04/02/2014 - One of Pirjo Honkasalo’s few features has garnered her with two of the main prizes for Best Film and Best Director

Finnish director Pirjo Honkasalo’s Concrete Night [+see also:
trailer
film profile] had received six nominations for the Jussi Award, Finland’s national film prize, and it cashed in on them all, when Filmauri – the association of film professionals – announced the winners at a gala in Helsinki on Sunday (February 2).

One of Honkasalo’s few features – she has otherwise concentrated on documentaries – Concrete Night,won her two of the main prizes, for Best Film and Best Director. Front runners for the award, Simo Halinen’s Open Up to Me [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Dome Karukoski’s Heart of a Lion [+see also:
trailer
film profile], left with two statuettes and one, respectively.

Scripted with Finnish author Pirkko Saisio and based on Saisio’s novel, starring Johannes Brotherus and Jari Virman, the film follows two brothers over 24 hours in Helsinki – Simo admires his elder brother Ilkka immensely, and Ilkka is getting ready to serve a prison sentence.

The only Finn to win an Oscar so far – for producing Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander (1982), which took four of them – writer-director-producer Jörn Donner (now 84 years old) was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Jussi. Last year’s local blockbuster, Johanna Vuoksenmaa’s 21 Ways to Ruin A Marriage [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which took 403,045 admissions, received the Audience Award, voted for by the public. 

FULL LIST OF FINLAND’S JUSSI AWARDS 2014

Best Film
Concrete Night

Best Director
Pirjo Honkasalo – Concrete Night

Best Actor
Eero Aho – 8-Ball [+see also:
trailer
interview: Aku Louhimies
film profile]

Best Actress
Leea Klemola – Open Up to Me

Best Supporting Actor
Jasper Pääkkönen – Heart of a Lion

Best Supporting Actress
Matleena Kuusniemi – Above Dark Waters [+see also:
trailer
film profile]

Best Screenplay
Simo Halinen – Open Up to Me

Best Cinematography
Peter Flinckenberg – Concrete Night

Best Musical Score
Månskensorkestern, Olli Tuomainen – Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart [+see also:
trailer
interview: Mika Ronkainen
film profile]

Best Sound Design
Jan Alvemark – Concrete Night

Best Editing
Niels Pagh Andersen – Concrete Night

Best Set Design
Pentti Valkeasuo – Concrete Night

Best Costume Design
Riitta Peteri – The Disciple [+see also:
trailer
film profile]

Best Make-Up
Mari Vaalasranta – 8-Ball

Best documentary
Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart

Lifetime Achievement Jussi
Writer-director-producer Jörn Donner

Audience Award
21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage – Johanna Vuoksenmaa