Family Meeting

FAMILY MEETING tells a unique story about people behind music. The film was shot during the fall 2006, in and around the 20th anniversary concert of the Wentus Blues Band, also on their home turf in Ostrobotnia, Finland. It’s a delicious mash-up of backstage life and passionate stage performances. The film features an impressive line-up of rock and blues legends, such as Eddie Kirkland and Louisiana Red, ex-Rolling Stone Mick Taylor, Kim Wilson from the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Omar Dykes from Omar & The Howlers, Barrence Whitfield, Eric Bibb, Lazy Lester, Sven Zetterberg and Clas Yngström from Sweden, Lester from the States, deep south. All of the above-mentioned guests have a long history with the Wentus Blues Band. The film is about the family meeting of these musicians, joy, tolerance, and above all the immortal, shared moments within the Blues are intertwined. The meeting between the cottonfields of Mississippi and the potatofields of Finland..
This warm hearted story about friends brings a smile to your face and you can not do anything but enjoy the atmosphere. For once everyone is given the chance to experience the feeling of being on stage and backstage together with musicians famous worldwide. Family Meeting is not only an extraordinary film of what being a musician is really about, but it also captures valuable essentials about music from the cultural history
standpoint: “Play that you feel, feel that you play!”
The film is directed by Heikki Kossi, and produced by Mokul Filmi Oy. The film has been funded by the Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, Svenska Kulturfonden, YLE FST5, SVT Sveriges television and the City of Kokkola.
The Film had it´s Cinemarelease in Finland in November 2007. The Cinemarelease in Sweden started at the Gothenburg Filmfestival 2008 on February 1st.
The Film was nominated for a JUSSI - the finnish version of OSCAR for best documentary 2007 and also nominated for a VENLA - best musicprogram on TV 2008.
Film festivals: Past screenings:
Midnight Sun Film Festival, Sodankylä, Finland, 2007
Rakkautta ja Anarkiaa, Helsinki, Finland, 2007
Gothenburg Film Festival, Sweden, 2008
Tampere Film Festival, Finland, 2008
Malmö Filmdagar, Sweden, 2008
Blue Sea Film Festival, Finland, 2008
North by Northeast/NXNE, Toronto, Canada 2008
Moffom - Music on Film Film On Music Prague, Czech 2008
CIMM - Chicago International Music & Movies Festival. USA, 2009

[@omarandthehowlers]

What a great time I had being part of this wonderful project! Thank you Wentus Blues Band!

[@arthurlee6979]

Family meeting 2 2026

[@torspomedia5861]

Man I love this one, such a feel-good documentary about friendship and great music. Watch it atleast once a year from my (signed) DVD.
"Feel what you play and play what you feel."; ain't that the truth!