Kirsikka Paakkinen’s feature doc debut is neither educational nor science-oriented, says producer Outi Rousu of Pystymetsä Oy. Rather, the film is an essayistic journey through the Northern Finnish and Swedish landscapes where we meet inhabitants and animals living in exceptional conditions, and who must tolerate a constant companion – the blood-sucking mosquito.
The film quotes travelogues written by Italian Guiseppe Acerbi and British Ethel Tweedie who travelled through the Nordics in the 18th and 19th centuries. In more cinematic terms, the film is influenced by more recent masters. “Visually, I dare to refer here to two masterpieces, Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil and Wim Wenders’s Tokyo-ga,” says producer Rousu.
The feature doc synopsis underlines how director Paakkinen studies, sometimes humorously, the relationships between humans and mosquitos, and how mosquitos have shaped humans’ relationship with nature itself.
“The film brings us close to nature and mosquitos,” Rousu underlines. “Mosquitos are disturbing, surprising, amusing – and some might say delightful. How many stories and emotions can a small mosquito bring out in us humans? Extreme situations illustrate how difficult it is to control nature. Human faith in its abilities is tested when [we encounter] the chaos and uncontrollability created by mosquitos. But the illusion of control over nature still lives deep within us humans.”
“Although Kirsikka is a newcomer, she has an interesting visual approach and she has a good knowledge on nature issues,” the producer says of director Paakkinen. “Her background is in art films and media art.”
Of course, mosquitos live much further afield than the Nordic countries, which is why the film will have international resonance, Rousu argues. That said, it will avoid one subject very much associated with the insect, that of malaria. “That is a topic for another film, Rousu says.
The film is at development phase and has been granted funding from the Finnish Film Fund and broadcaster YLE. “During the Nordic Panorama financing forum in September in Malmö, Sweden, and at FFA, I am talking about the co-production with the Swedish colleagues, television and financers. Part of the film will be shot in Sweden.”
“Production-wise, the first phase is to structure the Nordic co-production and talk with Nordic broadcasters and national film institutes, and but also to present the film to distributors and sales agencies,” she adds of her activities at the pitch events.
Rousu was co-producer of Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s award-winning feature documentary The Making of a Japanese (2023), about the elementary school system in Japan. Yamazaki’s similarly-themed short film Instruments of a Beating Heart was nominated in 2025 for a Short Doc Oscar.
“I am a big fan of impact work,” Rousu says. “I tend to do films which have impact potential. My previous co-production The Making of a Japanese (2023) created in Finland a debate about the Finnish school system; the basketball doc Raise the Bar (2021) did the same about coaching kids and equality in sports, and Vika! (2023) challenged the attitudes towards ageing.”
“The Edge of Endurance is questioning our tolerance,” she adds of her latest film’s impact potential. “To dive more deeply into the topic of the film, mosquitos here are a kind of metaphor for something which is ‘alien’ and disturbing. How do we tolerate something which is ‘different’?”
