The 14th Finnish Film Affair (24-26 September) once again affirmed its status as the country’s foremost film-industry gathering. This year’s Showcase Day featured 44 projects, spanning fiction, documentaries, series and the increasingly popular F-Weird section, alongside the Nordic Selection (see the news). The event culminated in an expanded awards ceremony, where seven projects and professionals were recognised for their creativity, vision and international potential.

The Award for Best Fiction Project, accompanied by a €3,000 prize from the Finnish Film Foundation, went to Tell Everyone, directed by Alli Haapasalo (see the news). The jury, composed of Aleksandra Zakharchenko (Marché du Film), Jim Kolmar (SXSW) and Marike Muselaers (Nordisk Film Production), praised the pitch for its purpose and sensitivity, calling it “a bold historical drama that promises to explore themes of institutionalised misogyny, bodily autonomy and the demands society continues to place on women; this is a project and pitch that feel more timely than ever”. Haapasalo, known internationally for Girl Picture [+leggi anche:
recensione
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intervista: Alli Haapasalo
scheda film] (Sundance 2022), here returns with a project that combines artistic ambition with strong global appeal.

The Best Nordic Project Award, worth €3,000 and presented by Konstsamfundet, went to Pigtown by Pekka Ollula. The jury praised the project’s “global potential for this European co-production, which is obvious; they even managed to make it personal and authentic by touching on the importance of community and family, which isn’t easy when your story happens to be a horror zombie-comedy”.

In the documentary category, the jury consisting of Katre Kajamäe-Gupta (Eurimages), Jason Ryle (Toronto International Film Festival) and Natalie Campbell-Reid (Together Films) selected Sense and Sensibility by Hanna Nordenswan as its winner. The project, awarded €3,000 from the City of Helsinki, impressed “for its deeply human yet extraordinary theme. With a clear vision, the director presents a mother-daughter story that is highly relatable and could resonate across borders. The project promises to portray death as a natural part of life, leveraging a comedic tone at times and strong stylistic choices from the director.”

Best F-Weird Project went to the animated short Boobs by Milla Puolakanaho and Juha Ilmari Laine. The award includes €2,500 worth of colour-grading services and €2,500 worth of production services, offered by Post Control Helsinki and Angel Films. The jury, comprising Javier Puerto Garcia (PÖFF), Maria Sol (Moving People & Images) and Mathias Noschis (Alphapanda), was “impressed by how this personal story is brought to the screen with beautiful and poetic animation. We are convinced this film will go very far and will touch audiences all around the world. And we are convinced that the services provided through this award will help finalise the film.”

This year also saw the introduction of three new awards. The MIDPOINT Consulting Award was given to writer-director Aino Suni and producer Emilia Haukka for their project Abyss, granting them an in-depth online script consultancy. The Connecting Cottbus Producers Exchange Award was presented to Julia Elomäki, of Tekele Productions, for the project When Johan Johanaš Disappeared to the Mountains by Suvi West and Anssi Kömi, who will participate in cocoLAB, the East-West co-production market in Germany. Finally, the Göteborg Film Festival Award, which includes two full market badges for the Nordic Film Market and TV Drama Vision 2026, went to Khadar Ahmed for Thundering Smoke, hailed as “a cinematic fantasy with powerful social themes and strong international potential”.

Here is the list of award-winning projects at the 2025 Finnish Film Affair:

Best Fiction Project
Tell Everyone – Alli Haapasalo (Finland)
Producer: Teea Hyytiä (Helsinki-filmi)

Best Nordic Project
Pigtown – Pekka Ollula (Finland/Sweden/Greece)
Producers: Pekka Ollula (Oohlala Pictures), Daniel Lägersten (GötaFilm)

Best Documentary Project
Sense and Sensibility – Hanna Nordenswan (Finland)
Producer: Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen (Zone2 Pictures Oy)

Best F-Weird Project
Boobs – Milla Puolakanaho, Juha Ilmari Laine (Finland)
Producer: Tero Suomela (Animagency Oy)

MIDPOINT Consulting Award
Abyss – Aino Suni (Finland)
Producers: Emilia Haukka, Jussi Rantamäki (Aamu Film Company)

Connecting Cottbus Producers Exchange Award
Julia Elomäki – Tekele Productions (Finland)

Göteborg Film Festival Award
Thundering Smoke – Khadar Ahmed (France/Finland/Belgium)
Producers: Sébastien Onomo (Special Touch Studios), Minna Haapkylä (Rabbit Films), Adrien Chef (Paul Thiltges Distributions)