Lost Boys

In 2010, a young filmmaker from Rovaniemi – a small Finnish city nestled just 6 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle – was thrust into the spotlight after the successful release of his first documentary, REINDEERSPOTTING: ESCAPE FROM SANTALAND. His name is Joonas Neuvonen, and the film follows his close friend Jani, heavy drug addict and small-time criminal, through the dark and cheerless underbelly of their seemingly merry municipality, otherwise known as Santa Claus’ “official hometown”. After a whirling tour of the international film-festival circuit, Joonas, Jani, and their cohort Antti flew to Southeast Asia for a celebratory vacation that ended tragically when Jani was found dead (by suicide, according to local media) and Antti went missing. LOST BOYS chronicles Joonas’ return to Bangkok and Phnom Penh, as he seeks out the truth behind his friends’ demise while picking up the pieces of his own imperfect life.

Co-written and co-directed by Sadri Cetinkaya, who also worked on REINDEERSPOTTING, this unintended sequel is a harrowing descent into an even deeper drug-fuelled hellscape of prostitution, crime, and wandering souls. We are guided by Joonas’ inner monologue, presented as a film noir-style voiceover borne by Finnish actor Pekka Strang (TOM OF FINLAND), between unfiltered footage of their initial trip and more cinematic explorations from his solitary investigation. Reminiscent of Gaspar Noé’s ENTER THE VOID, LOST BOYS is all the more provocative considering it is a true story, expressed in actual grief and despair, about a real-life Neverland from which “lost boys” don’t always come back. – Alyssia Duval-Nguon