Lights, camera, equal action: Finland seeks international partners to light up global screens with diverse films and TV

As the scales of equality in the global entertainment industry begin to ever-so-slowly balance, female actors, screenwriters, filmmakers, and producers are blazing a trail across small and silver screens.

Combining world-class moviemaking and TV facilities with a creative vibe that puts equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of film-making, the country is leading the way in encouraging women and creative talent from diverse backgrounds to build on its moving-making success, giving rise to some of the brightest new female talents.

2022 is proving a stellar film-making year for Finland, achieving international recognition and plaudits for several new films premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival.

Highlights include Girl Picture, a tender portrayal of lesbian first love from Finnish director Alli Haapasalo, and Hatching, an atmospheric psychological drama directed by Hanna Bergholm.

Girl Picture was the winner of Audience Award (World Cinema - Dramatic) at Sundance Film Festival 2022 and nominated for the Grand Jury award. 2022 Berlin International Film festival nominated the film for Chrystal Bear (Generation 14plus - Best Film) and Teddy award (Best Feature Film). Photo Ilkka Saastamoinen

Welcoming international partners

Finland now has ambitious plans to build on its big-screen success and harness the global rise in streaming platforms. The country is inviting international partners to join its flourishing film and drama-making community, where it is already making serious inroads into the TV and film industries around the globe.

Transport, the international hit TV drama that delves into the criminal activity of horsemeat trafficking and money laundering, is just one example of a highly successful co-production between Finland’s Tekele Productions and renowned Flemish producer, Helen Perquy, founder of jonnydepony.be.

Netflix and Finnish Broadcaster YLE’s co-production of drama dance series Dance Brothers, will soon be aired to international audiences, while futuristic mystery drama, Next of Kin, set in Helsinki is expected to captivate audiences around the globe.

MIPDrama showcasing three Finnish series by Elisa Viihde

International buyers and distribution partners interested in Finnish dramas at early-stage production will have an opportunity to take a first look at three much-anticipated series from Finnish streaming service Elisa Viihde at MIPDrama this Sunday.

• Evilside a Scandi Noir thriller centred around the murder of a teenage boy in a fishing village in the Oulu region of northern Finland.
• Summer of Sorrow a drama set in the early 1980s about the disappearance of a small child in the idyllic Finnish suburb of Munkkivuori.
• The Invincibles is a political thriller set in the Helsinki banking world of the early 1990s.

Fresh content, attractive incentives

Hanna Vuorinen, Head of Audio-visual Productions Promotions at Business Finland, says: "The past five years have been ground-breaking for films and TV series produced in Finland, as we gain a reputation worldwide for high-quality, original content that is exciting and different."

Finland has responded to a spike in demand for its content with a slew of new series. Over thirty will be produced this year alone, a 20% uptick on 2018.

Vuorinen continues: "The success of women in film and TV is based on an equal and stable country, and Finland is proud to offer this to international partners. We are also voted one of the best countries in the world for gender equality."

”Finland is no stranger to producing outstanding female talent – many of our highly respected directors and producers have worked in the industry for decades. The combination of attractive financial incentives for film-making and a global need for unique content has finally put Finland's exceptional creative talent on the world stage”, concludes Vuorinen.