Finnish Film Affair

Director Juha Suonpää discusses his new project, about a man and his search for the elusive Eurasian lynx, with Business Doc Europe. The ancient relationship between humankind and predator “is something that goes paradoxically to the origins of the Finnish mentality, how we came to be here in the north, how we survived here in north,” the filmmaker says.

In his heartwarming doc short-listed for the Best Doc at the European Film Awards, director Einari Paakkanen introduces us to a cast of Finns for whom karaoke is more than mere entertainment, rather an emotional support mechanism. During Finnish Film Affair producer Marianne Mäkelä of Napafilms pitched the project to the international distribution community.

Produced by Kirsi Mattila of Icebreaker Productions, Mohamed El Aboudi’s project about Finnish immigrants entering the later stages of life was handed the €3000 prize. The 11th edition of Finland’s international industry destination Finnish Film Affair comes to an end on Friday 23 September. The event has so far been attended by close to 500 guests from 22 countries and 3 continents.

Overview of the nine new Finnish documentary projects were pitched during the 11th Finnish Film Affair which concluded 23 Sept in Helsinki. The top prize of €3000 was won by Mohamed El Aboudi (director and producer) and producer Kirsi Mattila for The Last Chapter. Read on for an overview of this and the other eight projects.

Eight feature documentaries and nine doc projects to be presented between 21-23 September during Finnish Film Affair, the industry event of Helsinki International Film Festival. The three-day event will welcome execs from industry giants such as Netflix, TrustNordisk, and Cannes, Venice, and Berlinale film festivals. In co-operation with German Films, German producers interested in co-productions will also journey to Finland.