Special screening at Kai cinema: "PMMP on stage – Never Again"

At this special screening, the film’s director Kati Laukkanen and PMMP singer Mira Luoti will be present. After the film, both guests will join us for a discussion where the audience is welcome to ask questions.

The Finnish pop‑rock band PMMP was at the height of fame in early‑2000s Finland. Yet its young female vocalists, Paula Vesala and Mira Luoti, were simultaneously confronted with public humiliation, groping, and ridicule.

Kati Laukkanen’s documentary "PMMP on Stage – Never Again" (2025) tells a story of a deep love for music and the cruelty of the entertainment industry. In the film, the musicians speak candidly about how they were treated in the 2000s: their appearance was often valued more than their music, the press was relentless, and sexist comments were part of everyday life.

The documentary is at once funny, infuriating, moving, and liberating — just like PMMP itself. Viewers have described it as a film that makes you listen to the band’s lyrics anew and notice how much pain and power they carry. The emotional core of the film is the solidarity between the two women; it shows how they kept each other afloat even in the hardest moments.

For Estonian audiences, PMMP has a clear parallel in Vanilla Ninja, who rose to fame at the same time. Now, twenty years later, Vanilla Ninja is representing Estonia at Eurovision — yet their Eesti Laul victory sparked its own wave of unpleasant media controversy. How much has really changed for women in music since the 2000s? We will explore this and more in the post‑screening discussion.

Entry to the screening is with the exhibition ticket. Before the film, you are welcome to visit the exhibition "Exploded view"a duo show by Estonian artist Paul Kuimet and Norwegian artist Magnhild Øen Nordahl, currently on view at Kai Art Center.

This special screening is organised in collaboration between Kai Art Center’s cinema and the Finnish Institute.