27/09/2024 - We take a closer look at five of the projects "defying conventions" that have been pitched in this brand-new section of the Helsinki-based gathering

Olga Lamontanara, Pietro Zuercher and Anna Pieri Zuercher pitching their project Grave, alongside moderator Mariangela Pluchino (far right)

One of the most highly anticipated novelties of this year’s edition of the Finnish Film Affair (25-27 September) is the F-Weird pitching session, which celebrated emerging talent working on IPs that defy conventions. The final selection includes 20 projects, and each was pitched in front of a jury of industry professionals. In this article, we take a closer look at five of them. The one-hour session was held at Helsinki’s BioRex cinema on 25 September.

All Rise for the Dead - Miro Seppänen (Finland/USA)
Produced by the director himself and penned with Jamie Bianchi, this English-language picture is set in a future where a zombie virus ravages the Earth, leaving humanity on the brink of collapse until a cure is discovered.

"In this comedy feature, we blend zombie horror and courtroom drama as we follow Ari, a young lawyer taking on his first major case: defending Bruce, a man hailed as a hero for his journey through the apocalypse to save his daughter. On his way, he kills numerous zombies and he’s now on trial for his actions,” Seppänen explained on stage. The team is seeking financiers and co-producers.

Grave - Anna Pieri Zuercher, Pietro Zuercher (Switzerland/Finland/Estonia)
This "dark comedy about death and friendship" was presented on stage by the two co-writers and directors with Olga Lamontanara, of Switzerland’s Cinédokké. 

“Have you ever felt like you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, caught between the life you're living and the life you wished you had? It’s precisely in this moment, when we’re at the bottom, that something happens. [...] Some people call it surviving, but we call it magic. We invite you to step into a world where this feeling is brought to life through the story of Grave,” said Pieri Zuercher.

“Grave takes place in a snowy nowhere where the destinies of two lost losers are brought together by accident. Heinz, an old henchman who just screwed up his last hit, will kidnap Gunnar, a young, depressed and suicidal gravedigger. Together, they’ll embark on a road trip filled with hope, fear, shootouts, corpses, absurdity and death,” she added.

The English language film is being co-produced with Finland’s Bufo and Estonia’s Allfilm. “We aim to start filming in 2025/2026 between our three countries. We’ve got already 50% of our financing in place,” revealed Lamontanara. The budget is €5 million, and the project’s confirmed partners include the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, RSI/SRG and regional funds. Some of the listed cinematic references include Men & Chicken [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Rams [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Grimur Hakonarson
film profile], Fargo and In Bruges [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

Haunted Canvas - Akseli Koskinen (Finland/Estonia)
The feature, presented on stage by Koskinen with Kovameno producer Oliver Wick, tackles “the struggles with self-expression and the expectations of others.” 

“The story follows Ava, a struggling artist who gets invited to be a ghost painter for a legendary painter, Viktor. Viktor can’t paint himself anymore owing to his illness; after some time, Ava discovers she isn’t the first artist Viktor has recruited, and she’s being brainwashed and implanted with his memories to become an extension of the man himself,” said Koskinen. The team has a treatment ready and is seeking co-producers. They aim to have the script ready next year.

The Head Job – TBC (Finland)
Presented on stage by screenwriter Timo Turunen and billed as a story of inequality, the feature “combines sci-fi, action, drama and comedy.” The story unfolds in 2077, at a time when Finland is bankrupt and under lockdown due to unpaid national debts.

“In this world made of absurd inequality, the only currency the poor are left with are their healthy bodies. The latest innovation in the business is the so-called ‘head job,’ meaning a transplant in which your head is placed on another healthier body. The main character is this kind-hearted Finnish chap of Somali descent, Muhammad, called by his friends Muhis,” explained Turunen.

“In order to help his sick sister, he agrees to perform a head job. His body is given to the richest man in human history, an American tycoon named John J. Johnson. But he gets cheated in the deal and sets out for revenge because he discovers that changing bodies also changes your personality traits. Now his head is attached to this fat, white and dying body.”

Mari, Sweetie - Vivian Säde (Estonia/Lithuania)
The section’s top prize went to this “deeply personal” 14-minute short in development, produced by Belarus-born Volia Chajkouskaya, of Estonia’s Allfilm, and Lithuania’s WHY Films, and presented on stage by the helmer herself, an alumna of Tallinn University and Edinburgh’s Napier University. The picture explores Estonian girlhood, body image and finding peace with the past through the lens of magical realism. Radiator IP Sales is in charge of its rights. 

The story follows the titular 29-year-old character. Whenever she feels lonely, water materialises around her. She must dive deep into her subconscious to stop her brain from flooding her apartment and save her present and pre-teen selves. With an imaginary psychiatrist’s help, she revisits herself at 12, being bullied at the school swimming pool, and tries to reconnect. The project will enter production in July 2025.