Filmmaker, musician, and graphic designer Lauri-Matti Parppei grew up in the coastal town of Rauma, Finland. And they take audiences out to where music and people come together in their feature film debut.

A Light That Never Goes Out world premiered in the ACID Cannes 2025 program, a sidebar to the Cannes Film Festival run by France’s independent cinemas’ association.

“Successful classical flutist Pauli (29) returns to his small hometown after a breakdown,” reads a synopsis for the movie, starring Samuel Kujala, Anna Rosaliina Kauno, Camille Auer, and Kaisa-Leena Koskenkorva. “Reconnecting with old schoolmate Iiris, he is drawn into experimental music. Pauli, who has always sought perfection, is drawn to her chaotic energy and finds comfort in their sonic experiments.”

The filmmaker may have set the movie in an unknown Finnish location, but the story deals with universal issues of alienation and the healing powers of community that go well beyond Finland.