Finnish cinema today
From Lights in the Dusk to China and the stars: What can we expect from Finnish feature films now that the first decade of the 21st century is nearing its end?
Laitakaupungin valot (Lights in the Dusk) Aki Kaurismäki / Sputnik
The first Finnish feature film, Salaviinanpolttajat (The Moonshiners), was produced in 1907; thus, the second century of Finnish cinema is also at hand.
Solid foundation has been laid down over the past few years. In Finland, viewer ratings for Finnish films in cinemas have remained stable at between 15 and 25 per cent of total annual audiences since 1998. This figure ranks Finland among the top countries in Europe in terms of the popularity of homegrown films. And at international festivals, our success is better than average relative to our population of 5.2 million. Indeed, the number of awards earned by Finnish filmmakers abroad is still increasing from year to year.
Mies vailla menneisyyttä (The Man Without a Past, 2002) by Aki Kaurismäki won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and is, thanks to being sold to dozens of countries, the most widely distributed Finnish film of the decade. Melancholian kolme huonetta (Three Rooms of Melancholia, 2004), a documentary by Pirjo Honkasalo about children in Chechnya, has received awards at more than 20 festivals. Our most recent international star is Klaus Härö, whose run of success began with his début film, Näkymätön Elina (Elina: As If I Didn't Exist, 2002), winning the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
The three aforementioned directors also represent the broadening of styles and genres in Finnish cinema. Expectations have risen enormously thanks to the festival awards won by these and other films; and festivals in turn pave the way to the catalogues of sales companies and commercial distributors. Active producers have created the basis for attracting international funding to Finland and to Finnish film projects.
Jadesoturi (Jade warrior) by A.J. Annila / Blind Spot Pictures
Wuxia, animation and pioneers in distribution
Many of the international trends in contemporary films have been recycled from the history of cinema. In Finland, the firmer establishment of film production has led to indigenous subjects attracting international interest too.
One of the new additions to the gamut of Finnish cinema in the 2000s is animation. This is due to international networks and technical advances on the one hand, and to solid arts training and Finland's idiosyncratic visual approach on the other. The last-named aspect has already enjoyed a long run of success in the visual arts, textiles, design, graphic design and comics.
Keisarin salaisuus (The Emperor's Secret, 2006) by Riina Hyytiä, a children's film spin-off from a 3D-animated political satire series on TV, boldly opened play in the field of feature-length animated films. It will be followed by Röllin sydän (A Quest For A Heart, 2007) by Pekka Lehtosaari and Lentäjän poika (Way To The Stars, 2007) by Kari Juusonen and Michael Hegner. Trolls and forests in the former, and reindeer and winter in the latter, are very national settings, yet most of the funding for these films came from outside Finland
Another 2000s trend is genre films, also an echo from the past. A 'genre film' is a film immediately identifiable as belonging to a specific genre — such as the 1940s films noirs or spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s, or Kung Fu films of various descriptions.
Jadesoturi (Jade Warrior, 2006), a wuxia film (i.e. related to the genre of martial arts cinema) and the first film of A.J. Annila, is a blend of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, and Chinese mythology. Advance sales guaranteed it a market in several countries before it was completed. Jadesoturi also paved the way to China for Finnish films and attracted nearly half a million paying viewers in theatres and on DVD there.
The publishing of short films on portable devices is an interesting development, and the Internet too is expected to play a major role as a distribution channel in the future. The tribute to Star Trek created by Samuli Torssonen and Timo Vuorensola, Star Wreck — In the Pirkinning (2006), is a case in point of the potential for do-it-yourself filmmaking enabled by cheaper technology. A collaborative effort by amateurs and film students, the film attracted a huge number of downloads online and a cult following, but TV and DVD sales subsequently demonstrated that this was a test case in turning the traditional cinema value chain back to front.
There are also special features in the international success of Finnish documentaries. The basis for a strong documentary sector was laid in the 1990s. Very subjective topics related to family and gender developed into universal depictions of humanity. Many films demonstrate that Finns have a close acquaintance with Russia and the Baltic states.
Festival success has spawned a huge amount of interest in Finnish documentary makers among international investors. TV networks have experience in broadcasting documentaries and have hitherto been a major channel for them, but documentaries have also seen a new boom in theatres.
Animations, genre films and network-based and online-based films are new and growing trends in Finland. Their future means of distribution can only be guessed at. Thanks to strong fan bases, such works find extremely satisfied audiences all over the world. In addition to their innovative content, they also involve merchandising with a huge commercial potential
Production companies grow stronger
Alongside all these new developments, the traditional theatre-based cinema has remained strong. A new producer-driven practice of filmmaking has emerged alongside the auteur practice of the 1980s and 1990s, as audience numbers have been accepted as one of the indicators of a film's success in addition to qualitative criteria.
Solar Films, the production company led by Markus Selin, has been, by any standard, a pillar of the Finnish cinema in the 2000s. The films he has produced have topped the list in box office ratings in Finland between 2003 and 2006: Matti (Matti — Hell Is For Heroes), a film by Aleksi Mäkelä about former multiple ski-jumping world champion and Olympic medallist Matti Nykänen in 2006; Paha Maa (Frozen Land) by Aku Louhimies in 2005; Vares by Aleksi Mäkelä in 2004; and Pahat pojat (Bad Boys), also by Mäkelä, in 2003. The last of these racked up the biggest audience figures recorded in Finland since 1989 (614,643).
Most of the films produced by Solar Films have been huge successes on the Finnish market. The morality tales of modern Finland directed by Aku Louhimies, Paha maa and Valkoinen kaupunki (Frozen City, 2006), have also won festival awards and international distribution contracts. Ilkka Matila at Matila Röhr Productions produced Äideistä parhain (Mother of Mine, 2005) by Klaus Härö, which has also enjoyed extensive success both at festivals and commercially. A good example of how to combine the roles of a financially savvy producer and an auteur is Aki Kaurismäki's work in his production company, Sputnik.
Since the start of the present century, the number of Finnish film premieres has remained steady at 10 to 14 per year. The inadequate funding problem seems to have led to even the most distinguished directors not being able or willing to launch a feature film project more frequently than once every three or even five years. As a result, both directors and other artistic personnel such as cinematographers have sought international opportunities. For example, Klaus Härö directed his most recent film Uusi ihminen (The New Man, 2007) in Sweden, using a Finnish camera and sound crew but principally with Swedish funding.
New creators and original works
Meanwhile, new filmmakers face a long and rocky road when trying to break into the business. There have been successes with original scripts firmly rooted in contemporary Finnish society, such as the tale of young nouveau riche adult by Johanna Vuoksenmaa in Nousukausi (Upswing, 2003), an exploration of the importance of family as a source of wellbeing by Juha Koiranen in Rock'n'roll Never Dies (2007), and studies of disturbed young people by Petri Kotwica in Koti-ikävä (Homesick, 2005) and J.P. Siili in Hymypoika (Young Gods, 2003).
The social and political dimensions seem to be doing well in new Finnish cinema. Aleksi Salmenperä, who made a promising début with the comedy Lapsia ja aikuisia (Producing Adults, 2004), focused in his second film Miehen työ (A Man's Job, 2007) on a man who becomes unemployed and decides to save his family by starting to sell sexual services. It is black humour, but also a startling indictment of our time and our lives. Here, seeking solace and support in one's nearest and dearest is no longer possible. There is no time or space for it, as the father of the family imagines that he's simply gotta do what a man's gotta do: provide for his family and save face, whatever the cost.
From entertainment tax to copyright economics and the cult of stardom
The status of Finnish cinema in recent years has gone through a major change, even bigger than the complete reversal of attitudes of the 1970s. Back then, the government began to regard Finnish cinema as culture, whereas it had previously been considered as more or less contemptible entertainment, punishable by an entertainment tax added on to ticket prices. The trend in the 2000s has been to see cinema more broadly, not only as art made by its creators but also as a business and a livelihood, as the industry has gained strength. Indeed, cinema output is a major component in the emergence of copyrights as a growth industry within the global economy.
Government funding for films increased steadily throughout the first half of the first decade of the 21st century, and at the time of writing (2007) it stands at about EUR 13 million per year; yet this is still less than half of what other Nordic countries contribute to the industry. Apart from the government, other major sources of funding for cinema, are TV networks purchasing preview and performance rights, film distributors, and other private and regional bodies, the last-mentioned having increased its contributions to film production. There is growth potential in co-productions. Finnish expertise in the film business is already in big demand and educational establishments strongly support that situation. The School of Motion Picture, Television and Production Design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki is one of the leading schools of its kind in Europe. Vocational training colleges also produce top-class professionals. Networking involving creators and the use of Finnish camera and sound crews and digital post-production expertise in European productions is already commonplace.
And on the other side of the camera, a breakthrough by Finnish stars has happened. Several Finnish actresses have been making their débuts in international leading roles. In addition to Minna Haapkylä with acclaimed performances in French films — Selon Charlie by Nicole Garcia (2006) and Le Serpent by Eric Barbier (2006) — expect to hear of Maria Heiskanen in Maria Larsson's Everlasting Moment by Jan Troell (2008).
By Petri Kemppinen, Production Consultant, Finnish Film Foundation