Hi!
Last May I received a delightful email telling me, that I had been selected as an intern at FinnAgora, and I would be moving to Budapest in September. I was excited, but at that time I didn’t have much time to think about it. I was finishing my exchange semester in Brussels, moving back to Finland only for two months, working, seeing my friends, writing my thesis, and then packing again and saying goodbye to Helsinki. I didn’t study Hungarian even though I had planned to. Neither did I have time to look for a flat beforehand. I didn’t know at all where I was coming to when arriving to Budapest airport. But here I am, and after such a busy summer I now feel that I have time.
At FinnAgora, I will be working mainly on the Finn Filmnapok festival that will be held in February. I’ve just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in documentary film directing. At FinnAgora, I get to work with films, but from a different perspective. I’m happy to have the opportunity to have an influence which films will be screened at the festival. It also brings responsibility. Whose stories will be told?
Besides working, I look forward to getting to know Budapest, finding my own ways and special spots in a city that is still a mystery to me. Little by little, I will learn the routes of the trams, I will start to catch single words here and there, I’ll gradually move from being a total outsider to somewhere little more central, a space in between where you don’t belong and yet already belong a little to your surroundings.
It’s an interesting and privileged position to look at the world. I don’t know what Budapest will reveal to me about itself within these six months that I will be staying here, and what I will learn about myself and the world around me, but I really look forward to becoming friends with this city and its people.
Please feel free contact me via email: reetta.saarikoski@finnagora.hu, or phone: +36 20 225 5417
Hope to see you soon,
Reetta