Ruthless Times – Songs of Care by Susanna Helke
Eight feature docs and nine documentary projects, as well as a series of debates and masterclasses, will be presented between 21-23 September during Finnish Film Affair, the industry event of Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy.
“Finland is known for its dedicated documentary talent, and we want to serve that. The wide variety of talent can be seen in our programme this year, from stories about Finnish start-ups to the Mardi Gras, and My Ukraine, a documentary by Finnish-Ukrainian cellist and filmmaker Lukas Stasevskij,” says Head of Finnish Film Affair & Nordic Flair Maria Pirkkalainen.
“Documentaries have always played a big part of Finnish Film Affair and comprise 35-40% of our film programme each year,” she adds. “With the addition of the Best Documentary Award in 2020, sponsored by AVEK, we have been able to place even more focus on this. We also aim to have voices from the doc industry represented in our panel discussions; for example in the Co-Producing with Germany panel this year (see below), we have both fiction and documentary case studies included.”
In total, the event will be attended by around 400 professionals, of whom over 100 will come from outside of Finland. “The interest of international film companies in Finland has grown year on year and has been enormous this year. It’s great to be able to showcase Helsinki and the Nordic industry to such a great group of guests, especially at such a busy and competitive time as September,” says Pirkkalainen.
The three-day event will also welcoming execs from industry giants such as Netflix, TrustNordisk, and Cannes, Venice, and Berlinale film festivals. In cooperation with German Films, German producers interested in co-productions will also journey to Finland.
Lineup of completed documentary films
- Fragments of Humanity by Elli Rintala, Kinocompany
- Golden Land by Inka Achté, napafilms, Auto Images, Up North Film
- Just Animals by Saila Kivelä and Vesa Kuosmanen, Tuffi Films
- Karaoke Paradise by Einari Paakkanen, napafilms oy
- Power of the People by Mervi Enqvist, Greenlit Productions
- Ruthless Times – Songs of Care by Susanna Helke, Road Movies Oy
- Shepherds of the Earth by Iiris Härmä, Guerilla Films
- The Other Voice by Annika Grof, Tarasow Films
Documentary projects in Progress and Development:
- Fukushima: The Home That Once Was by Timo Wright, Wright & Co, Khora
- Start Me Up by Helena Hyvärinen, Kinocompany Finland Oy
- Respect by Milja-Liina Moilanen and Eveliina Pasanen, Tuffi Films
- The Last Chapter by Mohamed El Aboudi, Icebreaker Productions
- Rap and Reindeer by Petteri Saario, DocArt
- In the Ballpark of Finland by Arto Halonen, Art Films production AFP Oy
- Fluit by Hanna Hemilä, Handle Productions, Windmill Film, Pictak
- My Ukraine by Lukas Stasevskij, Made, Eastfilm
- Impossible Mardi Gras by Aira Vehaskari, napafilms oy
The doc projects will compete for 3 prizes, sponsored by the Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, and Konstsamfundet.
Finnish Film Affair also offers a series of talks, debates and masterclasses of relevance to doccers and fiction makers alike. “During our event, documentary guests can learn about upcoming Finnish docs and network with the industry. This year there is an even more special focus on documentary content with the help of the Focus on Finland export initiative. We want everyone to receive good meetings, visibility and new contacts. This has always been the case and I’m confident that our biggest event to date will continue this,” says Pirkkalainen.
The September 21 How to Be An Agent of Change immersive public workshop (Bio Rex 13.00-14.30) will delve into how creatives can discover their leadership skills, with a special focus on how awareness about sustainability, inclusion and audience outreach can be turned into assets for development. In this “open holistic session,” participants will reflect on how our private and work lives, our projects, the audience, and our planet footprint can impact and inspire the myriad daily work decisions and project development steps we make – as creators and decisionmakers.
Friday’s Theatrical Distribution in the Nordics industry session (Bio Rex, Sept 23, 10.00-11.15) will ask how distributors currently innovate to find and attract audiences to the cinemas, and what elements will make the industry still golden in the future? The discussion will hear stories and examples of both fiction and documentary films from the theatrical sphere in the Nordics.
Later on Friday September 23, during the Co-Producing with Germany Industry session (Bio Rex, 11.30-12.30) moderator Marta Balaga will discuss with international producers how recent fruitful co-productions have been initiated and nurtured… and what’s next. Doc producers in attendance include Heino Deckert from Ma.ja.de Filmproduktion (Invisible Demons) and Marianne Mäkelä from Napa Films (Game of Minds). The discussion is organised in collaboration with German Films and Creative Europe Media Desk Finland.
The XYZ masterclass – developing growth strategies for success at home and abroad (Sept 23, Bio Rex, 14:00-15:30) will comprise an in-depth conversation with experts in film, television, documentary and animation about the opportunities and challenges in the domestic and international marketplace. “The goal of the masterclass is to break down the key components of growth in constantly changing and unstable circumstances,” say organisers. The masterclass is moderated by Aram Tertzakian, co-founder of Los Angeles-based XYZ Films, and hosted by Fanny Heinonen, film specialist at Film Tampere.
The 35th Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, Finland’s largest film festival dedicated to celebrating new and groundbreaking cinema, runs on-site in Helsinki from 15-25 September 2022.
