The Finnish feature doc project Darkness Counts was handed the Best Documentary Award, valued at €3000, at the close of Finnish Film Affair 2026. The project was pitched by director Anna Antsalo and producer Venla Hellstedt of Elokuvayhtiö Viisi Oy.
The documentary jury consisted of artistic director Isabel Arrate Fernandez (IDFA), director Einari Paakkanen, and documentary expert Filipp Kruusvall (Estonian Film Institute).
DARKNESS COUNTS was pitched by director Anna Antsalo and Venla Hellstedt.
“The award for best documentary project goes to a project that turns the greatest enemy of filmmaking, darkness, into a visually captivating element. The filmmaker’s connection to her character and his passion shows us a world that is very unique and at the same time universal,” the jury noted.
The synopsis reads how, “in the borderlands of Finland, Olli attempts to preserve the natural dark nights. Light pollution seriously threatens our physical and mental wellbeing. Olli wants to save the night, nature, and our histories that are written upon the vault of the sky. By stopping to gaze at moments drawn by the darkness, one can better understand the significance of humans as part of the vastness of the Universe.”
“The film is partly cinéma vérité, yet it still contains dark pockets of imagination that draw the viewer into an immersive experience of the nature of darkness,” the filmmakers stress. “Darkness Counts is a warm, humane and visually immersive film infused with gentle humour.”
