The Finnish Film Affair, Finland’s biggest industry event and a major international export forum for Finnish and Nordic films, is organised as part of the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, and is taking place for the 11^th time from 21-23 September. Nearly 30 Nordic film projects, which are either in development or in production, along with four series projects in early development, make up this year’s selection.

The film professionals attending the event will be able to get a first glimpse of upcoming projects, such as Pamela Tola’s comedy The Worst Idea Ever [+leggi anche:
intervista: Alina Tomnikov
scheda film], Selma Vilhunen’s Four Little Adults and Katja Gauriloff’s sophomore fiction feature, Je’vida [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], which is also the first feature shot in the Skolt Sámi language. As for the family-friendly fare, the selection includes Arto Halonen’s Arnold Cautious and the Happiness Stone, Teemu Nikki’s fantasy comedy for all ages Snot & Splash, and the third instalment in the Niko animations, Niko - Beyond the Northern Lights by Kari Juusonen and Jørgen Lerdam.

Regarding the documentaries, they will be represented by the likes of Helena Hyvärinen’s Start Me Up, which takes place in the Finnish world of start-ups, as well as Finnish-Ukrainian helmer Lukas Stasevskij’s first documentary, My Ukraine. Furthermore, in the development stage are Miia Tervo’s The Missile and the sequel to Heavy Trip [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], Heavy Trip: Harder, Faster, Louder by Jukka Vidgren and Juuso Laatio.

Meanwhile, the Nordic Selection strand highlights emerging talents – namely, first or second feature directors – with one project from each Nordic country. Norway will be represented by Thea Hvistendahl’s horror-drama Handling the Undead [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], starring Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie (The Worst Person in the World [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Joachim Trier
scheda film]), which is based on Let the Right One In author John Ajvide Lindqvist’s work of the same name. Finland’s entry is Kaisa El Ramly’s debut film, Getaways & Dreams. The projects will be competing for three prizes, sponsored by the Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK and Konstsamfundet, the latter of which will also fund the entire Nordic Selection section.

Furthermore, there are four series projects in the showcase, which are all TV drama shows in early development with a broadcaster backing them. They are also taking part in the New Nordic Narratives sustainable development lab, organised by Helene Granqvist and Valeria Richter. The Finnish Film Affair will also feature the Nordic Flair training programme, this year with the theme of leadership training for film and TV buyers and sales agents. The programme is supported by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond and the Finnish Film Foundation.

Here is the complete selection of the 11^th Finnish Film Affair:

Fiction in Development

A Friend - Teppo Airaksinen
Producer: TACK Films

Baroque Film - Jan Forsström
Producer: Tuffi Films

Chili Love - Jojo Erholtz
Producer: Dionysos Films

Heavy Trip: Harder, Faster, Louder - Jukka Vidgren, Juuso Laatio (Finland/Germany/Estonia/Belgium)
Producer: Making Movies

The Missile - Miia Tervo (Finland/Estonia)
Producers: Elokuvayhtiö Komeetta, Stellar Film

Urho – Between the Hammer and the Sickle - Heikki Kujanpää (Finland/Estonia)
Producers: MRP Matila Röhr Productions, Taska Film

Fiction in Progress

Arnold Cautious and the Happiness Stone - Art Halonen (Finland/Latvia)
Producer: Art Films production AFP

Four Little Adults - Selma Vilhunen (Finland/Sweden/France)
Producer: Tuffi Films

Getaways & Dreams - Kaisa El Ramly (Finland/Sweden)
Producers: Inland Film Company, LÄSK

Je'vida [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] - Katja Gauriloff
Producer: Oktober

Niko - Beyond the Northern Lights - Kari Juusonen, Jørgen Lerdam (Finland/Germany/Denmark/Ireland)
Producers: Animaker, Ulysses Filmproduktion, A.Film Production, Moetion Films

Snot & Splash - Teemu Nikki
Producer: It's Alive Films

The Worst Idea Ever [+leggi anche:
intervista: Alina Tomnikov
scheda film] - Pamela Tola
Producer: Helsinki-filmi

Nordic Selection

Handling the Undead [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] - Thea Hvistendahl (Norway/Sweden/Greece)
Producers: Einar Film, Zentropa

Hunters on a White Field - Sarah Gyllenstierna (Sweden)
Producer: MostAlice Film AB

Natatorium [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] - Helena Stefánsdóttir (Iceland)
Producer: Bjartsýn Films

Viktor vs. the World - Christian Arhoff (Denmark)
Producer: Hyæne Film

Documentaries in Progress and Development

Fluit - Hanna Hemilä (Finland/Netherlands/France)
Producers: Handle Productions, Windmill Film, Pictak

Fukushima: The Home That Once Was - Timo Wright (Finland/Denmark/Japan)
Producers: Wright & Co, Khora

Impossible Mardi Gras - Aira Vehaskari (Finland/USA)
Producer: napafilms

In the Ballpark of Finland - Arto Halonen
Producer: Art Films production AFP

The Last Chapter - Mohamed El Aboudi
Producer: Icebreaker Productions

My Ukraine - Lukas Stasevskij (Finland/Ukraine)
Producers: Made, Eastfilm

Rap and Reindeer - Petteri Saario
Producer: DocArt

Respect - Milja-Liina Moilanen, Eveliina Pasanen
Producer: Tuffi Films

Start Me Up - Helena Hyvärinen
Producer: Kinocompany Finland

New Nordic Narratives

Maria Lizelia - Ulrika Bengts
Co-writer: Hanna Åkerfelt
Broadcaster: Svenska Yle Drama

Monster - Eva-Maria Koskinen
Producer: Jussi Rantamäki (Aamu Film Company)
Broadcaster: Svenska Yle Drama

Spiral
Producer: Oskari Sipola
Producer-writer: Ronja Haikka
Head writer: Tua Harno
Co-writer: Maaria Nuoranne
Broadcaster: Yle Drama

Under the Clock
Producer: Tiina-Mari Pitkänen
Head writer: Katri Manninen
Broadcaster: Elisa Viihde

Nordic Flair

Fredrik Scholze, digital media and promotion manager, Arthaus (Norway)
Jutta Hopp, marketing manager, Finnkino Theatrical Distribution (Finland)
Niklas Teng, head of Traffic and Festivals, LevelK (Denmark)
Veronica Rossi, senior marketing manager, Nordisk Film (Finland)
Elina Pohjola, team leader/film commissioner, Yle Film Team (Finland)