s Dogs (2006), Tank Man (2004), Karmapa – Two Ways of Divinity (1998). In 2005, Halonen was awarded the Finland Prize. He has received the Humanitarian Award of the European Union in 1998 and in 2008 the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival honoured him as one of the most important documentary filmmakers of his generation. In year 2010 Halonen was awarded by the City of Helsinki Culture prize for his remarkable artistic career. Halonen is also the founder and the first festival director of DocPoint – the Helsinki Documentary Film Festival. He is member of the European Film Academy.

General sponsor

Sinivalkoinen valhe

Finland
2012, 119', DCP

Directed by:
Arto Halonen

Screenplay by:
Arto Halonen, Jouni K. Kemppainen, Kevin Frazier

Cinematography:
Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen, Arto Halonen

Edited by:
Antti Tuomikoski, Sanna Liinamaa

Music:
Tapani Rinne

Producer:
Arto Halonen

Produced by:
Art Films Production

Festivals & Awards:

DocPoint Tallinn International Documentary Film Festival 2013; Göteborg International Film Festival 2013; Helsinki International Film Festival 2012; International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam – IDFA 2012; International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam – IDFA 2013