Production support to eight new films in October

Finnish Film Foundation’s board gave a total of 704,000 euros in production support in October.

Image: Truth.com / Making Movies

The supported projects include five documentary films, one short film, and two minority co-productions, one of which is a feature film and the other a documentary series.

Making Movies is in production with Truth.com, a documentary feature by Tonislav Hristov. The film follows a journalist investigating fake news and trolling in the Balkans. Hristov is known for films such as The Magic Life of V (2019), which premiered in Sundance and Berlinale, and The Good Postman (2016), which screened at IDFA and Sundance.

Fruitcakes – The Dawn of Drag. Image: Juha-Matti Karhi’s archive / Polygraf.

Production company Polygraf received funding for Fruitcakes – The Dawn of Drag. The documentary feature about the Finnish drag queen pioneers is directed by Vesa Kuosmanen. It was pitched earlier this fall at Nordisk Panorama and Finnish Film Affair.

The Foundation also supported the upcoming film from the Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason, titled On Land and Sea. Pálmason’s previous film Godland premiered in Un Certain Regard in Cannes 2022. The Finnish co-production company of On Land and Sea is Aamu Film Company, known for films such as Family Time (Berlinale Encounters 2023), The Woodcutter Story (Cannes Critics’ Week 2022), and Compartment no. 6 (Cannes Official Competition 2021).

NB: The support sums include development and production support

Feature films

On Land and Sea (Hav og Land)
minority co-production DK-IS-FR-SE-FI
Director & scriptwriter: Hlynur Pálmason
Producer: Katrin Pors, Jussi Rantamäki, Didar Domehri
Finnish co-production company: Aamu Film Company
Production company: Snowglobe (Denmark)
Support sum: 160,000 euros

The lives of two families – Danish and Icelandic – are interconnected as they cultivate the rough land by the coast of Iceland through the changing seasons. Because of climate change, the Danish family decides to build a raft and sail to a part of the island which is better suited for living, but they soon come to understand that from now on, they live and die together.

Documentary films & series

Able Archer ’83 (Elämä ja yö)
Director & scriptwriter: Jani Peltonen
Producer: Kaarle Aho
Production company: Making Movies
Support sum: 52,000 euros

Autumn 1983. Nocturnal drive in the city of Helsinki. Nato’s nuclear war game.

Fruitcakes – The Dawn of Drag (Lumppukuningattaret)
Director & scriptwriter: Vesa Kuosmanen
Producer: Sandra Enkvist
Production company: Polygraf
Support sum: 182,000 euros

Jolanda, a retired archivist, has treasured memories of his beloved friend Mummo for decades. In 1979, they performed together in Finland’s first drag show Happy Gays. Now, with a filmmaker, Jolanda invites a new generation of queer drag artists to re-enact their friendship. As the performers explore Jolanda’s past and the challenges he faced as an outsider, they realize their freedom and pride are rooted in the struggles of those who came before them.

Mörkö
Director & scriptwriter: Emilia Hernesniemi
Producer: Venla Hellstedt
Production company: Dionysos Films
Support sum: 68,000 euros

Naurua pimeässä
Director, scriptwriter & producer: Jaana Puhakka
Production company: Elokuvatuotanto Kuvani
Support sum: 64,000 euros

Our Love (Vår kärlek)
series / minority co-production SE-FI
Directors & scriptwriters: Hannah Reinikainen, Lia Hietala
Producers: Melissa Lindgren, Marianne Mäkelä
Finnish co-production company: napafilms
Production company: Story (Sweden)
Support sum: 51,000 euros

Our Love follows a motley crew of teenagers. They are 14 years old, and the world seems full of opportunities. But suddenly puberty hits and all the drama that comes with it. Can their friendship survive the turbulence?

Truth.com
Director: Tonislav Hristov
Scriptwriters: Tonislav Hristov, Kaarle Aho
Producer: Kaarle Aho
Production company: Making Movies
Support sum: 160,000 euros

A documentary about fakes that fly while facts stay put. A female journalist takes on fake news and Russian trolls in the Balkans. Follow the money, find the sources.

Short films

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Director & scriptwriter: Teemu Nikki
Producer: Aino Suvanto
Production company: It’s Alive Films
Support sum: 55,000 euros