07/07/2025 - The Finnish filmmaker has been inspired by the bizarre true story of a failed attempt at a far-right coup against Finland’s first president in the 1930s

Jussi Vatanen and Pääru Oja (foreground) and Tom Rejström and Aku Sipola (background) in The Kidnapping of a President (© Stanislav Honzik/Tack Films)

Finnish filmmaker Samuli Valkama has started production on his fourth feature, The Kidnapping of a President (Kyyditys), a dark comedy based on an extraordinary true event from Finnish history. The film dramatises a little-known episode from 1930, when a group of far-right military officers plotted to kidnap Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Finland’s first president, who had retired several years earlier, along with his wife Ester.

The film tells the absurdly comedic true story of this failed coup attempt in October 1930, led by Lieutenant Colonel Eero Kuussaari, played by Jussi Vatanen. Following a drunken night fuelled by nationalistic resentment against the democratic establishment, a group of poorly prepared officers from the upper echelons of the Finnish army decide to abduct Ståhlberg, who has already retired by that point. The country, still deeply divided after the civil war, is engulfed in political tension and unrest. The plan quickly unravels owing to the conspirators’ incompetence and some unexpected resistance, especially from the president’s stubborn wife, Ester Ståhlberg. The kidnappers inadvertently set off a series of incredible events, an episode whose full, definitive truth remains unknown to this day. Supporting cast members include Aku Sipola as Colonel Kurt Wallenius, Elias Salonen as Jukka Janné and Pertti Sveholm as President Ståhlberg.

The screenplay, co-written by Valkama and producer John Lundsten, who have already collaborated on several other projects, has been in development for over six years. In a joint statement, they said: “When we first looked into the background of President Ståhlberg’s abduction, our initial reaction was astonishment: Finnish officers leaning towards the far right had launched a coup while drunk and forgot about it the next day. The story felt incredibly timely, and the screenplay has been developed carefully and thoroughly. It’s an amazing feeling to finally start filming, especially with such a top-notch international team. The result will be a black comedy based on historical facts that will surely resonate with our times.”

Filming is taking place entirely in the Czech Republic, with Prague standing in for Helsinki’s historical locations. The production utilises landmarks such as the Rudolfinum concert hall, doubling as the Finnish Parliament building, along with various sites in Králův Dvůr and Ralsko that replicate 1930s Finland’s architecture and atmosphere.

The Kidnapping of a President is a Finnish-Czech-Dutch-Estonian co-production, staged by John Lundsten and Melli Maikkula, of Finland’s TACK Films, in co-production with Jakub Košťál and Vratislav Šlajer for the Czech Republic’s Bionaut, Rogier Kramer and Laura Bouwmeester for the Netherlands’ Labyrint Film, and Madis Tüür for Estonia’s Münchhausen Films. Financial backing includes support from the Finnish Film Foundation, the Czech Film Fund, the Netherlands Film Fund, the Estonian Film Institute and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Nordic distribution rights have been secured by Nordisk Film, while Copenhagen-based world sales outfit LevelK will handle the film internationally. The Kidnapping of a President is scheduled for theatrical release in 2026.