Bright White Light explores near-death experiences through real audio recordings, unveiling the boundaries of life and the mysteries of the afterlife.

Interview with Henna Välkky (Writer/Producer/Director) and Eesu Lehtola (Director/Editor/Animator)

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

We have always been curious about phenomena that can't be explained. Phenomenon that are mystified, studied but not yet fully understood. Near-death experiences are one of these phenomena - leaving us with the question if there is "something on the other side". The near-death experience is widely recognised but is often met with reservation or even condemnation. This is what makes the subject intriguing for us: an irrational, visual, and personal experience that has a life-changing effect but is difficult for people to openly disclose.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

It allows the viewer to confront their possible fear of death through someone else's story. It gives voice to people who have been ashamed to discuss their experiences publicly. It might even give comfort to people who have lost a loved one. We developed the narrative storytelling style in our previous film We Are in a Dream. Still, we wanted to come up with a completely new visual style for this film that fits the near-death experience theme. After a lot of concept design, we came up with the idea of what would the world look like if we had an imaginary camera that could capture some visual information from behind the border of life and death. Just glimpses of the other side so that it captures only the presence, the energy that flows in us and in the surrounding universe we live in. That is how we came up with the grainy black-and-white visual style. Though it is black and white we looked at it more as light and dark, where the light is energy and the black is the space we exist in. We wanted the audience to hear the stories that the people shared with us but we also tried to make the film into a kind-of-near-death-experience-like journey. So that it would be more than just a film about near-death experiences and also a visualisation of the experience as well.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

The subject is very personal yet universal: at some point, we will all experience death but we all need to face it alone. People who have experienced near-death experiences have described the feeling of universal love, the bright white light that calls for them. Some of them describe it as gaining knowledge of everything or being united with the whole universe. Usually, accompanied by a sense of universal love and happiness.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

Making a documentary is about gathering information about the subject and then curating it so that the story is told in a clear and understandable form. It took a really long time to find people who had near-death experiences and even more time to find people who were willing to discuss the experiences with us, since it is quite a delicate subject and unfortunately has a certain stigma to it. We had over a dozen near-death experience stories and narrowed them down to six for the final document. Even though every story we received was truly unique and interesting we wanted every story in the film to be different so that we would have as much versatility as possible in the film. We wanted to give voice to different genders, religions, non-religions, cultural backgrounds, young and old so that the audience would get as versatile a view on the subject as possible. We worked on the narrative edit for almost two years before we locked it and moved forward to animation which took another two years to make.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

We have had a lot of positive feedback - people saying they were really moved by the film and one of the audience members even shared a near-death experience of her family member with us after the screening. So it seems the film is raising conversation around the topic, which is something we were aiming to do! The style of the animation has also received compliments: the grainy black-and-white look was not something that people might have expected but really enjoyed. Some said it gave them more room to imagine how it was for the narrators "on the other side".

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

We have been very pleased with the positive feedback overall so far so it's hard to answer this one at the moment.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

We hope to open the subject for more discussion.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, and journalists. Worldwide rights are still available.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We hope to open people’s perspectives on experiences that might not hold a solid explanation. To make people curious about phenomena that are beyond our understanding. To have empathy and understanding for those who have experienced a near-death experience that might have changed their views on life.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

We think it’s the question of whether the mind is attached to our bodies and whether is there life after we die.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

We (Henna Välkky, Eesu Lehtola) are planning another short documentary together about paranormal experiences. It would follow a similar concept, being the third one of this short film “trilogy”, exploring themes of supernatural and subconscious mind.

Henna Välkky is also writing her debut feature film together with her other co-director partner Samuel Häkkinen - a surreal road film for young audiences about a toxic friendship based on her own experiences.

Interview: June 2024

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Bright White Light

Bright White Light explores near-death experiences through real audio recordings, unveiling the boundaries of life and the mysteries of the afterlife.

Length: 13:32

Director: Henna Välkky and Eesu Lehtola

Producer: Henna Välkky

Writer: Henna Välkky

About the writer, director and producer:

HENNA VÄLKKY is a Helsinki-based director with a forte in dark cinematic and stylized narratives. She holds degrees in Cinematography, Sound Design, and is currently completing her master's in Screenwriting. Over the past ten years, she has directed short films, music videos and commercials, and screened in international film festivals around the globe including acclaimed Cinequest, Leuven, Tampere and Atlanta. At the moment she is writing her debut feature fiction film.

EESU LEHTOLA is a visual designer, animator, and illustrator with strong expertise in working with moving images and sound. His debut direction and animation We Are in a Dream premiered in 2018 at Tampere Film Festival's national competition, touring and competing in over 20 different festivals both in Finland and abroad. Lehtola is a co-founder and partner at Visual Kult Oy design agency, founder and artistic director of the Fire1984 skate and apparel brand, and a partner at Silent Paprika Films. Additionally, he serves as a member of the Grafia board.

Looking for: sales agents, distributors, journalists, film festival directors, buyers

Instagram: @brightwhitelightfilm

Hashtags used: #brightwhitelightfilm #brightwhitelight

Website: Silent Paprika Films

Made in association with: Silent Paprika Films and Visual Kult

Funders: Silent Paprika Films and Visual Kult

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

Currently the film is screening at Tribeca Festival but it is also selected to four other festivals. BuSho film festival is the only one we are allowed to reveal, the others will be reavealed shortly once the festivals reveal their official selections.