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Marja Pyykkö

Haugesund’s Next Nordic Generation Slate Packed with Strong Emotions: ‘There is No Shortage of Nordic Talent’
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The Next Nordic Generation competition strand of the Norwegian Film Festival in Haugesund is where some of the most gifted talents from the Nordics such as Gustav Møller (“The Guilty”) or Katrine Brocks (“The Great Silence”) pitched their graduation films in recent years, before making their international breakthroughs.

This year’s curated program of 10 graduation films from Nordic film schools will be showcased Aug. 21 in Haugesund, Norway.

The 10 short films were selected by a jury consisting of producer Elisa Fernanda Pirir of Stær Film, filmmakers Gunnbjörg Gunnarsdóttir (“Victoria Must Go”) and Fredrik S. Hana (“Code Name: Nagasaki”), in association with program coordinator Christian Høkaas.

“Fear, confusion, dark humor, power, anxiety and love. Anger, love, power. This year’s slate offers a lot of strong emotions, in-keeping with the Scandinavian tradition of dark humour and relationship drama,” said Pirir who’s enjoyed the “playful and daring selection.”

Norway is out in force with five fiction films,...
See full article at Variety Film + TV
  • 8/19/2024
  • by Annika Pham
  • Variety Film + TV
Finland’s Tuffi Films closes; Vilhunen, Hellstedt to join Dionysos Films (exclusive)
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Finnish writer-director Selma Vilhunen and producer Venla Hellstedt will join Dionysos Films from the start of 2024.

Finnish writer-director Selma Vilhunen and producer Venla Hellstedt, who were previously company leaders at Helsinki-based Tuffi Films, will join Dionysos Films from the start of 2024.

Tuffi has produced titles such as Stupid Young Heart (Berlinale Crystal Bear winner), Hobbyhorse Revolution and the 2014 Academy Award nominated short Do I Have to Take Care of Everything? – all directed by Vilhunen. In addition to Vilhunen’s works, Tuffi’s other credits include Jenni Toivoniemi’s Games People Play, the feminist omnibus Force of Habit and Marja Pyykkö’s youth film Sihja,...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 11/23/2023
  • by Wendy Mitchell
  • ScreenDaily
Finland’s Tuffi Films closes; co-founders to join Dionysos Films (exclusive)
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Finnish writer-director Selma Vilhunen and producer Venla Hellstedt will join Dionysos Films from the start of 2024.

Finnish writer-director Selma Vilhunen and producer Venla Hellstedt, who were previously co-founders of Helsinki-based Tuffi Films, will join Dionysos Films from the start of 2024.

Tuffi has produced titles such as Stupid Young Heart (Berlinale Crystal Bear winner), Hobbyhorse Revolution and the 2014 Academy Award nominated short Do I Have to Take Care of Everything? – all directed by Vilhunen. In addition to Vilhunen’s works, Tuffi’s other credits include Jenni Toivoniemi’s Games People Play, the feminist omnibus Force of Habit and Marja Pyykkö’s youth film Sihja,...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 11/23/2023
  • by Wendy Mitchell
  • ScreenDaily
Alina Tomnikov
Introducing the 2023 Efp European Shooting Stars!
Alina Tomnikov
Each year we are proud to partner with the European Film Promotion to celebrate ten emerging European talents as part of their ongoing Efp Shooting Stars programme. Today we’re pleased to join the reveal of 2023’s cohort, who we’ll be getting to know better next year at the 73rd Berlinale.

Here are 2023’s European Shooting Stars:

Joely Mbundu (Belgium), Alina Tomnikov (Finland), Leonie Benesch (Germany), Thorvaldur Kristjansson (Iceland), Benedetta Porcaroli (Italy), Yannick Jozefzoon (The Netherlands), Kristine Kujath Thorp (Norway), Judith State (Romania), Gizem Erdogan (Sweden) and Kayije Kagame (Switzerland).

We’ll be meeting with each of the Shooting Stars out in Berlin next February and speaking to them. So, remember to check back next year for those interviews.

In the meantime, here are more details about each of the intake from the Efp themselves.

Belgium / Joely Mbundu ©Tina Herbots

Joely Mbundu hails from Villeneuve-St-Georges, France and attended school in Flanders,...
See full article at HeyUGuys.co.uk
  • 12/14/2022
  • by Jon Lyus
  • HeyUGuys.co.uk
Finnish Film Affair to showcase new films from Aku Louhimies, Suvi West
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The 10th anniversary edition will take place as a hybrid event.

The Finnish Film Affair (Ffa) will celebrate its 10th anniversary edition with a hybrid industry event that will showcase 24 Finnish projects and four from the other Nordics.

Some 50% of the selected projects are directed by women or non-binary people.

Running in Helsinki from September 22-24, the Ffa will present projects in development including Family Time, the first feature of Tia Kouvo to be produced by Aamu Film Company, whose credits include Compartment No. 6. The drama, which has been part of Torino Film Lab, is an exploration of family life,...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 9/2/2021
  • by Wendy Mitchell
  • ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Trailer for Buff title Sihja, the Rebel Fairy - Events / Promotion - Finland/Netherlands/Norway
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Marja Pyykkö’s fourth feature follows an unconventional fairy and an eccentric boy who overcome their own fears in order to save Mother Nature. Marja Pyykkö’s fourth feature, Sihja, the Rebel Fairy, is one of the titles taking part in this year’s edition of Buff in Malmö (21-27 March 2021), Sweden’s international film festival for children and youth. Before filming Sihja, the Rebel Fairy, Pyykkö worked on several television productions and helmed three features – namely, Run Sister Run! (2010), Village People (2013) and Man and a Baby (2017). The film will be awarded Buff’s Nordic Star and is one of the nominees for the European Children’s Film Association Award. The story of Sihja, the Rebel Fairy, penned by Kirsikka Saari and Jenni Toivoniemi, follows Sihja (Elina Patrakka), a young, charming and slightly outrageous fairy, who leaves her forest home. In the city, she meets a sensitive new 11-year-old friend,...
See full article at Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
  • 3/9/2021
  • Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Warner Bros. Finland Pushes Ahead with Crime after ‘Man in Room 301’ (Exclusive)
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Present at Canneseries with “Man in Room 301,” screening today in competition, Warner Bros. Int’l Television Production Finland is ramping up its scripted content. The company is betting on two scripted shows a year, next to local versions of Warner Bros. TV factuals such as “First Dates” and “The Bachelor.”

Seija-Liisa Eskola, Wbitvp Finland’s creative director and head of scripted, said “Man in Room 301” was “a step ahead” as the first high-end international co-production. Launched last December on the local streamer Elisa Viihde, the U.K-Finnish psycho drama proved the most watched series over the Christmas period. About Premium Content just licensed it to territories including the U.S. (Mhz), France and Germany (both Arte).

Two crime shows are currently filming, both for the Finnish streamer C More.

The nine-part psycho-thriller “The Color of Evil” is created by inhouse head-writer Miira Karhula. Rising names Olli-Ilpo Salonen (“Wendy and the...
See full article at Variety Film + TV
  • 10/11/2020
  • by Annika Pham
  • Variety Film + TV
Finnish Film Affair unveils 2020 lineup, including first look at ‘The Twin’
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The hybrid event will run September 23-25 in Helsinki.

The Finnish Film Affair has unveiled the lineup for its hybrid event, which will run September 23-25 in Helsinki as well as online.

Some 300 industry professionals are expected to attend, with some in-person and 150 online.

New talents and female voices are prominent in this year’s programme, with debut features comprising one-third of the lineup. Across the selection, at least 58% of projects have at least one non-male director.

Nearly 50 films in development, production or post-production will be on offer. Some highlights in development include Lapland War from Unknown Soldier director Aku Louhimies,...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 9/11/2020
  • by Wendy Mitchell
  • ScreenDaily
‘Holiday’ director to pitch new film at Haugesund Co-Production Market
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Haugesund’s New Nordic Films will run as a hybrid event Aug 18-21.

Isabella Eklof, the Danish director of Sundance 2018 selection Holiday and co-writer of Cannes 2018 award-winner Border, is presenting her new feature project Kalak as part of Haugesund’s New Nordic Films Co-Production Market (August 18-21).

This year’s hybrid event will see with some participants physically attend the event in Norway and others watching online films and presentations.

Scroll down for the full list

Kalak is Eklof’s second feature and is set in Greenland. It is about a man who tries to escape the demons of childhood...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 8/11/2020
  • by 1100142¦Wendy Mitchell¦39¦
  • ScreenDaily
In Bad Apples, the “good old days” are not necessarily that good - Production / Funding - Finland
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The new 1970s-set series, helmed by Marja Pyykkö and Pamela Tola, has begun its July shoot. With its tagline alone, claiming that “there’s a method for your madness”, the upcoming new series Bad Apples promises a peek into the twisted reality of a 1970s sanatorium, where student activist Onerva ends up being committed and forced to take part in an experimental psychiatric programme for women – predictably, against her will. Deemed “aggressive” and “hysterical”, even by the ones closest to her, she soon starts to question the prescribed treatments, as well as the methods of one Doctor Lundsten (Santeri Kinnunen). Directed by Marja Pyykkö and Pamela Tola, the latter fresh off the success of her comedy Ladies of Steel, it started shooting in Finland on 2 July and will be available to view on the country’s leading streaming...
See full article at Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
  • 7/7/2020
  • Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Juho Kuosmanen
Unfazed by the present, the Finnish Film Foundation awards €6.5 million in production support - Production / Funding - Finland
Juho Kuosmanen
20 new projects, including Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment Number 6 and Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, have received production support in March. Amid the current coronavirus scare, the Finnish Film Foundation has cemented its belief in a brighter future by granting production support to 20 projects – backing that amounts to almost €6.5 million. A total of €750,000 have gone to Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment Number 6, currently shooting in Russia under the watchful eye of Aamu Film Company, following the international success of his debut feature, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki. Furthermore, €850,000 went to Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, a biopic of Moomin creator Tove Jansson, produced by Helsinki-filmi and scheduled to premiere domestically in October. Tove wasn’t the only title marking the presence of Helsinki-filmi, with Marja Pyykkö’s Wedding of the Century getting €484,999. This was followed by the features Love on the Spot, to be directed by Reetta...
See full article at Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
  • 3/16/2020
  • Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Matti Ristinen, Maria Sid, and Johannes Holopainen in All the Sins (2019)
‘All the Sins’ Producers to Broaden Spanish-Language Ties (Exclusive)
Matti Ristinen, Maria Sid, and Johannes Holopainen in All the Sins (2019)
GÖTEBORG, Sweden: “All the Sins”’ Finnish co-writers and creators Mika Ronkainen and Merja Aakko, winners of last year’s Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize for outstanding Nordic screenplay, are developing for Mrk Matila Röhr Productions an adoption drama set between Finland and Guatemala.

Based on a true story, the six-part series “Act of Telling” (a working title) will examine child adoption through the story of a young Finnish couple and their Guatemala-born son. The respectable father has harbored a secret for seven years -a crime he committed when he travelled alone for the adoption. When a journalist friend starts to ask questions about the son’s biological parents, the mystery threatens to come to light.

Producer Ilkka Matilä said that Finnish public broadcaster Yle has ordered the concept from the writing duo. He’s now looking for a “potential co-production partner who could facilitate the Guatemala shoot.”

In early development,...
See full article at Variety Film + TV
  • 1/25/2020
  • by Annika Pham
  • Variety Film + TV
Matti Ristinen, Maria Sid, and Johannes Holopainen in All the Sins (2019)
Finnish Streamer Orders Period Female-Driven Drama ‘Bad Apples’ (Exclusive)
Matti Ristinen, Maria Sid, and Johannes Holopainen in All the Sins (2019)
Elisa Viihde, the popular Finnish Svod service behind “All the Sins” and “Shadow Lines,” is developing “Bad Apples,” a daring psychological drama series, with Lagardere Studios Distribution.

The concept for “Bad Apples” was created by Marja Pyykkö who will also be directed the eight-part show. Fire Monkey Productions is producing the series with Mia Ylönen (“Moscow Noir”) on board to write.

“Bad Apples” is set in 1970’s Finland when women unwilling to conform to society were considered damaged and sent to an asylum on an islolated island for treatment. Away from the world, these women seemed to have found a way to be themselves until a strange rumour started spreading about a secret ward. The series will follow a student activist, Onerva, who is committed to an experimental psychiatric program for women at a 1970s sanatorium.

Anni Wessman, the head of international at Elisa, said “Bad Apples” will be headlined...
See full article at Variety Film + TV
  • 10/24/2019
  • by Elsa Keslassy
  • Variety Film + TV
Erik Poppe takes over directing ‘The Emigrants’ from Daniel Espinosa (exclusive)
The Norwegian Film Institute has joined the project with funding.

The new adaptation of Swedish period drama The Emigrants is set to be directed by Erik Poppe who will replace long-attached filmmaker Daniel Espinosa, who left the project because of schedule conflicts.

Espinosa was first announced as the director of the literary adaptation in 2015. But the Swedish director, who wrapped shooting on Marvel superhero film Morbius in June, has since stepped down.

He has been replaced with Norwegian director Poppe, whose credits include The King’s Choice and Utoya - July 22.

Sf Studios produces with Norwegian co-producers Paradox, Poppe and...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 10/24/2019
  • by 1100142¦Wendy Mitchell¦0¦
  • ScreenDaily
Dutch Features Picks Up Three European Films Aimed at Pre-Teens
Dutch Features has secured international distribution rights to three films aimed at pre-teen audiences: “Contained,” “Lilith & the Ghastly Brothers” and “Sihja” ahead of the Warsaw Kids Film Forum, which opens Wednesday.

Directed by Marja Pyykkö, “Sihja” is an adventure film about a cheeky fairy and an eccentric boy who each have to overcome their fears in order to save nature itself. “Sihja” is being produced by Finland’s Tuffi Films, the Netherlands’ Windmill Film and Norway’s Den Siste Skilling. Now in production, the film will be released in late 2020.

“Lilith & the Ghastly Brothers,” the debut feature of Michael and Andrew Van Ostade, is a fantasy adventure film set in a world of ghosts and ghouls. The film is currently in pre-production and will be produced by Belgium’s Minds Meet (“Hellhole”).

“Contained” is a thriller genre project based on the successful Swedish book trilogy “The Children of Firn” by Lena Ollmarks,...
See full article at Variety Film + TV
  • 9/25/2019
  • by Elsa Keslassy
  • Variety Film + TV
Norwegian Film School trio win at Nordic Talents
Top $30,000 prize awarded to Fanny Ovesen for her couch-surfing story ’Laura’.

Fanny Ovesen, a recent graduate of the Norwegian Film School, won the Nordic Talents Pitch Prize worth $30,000, with her fiction feature project Laura (working title).

The story follows a young woman on a couch surfing trip through Europe, who wakes up having had sex with a stranger. She remembers nothing. Torn between guilt and innocence, she sets out on a journey which will influence her self-image and close relationships forever.

Two further graduates of the Norwegian Film School both earned a special mention award worth $6,000 each: Brwa Vahabpour with his fiction feature pitch Silence,...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 9/7/2018
  • by Screen staff
  • ScreenDaily
Selma Vilhunen at an event for Little Wing (2016)
Finnish Film Affair unveils line-up
Selma Vilhunen at an event for Little Wing (2016)
Third edition will include pitching of 17 projects and screening of 19 completed features.Scroll down for full lists

The Finnish Film Affair is to host its third edition during the Helsinki International Film Festival (Sept 23-25).

The showcase for new Finnish films will include 17 projects being pitched and the screening of 19 completed films. A Project Development Clinic has been added for first and second-time directors.

The 17 new projects will be pitched to 60 guests including sales agents, festival programmers, distributors and TV buyers, including Fortissimo Films, Wild Bunch, Memento Films International, Films Transit, Sundance Film Festival, Koch Media and Zdf/Arte.

The pitches include The Fencer by Klaus Härö, whose previous film Letters to Father Jacob sold worldwide; and Stupid Young Heart from Oscar-nominated Selma Vilhunen (Do I Have To Take Care Of Everything?).

Other titles include Tsamo by Markku Lehmuskallio, documentary Mother’s Wish by Joonas Berghäll (Steam Of Life), and Cross Your Heart by Petri Kotwica, whose...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 8/26/2014
  • by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
  • ScreenDaily
Pirjo Honkasalo at an event for Melancholian 3 huonetta (2004)
Finnish Film Affair to showcase new Moomins
Pirjo Honkasalo at an event for Melancholian 3 huonetta (2004)
The second edition of the Finnish Film Affair, scheduled for Sept 24-26 in Helsinki, will again showcase hot local titles and works in progress.

This year’s event boasts an expanded guest list of sales agents, buyers and festival programmers, including representatives from Zdf/Arte, Celluloid Dreams, Wild Bunch, Hanway, Tribeca, Palm Springs, Rotterdam and Locarno. About 200 industry experts will attend.

“The first edition introduced the Finnish Film Affair to international decision makers,” said Sara Norberg, executive director of the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, which launched the event. “We’re very proud that the success of last year’s works-in-progress and the positive buzz around the event has attracted even more interest from the international industry.”

The new films to be screened include Toronto-bound titles Concrete Night by Pirjo Honkasalo and Heart of Lion by Dome Karukoski, in addition to other festival selections such as Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart by Mika Ronkainen and Alcan Highway by Aleksi...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 8/21/2013
  • by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
  • ScreenDaily
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