22/01/2007

Aku Louhimies’ drama Frozen City [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aku Louhimies
interview: Markus Selin
film profile] is the favourite for this year’s top Finnish film honours, the Jussi Awards, with eight nominations, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay (Paavo Westerberg and Mikko Kouki), Actor (Janne Virtanen) and Actress (Susanna Anteroinen).

Produced by Solar Films, Frozen City has been a festival hit since last July, collecting a few awards along the way (Best Director in Ghent last October). The film about a taxi driver convicted of manslaughter was released in Finland by Buena Vista on November 17. Last year, Louhimies won eight Jussi awards (including Best Film and Best Director) for Frozen Land.

The second most nominated film this year is Aki Kaurismäki’s Lights in the Dusk [+see also:
trailer
film profile] with six nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. Also competing in the same top categories is Jouko Aaltonen’s documentary feature Revolution, the biggest theatrical success for a documentary film in Finland (12,812 admissions).

Juha Koiranen’s directorial debut Rock’n Roll Never Dies [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – which will compete for a Tiger Award in Rotterdam – has four nominations, including Best Actor (Martti Suosalo) and Best Screenplay (Koiranen).

The biggest theatrical hit of last year, Matti: Hell is for Heroes [+see also:
trailer
film profile], produced by Solar Films, was nominated only twice, for Best Actress (Elina Knihtilä) and Best Costume Design (Tiina Kaukanen).

The Jussi awards are given out annually in 14 categories by Filmiaura, an association of approximately 250 Finnish film professionals. The official awards ceremony will take place in Helsinki on February 4.