The Squirrel (2026)

What’s left to love once nature is gone? The Squirrel (2026) imagines a sterile future where animals have been engineered out of existence — until a lonely synthetic-pet designer finds the last living squirrel and breaks the rules to protect it. Now Finland’s Oscar entry, fresh off its international premiere at Fantastic Fest, it’s director Markus Lehmusruusu’s deadpan follow-up to Ricky Rapper and the Strongman (2019), Finland’s most-watched film that year. Mike talks with Lehmusruusu and lead actress Mimosa Willamo — who plays the government minder whose rigid world starts to crack — about shooting with four real, untrainable rescue squirrels on a sealed set, building the film’s antiseptic world with Berlin production designer Michael Randel, and a Japanese-speaking dog that wouldn’t take direction in any other language.