Miia Tervo’s absurdist comedy drama The Missile walked away with the €3,000 prize for the best fiction project award at Finland’s Finnish Film Affair, which draws to a close today (September 22) in Helsinki.
The Missile is now in post-production. It is set in 1984 in Finnish Lapland, where a single mother of two children is trying to get over her violent ex-husband. She finds herself working at a local newspaper, as reports come in that a Soviet Union missile has shot across the Finnish border.
The project is produced by by Kaisla Viitala and Daniel Kuitunen for Helsinki-based Komeetta Filmi with Estonia’s Stellar Film.
Terva’s debut feature Aurora world premiered as the opening film at Göteborg Film Festival in 2019.
The international jury for best fiction and Nordic projects consisted of Franziska Bioh, acquisitions manager at Mubi; Steve Gravestock, former senior programmer at Toronto International Film Festival; and Josef Kullengård, head of industry at Göteborg Film Festival. The jury noted of the project: “The director’s personal voice can be heard in the timeless but also topical northern comedy, with plenty of local character and international potential.”
A further €3,000 prize from the market showcase was awarded for best Nordic project to Norway’s Lovable, from The Worst Person In The World producer Thomas Robsahm. TrustNordisk is already representing sales on the title, which is directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir. The drama, in post-production, unfolds as a woman goes through a crisis in her marriage and undergoes a life-changing process.
“This film has a distinctive but universal approach into the division of labour in modern relationships. It’s a compelling story with impressive potential to reach audiences around the world,” noted the jury.
Showtime In Helsinki’s pitch went down well with attendees, and also took home €3,000 for the best documentary project award. The Finnish doc looks at the gathering of 35 world leaders in Helsinki in July 1975, and its contribution to the beginning of the end of the Cold War. It is produced by Polygraf, with Arthur Franck directing.
The jury for the doc award consisted of Oleksandra Kravchenko, producer at Moon Man; Mita Suri; film programmer producer at Sheffield Doc/Fest; and Debra Zimmerman, executive director at Women Make Movies.
Buzzy projects
Also popular with international attendees was Marika Harjusaari’s development project The Mire, a horror about an outcast midwife with a dark secret, set in an 1800s Finnish village. directs, Silva Mysterium is producing.
Another horror to spark attention was Finnish title Will-o’-the-Wisp, also in development, about a girl who drowns in 19th-century Finland, and is given the chance to live again. Director Hanna Västinsalo’s debut feature, Palimpsest, premiered last year at Venice. Thinkseed Films is the producer.
In the Nordic Selection, Elina Sahlin’s coming-of-age drama Glaspest was also well received. It follows a 13-year-old girl in rural Sweden, whose life takes a devastating turn. Swedish outfit Makeriet is the producer on board.
Virpi Suutari ’s documentary pitch Once Upon A Time In The Forest (working title) attracted attention. The project is about the radical young people protecting one of the last coniferous forest areas in Europe. The Finnish title, currently in the edit, is produced by Euphoria Film. Maija Hirvonen’s Neurotypes was another non-fiction project to pique interest . It focuses on a child on the autism spectrum who decides to fix society’s structures that are making life difficult for children such as herself. It is produced by Finland’s Mouka Filmi.
The Finnish Film Affair is the industry strand of Helsinki International Film Festival. It has become a must-attend event for the Nordic industry and is gaining traction further afield, throughout Europe, the UK and US, thanks in part to its popular post-award ceremony sauna evening. Its 12th edition recorded its highest attendance to-date, with over 500 delegates on-site.
“We are really happy to keep growing our audiences both internationally and in Finland, and to keep attracting new attendees too. A third of our attendees attended Finnish Film Affair for the first time this year!” said Maria Pirkkalainen-Barber, head of Finnish Film Affair and Nordic Flair.
No comments yet