Over 6.4 million euros of production support from the Finnish Film Foundation in March

22 films received production support in March.

Image: Klaus Härö’s next film Blue Baby stars Oona Airola and Alma Pöysti. Photo: Lasse Lecklin / Making Movies.

In the first support meeting of the year, the Finnish Film Foundation’s Board gave 6,451,700 euros of production support to 11 feature films, eight documentary films, two short films and one VR project. Three feature films and one documentary film are minority co-productions.

Four of the feature films received production support in the 50/50 scheme intended for mainstream films with a large audience potential.

Klaus Härö (The Fencer, Never Alone) will direct a feature film about the crisis in the care industry, starring Oona Airola (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki) and Alma Pöysti (Fallen Leaves, Orenda). The film is written by Kirsi Vikman and Jimmy Karlson, and it will be produced by Kaarle Aho and Kai Nordberg for Making Movies.

Dome Karukoski (Tolkien, The Beast Must Die) is directing his first Finnish-language film since Tom of Finland (2017). Hippos is a modern romantic drama about two people who meet at a wedding, written by Karukoski and Emmi-Liia Sjöholm. The film is produced by Marko Talli for Yellow Film & TV.

NB: The support sums below include development and production support

Feature Films

Black Water
minority co-production PO-EE-FI
Director: Aga Woszczyńska
Scriptwriters: Aga Woszczyńska, Lukasz Czapski
Finnish co-production company: napafilms
Producer: Agnieszka Wasiak
Production company: Lava Films (Poland)
Support sum: 200,000 euros

A vacation in Åland takes a sudden turn when the husbands of two couples disappear one by one, leaving their partners alone on the island in the middle of a sudden ecological disaster. The oil accident in the Baltic Sea forces the women to work together even though distrust of the locals, the police and each other grows.

Blue Baby (Hetki ennen valoa)
Director: Klaus Härö
Scriptwriters: Kirsi Vikman, Jimmy Karlsson
Producers: Kaarle Aho, Kai Nordberg
Production company: Making Movies
Support sum: 900,000 euros

A drama about two women and a new born baby in the middle of nurses’ strike. A specialist nurse is given responsibility for a baby boy with a serious heart condition. She is left balancing between her own family, the baby boy and her loyalty for the nurses’ cause.

Cancel
Director: Tuukka Temonen
Scriptwriter: Pietari Vihula
Producers: Jukka Helle, Hanna Virolainen, Markus Selin
Production company: Solar Films
Support sum: 430,000 euros

The super-popular social media stars Niko, Santtu, and Weksi have ended up acting in a TV series. During the wrap party, Santtu’s phone is stolen, setting off a fast-paced series of events as the boys try to track down the thief. Sensitive material starts leaking from the phone to the public, and the pressure to find the phone increases. At its worst, this could result in the cancellation of a major partnership deal and the collapse of their popularity. The boys desperately try to retrieve the materials, as they don’t want to end up “canceled.”

Fjord
minority co-production RO-NO-SE-DK-FI
Director & scriptwriter: Cristian Mungiu
Finnish co-production company: Aamu Film Company
Producer: Tudor Reu
Production company: Mobra Film (Romania)
Support sum: 200,000 euros

A religious family from Romania moves to the countryside of Norway. When their son shows up at school with some bruises on his body, the community asks itself, if the religious education the Gheorghiu children get, based on strict discipline and tolerating physical corrections could be the cause.

Hippos (Virtahevot)
50/50 production support
Director: Dome Karukoski
Scriptwriters: Emmi-Liia Sjöholm, Dome Karukoski
Producer: Marko Talli
Production company: Yellow Film & TV
Support sum: 600,000 euros

Kaija Koo
50/50 production support
Director: Selma Vilhunen
Scriptwriter: Ilona Ahti
Producer: Rimbo Salomaa
Production company: Solar Films
Support sum: 560,000 euros

Ladies of Steel 2 (Teräsleidit 2)
50/50 production support
Director: Pamela Tola
Scriptwriters: Pamela Tola, Karoliina Lindgren, Aleksi Bardy
Producers: Aleksi Bardy, Anniina Leppänen, Sirkka Rautiainen
Production company: Helsinki-filmi
Support sum: 600,000 euros

Lapland War (Lapin sota)
Director: Aku Louhimies
Scriptwriters: Antti Tuuri, Aku Louhimies
Producers: Andrei Alén, Aku Louhimies, Kiira Tiainen, Mikko Tenhunen
Production company: Backman & Hoderoff
Support sum: 1,000,000 euros

Lapland War, set in 1944 during the Lapland War, is a survival story. It’s a tale of forgiveness, both on a national and personal level. The film seeks answers to what it means to be human and what our purpose here is. Based on Antti Tuuri’s novel Rauta-antura (The Iron Boot), the film offers a historically accurate portrayal. It follows the journey of a few individuals, told from their perspective, as they travel there and back.

Lex Julia
Director & scriptwriter: Laura Hyppönen
Producers: Merja Ritola, Essi Haukkamaa
Production company: Greenlit Productions
Support sum: 775,000 euros

Julia, early 30s, travels to her new friend Anna’s island villa for a late summer weekend. When Anna introduces her husband, JP, Julia recognises him as her date-rapist of fifteen years earlier. Both Julia and JP keep their past acquaintance a secret from Anna, who grows increasingly uneasy about the tension between her husband and her new friend. Over the weekend the simmering conflicts between the trio deepen.

Look at Me Now
minority co-production SE-FI
Director: Anders Hazelius
Scriptwriter: Jessika Jankert
Finnish co-production company: Lucy Loves Drama
Producers: Anna-Klara Carlsten, Oskari Huttu
Production company: B-Reel Films
Support sum: 150,000 euros

A gripping drama about a boy with a God-given voice who struggles to make it his own.

Wingman 2 (Luottomies 2 – Lepoloma)
50/50 production support
Director & scriptwriter: Kari Ketonen
Producers: Jonna Enroth, Paavo Tervonen, Antti Luusuaniemi
Production company: Red Carpet Film&tv
Support sum: 600,000 euros

Juhis’s innocent Tinder date abroad sets off a snowballing comedic chain of events that sweeps up the entire familiar “Luottomies” crew.

Documentary Films

Featherless (Lintumies)
Director & scriptwriter: Kaapo Kamu
Producers: Kaapo Kamu, Siiri Siltala
Production company: Kaapo Kamu
Support sum: 50,000 euros

Featherless is a documentary film about letting go and the identity crisis associated with retirement. It reflects on our society’s difficulty in recognizing the value of individuals even when they are no longer at their most productive.

Näkymätön vihollinen
Directors & scriptwriters: Ann-Mari Leinonen, Einari Paakkanen
Producers: Kimmo Paananen, Pasi Riiali
Production company: Filmbutik Oulu
Support sum: 155,000 euros

ORSOQ – Seasons of Solitude
minority co-production GL-FI
Director & scriptwriter: Inuk Silis Høegh
Finnish co-production company: Pystymetsä
Producers: Emile Hertling Péronard, Outi Rousu
Production company: Ánorâk Film (Greenland)
Support sum: 45,000 euros

The very first Greenlandic-Finnish documentary film ORSOQ – Seasons of Solitude is an exploration of man’s longing for solitude. In an ambitious cinematic form, the film zooms in on people who have voluntarily chosen a life of loneliness. But who – no matter what they do – remain caught between the calmness of isolation and the need for community. The film is a philosophical inquiry, a visual poem about the spaces between belonging and solitude.

Second Acts (Portti)
Director & scriptwriter: Anu Kuivalainen
Producer: Markku Tuurna
Production company: Filmimaa
Support sum: 173,000 euros

Second Acts is a documentary film about metamorphosis, about how people use art to break out of their shells and grow new wings. A person has a new opportunity to make moral choices and have the freedom to influence the course of their life through their own decisions, even though we were each dealt with different cards in childhood.

Secret Reading Club
Directors: Shakiba Adil, Elina Hirvonen
Scriptwriters: Elina Hirvonen, Shakiba Adil
Producer: Marko Talli
Production company: Yellow Film & TV
Support sum: 123,000 euros

Three Afghan women secretly film their lives in a documentary film that bridges the experiences between Anne Frank in the 1940s Amsterdam, filmmaker Shakiba Adil’s childhood in the 1990s Kabul and the Afghan women of today – and cherishes the triumph of humanity against oppression.

Simo Was Here (Simo kävi täällä)
Director, scriptwriter & producer: PV Lehtinen
Production company: Cineparadiso
Support sum: 3,700 euros

Songs Will Never Rust (Arja Saijonmaa – Minä ja Mikis)
Director, scriptwriter & producer: Marko Talli
Production company: Yellow Film & TV
Support sum: 75,000 euros

The Soul of Trees (Metsän sydän)
Director: Markku Laine
Scriptwriters: Markku Laine, Petri Keto-Tokoi
Producer: Kirsi Mattila
Production company: Third Eye Films
Support sum: 32,000 euros

The Soul of Trees is a mesmerizing odyssey into the secret world of trees, unveiling their interconnected lives and the breathtaking biodiversity flourishing within the woods. The documentary revolves around the main character of the story, an ancient oak, the Tree of Life. The oak serves as an ancient source of wisdom, narrating the cycle of life, the power of forests, and their biodiversity, emphasizing the interconnectedness and value of all life in nature.

Short Films

Kaapissa
Director: Basha Troni
Scriptwriter: Habib Hajzeri
Producers: Basha Troni, Malin Hemming
Production company: Tetra Film
Support sum: 25,000 euros

Santa’s Holiday
animated
Director: Leevi Lemmetty
Scriptwriter: Leo Viirret
Producers: Antti Haikala, Timo Suomi
Production company: Anima Vitae
Support sum: 70,000 euros

Myry is a super responsible small elf girl who gets appointed to an impossible task. She’s supposed to supervise a work-a-holic elf called Arthur during Santa’s holiday.

VR

Alone at Night (Ensam i mörkret)
Director & scriptwriter: Beata Harju
Producers: Hanna Hemilä, Beata Harju
Production company: Handle Productions
Support sum: 33,000 euros (NB: sum corrected on March 21, 2025)

When a woman’s evening walk turns scary, she must evade hostile strangers and a stalking bouncer to reach her surprise birthday party.