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BERLINALE 2008 Market / Finland

Eight films premiering at EFM

by 

Finns were out in crowds last night, supporting the official screening in competition of Petri Kotwica’s Black Ice [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kai Nordberg
interview: Petri Kotwica
film profile
]
. But seven other new Finnish films are offered to world buyers at the European Film Market.

Last year’s biggest local hit, Christmas Story [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Juha Wuolijoki (around 240,000 admissions), is being sold by Montreal-based Delphis Films, specialised in children and youth films. It tells the story of how Santa Claus grew up to become Santa.

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Three Finnish films are on Nordisk Film International Sales/Trust’s line up, including English-language horror title Dark Floors: The Lordi Motion Picture, directed by Pete Riski and produced by Solar Films. The film had a huge premiere party on February 6 at Finland’s Oulu Energia Arena, the home of the Finnish National Hockey League Kärpät, where an audience of 5,000 people had the chills. Dark Floors had its official opening in Finland yesterday through Nordisk Film Distribution.

The other two are successful local films produced by MRP Matila Röhr Productions: Lauri Nurkse’s directorial debut Playing Solo [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(140,000 admissions so far) and the animated film Quest for a Heart by Pekka Lehtosaari (128,000 admissions).

Peter Lindholm’s Three in Love, another current hit at the Finnish top 10, has no sales representation yet but is being introduced at the market by its production company PetFilms. The love triangle was number seven at the local box office last weekend.

Shadow of the Holy Book by Arto Halonen, a documentary that investigates the morality of international companies and the dictatorship of oil-and-gas-rich Turkmenistan, is being sold internationally by Canada’s Films Transit International. Another Finnish documentary film is presented by Paris-based Wide Management: Mika Kaurismäki’s Sonis Mirror, a musical film on the journey of legendary drummer Billy Cobham into several different musical cultures.

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