Finnish writer-director Selma Vilhunen and producer Venla Hellstedt, who were previously company leaders at Helsinki-based Tuffi Films, will join Dionysos Films from the start of 2024.
Tuffi has produced titles such as Stupid Young Heart (Berlinale Crystal Bear winner), Hobbyhorse Revolution and the 2014 Academy Award nominated short Do I Have to Take Care of Everything? – all directed by Vilhunen. In addition to Vilhunen’s works, Tuffi’s other credits include Jenni Toivoniemi’s Games People Play, the feminist omnibus Force of Habit and Marja Pyykkö’s youth film Sihja, The Rebel Fairy.
Tuffi was known for its female-centric work, and now they join the all female leadership team at Dionysos.
The move comes after Tuffi went through a period of financial instability in 2023, as with many other independent production companies. The company – which went into a debt reconstruction programme in June 2023, had produced 40 projects over the last 13 years. It is now closed for new productions but continues as a legal entity for rights and royalties to pay its debt.
Riina Hyytiä and director-screenwriter Johanna Vuoksenmaa founded Dionysos in 2008, with producers Leena Mäenpää-Bentley and Nora Kuusisto joining in recent years.
Hyytiä said, “We have visited each other’s companies over the years and discovered that we share similar values and ambitions. Our industry is facing huge changes and the outlook is not very clear. Consequently, we have a choice of either start turning the lights off, minimizing activities, or invest in the future to make sure that the light will shine even brighter in the future. We chose the latter.”
Hellstedt added, “I am very thankful for Dionysos reaching out to us and excited about the new beginning. Dionysos Films has done ground-breaking work for a long time, produced significant works and reached impressive audience numbers over the years. It is marvellous to get to work together and to see what kind of stories we can produce together.”
Vilhunen noted that she is currently working on her “most challenging project” – the feature adaptation of the novel Defiance by Tommi Kinnunen. The project will now be produced by Dionysos, they hope to shoot it in spring 2025.
The story of Defiance follows five Finnish women who had been working for the German army in northern Norway in the last months of World War II; they escape while being transported to a prisoner camp and began a perilous journey home across the tundra and burnt-down villages of Lapland.
Kirsikka Saari, a frequent writer for Tuffi projects such as Stupid Young Heart, will continue working as a freelancer.
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