30/11/2007

Markus Selin (Solar Films) is set to produce the biggest ever Finnish feature film: the €10m historical epic Mannerheim, which Hollywood-based Renny Harlin will start shooting in August 2008.

This marks a comeback to his native country for Harlin, who made his first film with Selin in the early 80s (Born American) and whose upcoming project will be shot in Finnish, Swedish, Russian, English and Polish. Production mogul Selin said he is finalising the financing on the film and will announce his co-production partners (including Russia) by the end of the year.

Marshall Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was the most influential military and political leader of Finnish history from the Civil War to the late 1940s. “The film will cover Mannerheim’s life from the early 1900s to the 1950s, and the different wars he fought,” said Selin. “Logistically, it is a living hell because we have so many different locations showing so many different countries. So the budget will be tight.”

The script is by Heikki Vihinen while actor Mikko Nousiainen (32), whose breakthrough came in Aku Louhimies’ feature debut Restless [+see also:
trailer
film profile], will play the lead.

The film is sold internationally by Nordisk Film International Sales and the Finnish premiere is set for October 2009.