The Finnish Film Foundation (FFF) has allocated more than €1.2 million in production support to seven films in its December funding round, spanning one fiction feature, four documentaries and two shorts. Two of the supported documentaries are minority co-productions, reflecting Finland’s continued engagement in Nordic and European collaboration.

Overall, the FFF board made 477 funding decisions in December, approving 131 applications and distributing a total of €3,142,752 across development, production, distribution and exhibition schemes. Applications across all categories amounted to over €20.1 million, underlining the sustained pressure on public funding for audiovisual production in Finland.

The largest single production grant, €900,000, went to Miia Tervo’s third feature, You Crazy Thing, produced by Marko Talli for Yellow Film & TV. The project was previously selected for the Berlinale Co-Production Market and received the Film Finances Scandinavia Award at the Discovery Forum of the Nordic Film Market in Gothenburg. The darkly comic drama centres on Aino, a financially struggling mental-health nurse whose anti-capitalist convictions are put to the test when she falls for Mikael, a wealthy investor committed to the institution where she works, setting up a clash between ideology, intimacy and class privilege.

Among the four documentaries receiving production backing is The Game of Chaos, penned, directed and produced by Ari Matikainen for Kinocompany Finland, which secured a €169,000 bursary. The investigative film examines contemporary hybrid warfare and disinformation, following Finnish and Estonian experts as they track influence operations designed to manipulate public perception and erode democratic trust.

Jan Ijäs’ Picnic – In the Light Invisible to the Human Eye, produced by Atalante, received €40,000. The film observes the war in Gaza from Israel, focusing on memorial sites and so-called picnic spots near the Gaza border, where everyday leisure collides with the reality of ongoing military violence.

Two minority co-productions were also supported. The Swedish production The Bus of Broken Hearts, helmed by Björn Carlberg and Johan Palmgren, and written by Kaveh Akaber, obtained €12,000 in Finnish minority backing via Oona Saari (Illume). Set during Sweden’s iconic Vasaloppet ski race, the documentary follows participants who fail to finish and end up on the notorious “Brytbuss”, the bus of broken dreams.

Similarly, The Days I Will Forget, written and directed by Morgane Dziurla-Petit, and produced by GötaFilm (Sweden), received €35,000 through Finnish minority co-producer Merja Ritola (Greenlit Productions). The film explores a daughter’s attempt to “rewrite” her alcoholic father’s behaviour by forcing him into a repeated day, raising questions about control, memory and emotional entrapment.

In the short-film category, August Joensalo’s Kaineus, produced by Emilia Haukka for Aamu Film Company, was awarded €75,000. Joensalo also emerged as one of the most successful applicants overall in the December round, having additionally received a screenwriting grant for another fiction project and development support for a documentary.

Another €75,000 went to Odd Birds, a hybrid animated and live-action musical short directed and written by Veera Lamminpää, and produced by Janne J Vanhanen and Jenni Pulli for Rata Motion. Lamminpää previously took part in European Film Promotion’s Future Frames programme at Karlovy Vary with her graduation film, Fish River Anthology (see the interview), which went on to win the Jussi Award for Best Short Film.

Besides production, FFF awarded €693,500 in development support to 28 projects (out of 97 applicants), including 12 fiction features, 11 documentaries, four drama series and one short film. Among the development-backed titles are the horror feature The Carpenter (€15,000), directed by Toni Kurkimäki and Tuukka Haapamäki, and produced by Blankface; the drama series Get a Life (€25,000), directed by Johanna Vuoksenmaa and produced by Dionysos Films; the youth feature Kukaan ei ole ollut niin yksin kuin me (€30,000), helmed by Lauri-Matti Parppei and produced by Made; and the feature-length project The Reindeer Girl (€31,500), directed by Paul Simman and produced by Saamifilmi.

Other development-supported projects include Suonsilmä (€35,000) and Ymmärrystä vailla (€17,000), both produced by Silva Mysterium; Peikkovuoren valloittajat (€20,000), staged by Yellow Film & TV; Pelon kääntöpiiri (€25,000), produced by Zone2 Pictures; Tähti (€30,000), staged by Helsinki-filmi; Rapland (€25,000), produced by Illume; Flowers of Farewell (€18,500), staged by Into Films; Et sinä (vielä) kuole (€50,000), produced by Just Republic; Hyvän olon tuolla puolen (€22,000), produced by Kameron; and This Body Is My Final Address (€25,000), staged by Aamu Film Company.

In addition, FFF distributed €726,000 in marketing and distribution support to ten films, including Vinski 2 (€100,000, Sanoma Media Finland), Kalevala: Kullervon tarina (€120,000, SF Film Finland), Teräsleidit – kuin viimeistä päivää (€90,000, SF Film Finland), Isänpäivä (€70,000, B-Plan Distribution), Orava (€80,000, B-Plan Distribution), Cancel (€70,000, Nordisk Film Finland), Kaunis rietas onnellinen (€90,000, Nordisk Film Finland), Luottomies-elokuva: Lepoloma (€80,000, Sanoma Media Finland), Eagles of the Republic [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Tarik Saleh
fiche film] (€10,000, SF Film Finland) and Anssi Kasitonnin maailma (€16,000, Pirkanmaan Elokuvakeskus).

Further funds were earmarked for accessibility and exhibition measures, including €12,852 for audio description and subtitles for the hearing-impaired for three films, and €225,050 in cinema equipment purchase and refurbishment support for 15 theatres nationwide. Among the largest individual exhibition grants were €110,000 for the construction of a new cinema in Akaa, €38,000 for the renovation of the Riviera Kallio in Helsinki, and additional support for venues such as the Orion in Helsinki (€19,600), Maxim/Finnkino in Helsinki (€3,200), Kinokulma in Oulainen (€5,300), Kino-Hovi in Kitee (€4,300) and Maxim in Varkaus (€9,800).

Finally, FFF also granted €111,150 in cultural-export support to 40 applicants, covering project preparation, marketing materials and travel grants.