On 19 November, the Nordic Hotel Forum’s Capella hosted a case study session about the making of the Elisa Original series Valhalla Project, directed and produced by Juha Wuolijoki for Los Angeles- and Helsinki-based firm Snapper Films. The show was one of ten dramas selected for the 2024 MIP Drama Showcase, held during the TV Beats Forum at the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.

The talk, moderated by Marike Muselaers, featured Wuolijoki and Sari Lempiäinen, commissioning editor at Elisa. The six-episode Finnish mystery action thriller explores the concept of parallel dimensions through two timelines—1991 Russia and present-day Finland. The drama weaves together a missing father, an environmental crisis, and corporate espionage on an international scale.

“I come from feature films, having directed quite a few, and less TV. But I love this one. It’s fully shot in Finland and boasts a very strong female lead,” Wuolijoki said before presenting the trailer.

The series’ development began with Jari Olavi Rantala, who was head of development for Wuolijoki and managing multiple projects at the time. While both Elisa and the Finnish Film Foundation (FFF) supported its development, Wuolijoki described it as “the most difficult [project] to pitch ever.”

Lempiäinen disagreed, noting how the story’s layers aligned with the team’s mission to craft narratives that “stand out above the crowd” while incorporating genre elements seldom seen in Finnish series and featuring “relatable characters.”

The development process involved intense collaboration, resulting in multiple script versions. “One of the keys to making this was that Jari was fully on our payroll, so he could do virtually endless revisions. He started getting a lot of notes from Elisa and from me while we worked on other things simultaneously. We were lucky to be able to change things quickly, but he’s also super fast,” Wuolijoki explained.

However, Wuolijoki acknowledged the high risks of such projects, which often lead production companies to bankruptcy. As a producer, he worked within a tight - but undisclosed - budget.

Initially, the team considered filming in Lithuania. However, with streamers like Viaplay, HBO, and Netflix entering the Baltic market, costs surged. “We decided to stay home and ended up filming it in Finland,” Wuolijoki said. Finding real locations requiring minimal adjustments and assembling a small, flexible crew were crucial decisions.

At Series Mania 2022, Keshet came on board as the series’ global distributor, investing based on the script alone—a rarity in today’s market, Wuolijoki noted. The production followed a relatively straightforward funding model, with additional support from Business Finland and regional funds.

Lempiäinen highlighted the challenges in casting, particularly for a character requiring fluency in both Finnish and Russian. “One of the characters is a Finn who moves to the Soviet Union, so we needed an actor who could speak both languages. That limited our options in Finland hugely, as we needed a familiar and credible name,” she explained. Ultimately, the character’s backstory was adjusted, and the role was given to Pääru Oja, an Estonian actor fluent in Russian and Finnish.

“Keshet wasn’t involved in the casting process,” Wuolijoki added. “In fairness, they really didn’t interfere and were just very happy with the names we secured.”

Other leading roles were played by Danish actress Sara Soulié and British actor Alistair Brammer.

A preview screening of the series was held at Tallinn’s Kino Artis on 20 November.