"Palimpsest" Helmer Hanna Västinsalo prepares "Space Hobos", new series "Heaven" (EXCLUSIVE)

After the premiere at the Venice Film Festival of his Biennale College Cinema title "Palimpsest" - about two people who begin to age backwards - Finnish director Hanna Västinsalo will continue to play with sci-fi elements in 'Space Hobos: How to Bum a Ride from Sector B12 to Module C9'.

"It's about workers like plumbers, welders or cleaners, trying to get their way a path in the world of space travel,” Västinsalo tells Variety in Italy.

"The heart of the story is drawn from my own experience as an artist starving and trying to make not always knowing how to pay the rent or have money for groceries."

Västinsalo is also eyeing longer formats, developing 'Heaven': a series about a nun who , after being separated from her father, inherits her male brothel.

"I would like to explore the world that revolves around female pleasure and the bonds of a family that ends up working together, despite their different beliefs,” she adds.

"What unites these two projects is my desire to challenge conventional wisdom, while offering them a moment of escape. The same way "Star Wars" and "X-Men" comics provided a teenager in rural Finland with space to dream. »

Västinsalo, who previously showed "Man Under Bridge" at Venice VR Expanded, studied directing at the American Film Conservatory Institute in Los Angeles. She also holds a PhD in molecular genetics, her scientific background providing her with a unique perspective.

"I don't like to talk about myself, which is very Finnish, but maybe I can- to bring some reality to these stories. Science doesn't always happen in insanely shiny labs. It happens in a basement, with people talking about what's for lunch," she laughs. .

Its elderly protagonists in "Palimpsest", chosen for a gene therapy trial, slowly begin to age. But they react very differently to change. As Juhani focuses on a childhood dream that previously eluded her, Tellu cannot stop, growing younger and younger.

"If you're in a medical trial, you don't necessarily know all the details. They're told that it would cure their illnesses and then there's this side effect. I wanted the audience to know as much as they did, which is next to nothing."

Riitta Havukainen, Emma Kilpimaa, "Beforeigners" star Krista Kosonen, Kaisu Mäkelä, Leo Sjöman and Antti Virmavirta star.

"We all have a clock in our genes. The idea of ​​manipulating it has been around for decades and it could become our reality one day. But if you could be a teenager again, what would you do?” asks Västinsalo.

"There was this 80-year-old man I knew. He led a very unscientific life, but he was always talking about the stars. Juhani also finds an old dream which he begins to pursue. Tullu doesn't know how to let go of his past."

She wants audiences to identify with their struggles, she says.

"They just try to do their best. We all are."

"We all wear something we'd rather forget. She thinks if she gets a little younger she'll maybe finally get a fresh start. But it's not that simple."

Although Juhani and Tullu are not romantically involved, Västinsalo still sees the film as " an unconventional love story.” With the two becoming each other's family after each other, including their own children, don't always embrace change.

“Think about it. If your parents or grandparents showed up one day, in their twenties, how would you feel? It's a shock to your system,” she adds. Noting that the film's "strange concept" or lack of a clear target...