Finnish Film Affair 25

Fifty years after the birth of punk, legendary Finnish hardcore outfit Terveet Kädet will be celebrated, loud and proud, in Jukka Kärkkäinen’s eponymously-titled feature doc, scheduled for delivery in 2027. “Even though the film has a bit of stardust sprinkled on top of it, the main storyline revolves around the individuals of the band and what being part of the band means to them. The film will be a character-driven tribute to punk music,” producer Juha Löppönen tells Business Doc Europe.

Identity and belonging are at the heart of Finnish Einari Paakkanen’s feature doc in which two women fight to prove that Kven culture – a Norwegian minority culture with Finnish roots – is alive and kicking, even as everybody tries to convince them otherwise. “Director Einari has a unique cabability to get close to his characters, and he has a very warm-hearted approach. His films are both emotional and humouristic. This is definitely a strength for the production.” says producer Marianne Mäkelä (napafilms).

The Recovery is a powerful and timeless story of resilience and transformation, telling of Pekka Hyysalo, a rising pro-freestyle skier battling to reclaim his life and identity after a devastating accident. “This story has all the attributes to positively affect people from all walks of life to go the extra mile, and face the hardships that life throws at us all,” producer Van Padhaal tells BDE.

Noted Finnish actress Pihla Viitala (Deadwind, Netflix) makes her directorial debut with the feature doc Carmen!, described as “a powerful portrait of girlhood, following a Finnish Romani girl’s rarely seen journey from the innocence of childhood to the struggles of womanhood.” The film is produced by Elise Pietarila of Finnish production company Gimmeyawallet. “The beauty of the film is that, despite the challenges of Carmen’s life, the film isn’t a sob story - quite the opposite,” Pietarila tells Business Doc Europe.

“Creaturama – Epic of the Animals is unique because it is not a documentary about animals, but a cinematic collaboration with them,” Finnish director/writer Juha Suonpää [Lynx Man] tells Business Doc Europe of his new project, pitched at FFA in Helsinki. “For seven years, I placed trail cameras deep in Finnish forests — not to pursue or explain wildlife, but to allow animals themselves to trigger the camera - and to shape the film.”

In the Finnish doc project, pitched both at Finnish Film Affair and Nordisk Panorama, self-made enthusiast Valerio and scientist Sebastian simply can’t stand by and watch their favourite animals go extinct. So, as a last resort they take the endangered fish, geckos and salamanders into their own homes. “The film's number one strength internationally lies in its totally new point of view and cinematic values,” producer Juha Löppönen tells BDE. “Of course, the fact that the main characters speak German, Italian and English makes it easier to market and sell to international audiences.”

“The project selections this year were really tough, simply because there were so many strong candidates with compelling perspectives and bold stories. In fact, our Fiction in Development and Documentary open calls both received almost twice as many projects compared to last year, which goes to show the desirability and necessity for an industry event such as ours,” comments Head of Industry Lydia Taylerson. The FFA Showcase Day will take place September 25 in Helsinki.