New film about reverse aging hits theaters

We're thrilled that the new film Palimpsest, aspects of which were workshopped at NeuWrite Nordic, hits theaters in Helsinki this Friday, 12 April. Trailer, info, and tickets here.

A special screening with English subtitles will be held in Punavuori on Monday, 22 April, at 17:00. Info here. (If you are interested in additional English-subtitled screenings of Palimpsest, you can contact Finnkino to register your interest.)

Screenwriter and filmmaker Hanna Västinsalo, a NeuWrite Nordic adviser and regular participant, has a PhD in genetics that inspires her work, including this haunting new film. The film's title, Palimpsest, comes from the Latin word for the ancient practice of effacing the original text of a manuscript and superimposing new writing over it. Golden Globe Awards calls Palimpsest

an unusual coming-of-age story about two elderly people, who are selected for a medical trial, which makes them physically younger. As they find themselves facing the world in younger bodies, with the memories of their old lives intact, they realize that growing young is not just fun.

Västinsalo describes the ideas that led to the film:

What if you could manipulate your biological age? ... How would it feel if you were the first one to do it? When you have to reinvent yourself completely without any kind of precedent? That’s the story I wanted to tell and place it in a setting that is more realistic like a medical trial, where we only know what the subjects of the trial know.

Read the full Golden Globe Awards profile of Västinsalo describing her inspirations and unusual path from scientist to filmmaker here.

Hanna Västinsalo's work exemplifies the transdisciplinary mix of scientific and artistic writing that we aspire to in NeuWrite, and we are fortunate to have her as a pillar of our community.