SMOKING SPOT (2025)

Directed by Niina Suominen

Production: Niina Suominen/Force Majeure Films (Finland)

Short experimental documentary (11 mins)

An experimental documentary about the loss of the communal smoking area. Little by little these areas disappear from the landscape as societies strive to become smoke-free. These liminal, in-between spaces are often also personal spaces in public areas. They are places of pause, modified for oneself or the community.   This work contemplates themes of cultural norms, specialised places, social meanings and the territorial behaviour of human beings. How a public place is turned into a personal space by its daily users and what happens when we lose these spots.  A smoking spot is more than just a place to smoke.