Helsinki’s Finnish Film Affair Offers a Buzzing Look at Where Local Cinema Is Headed

The Finnish Film Affair wrapped up last night in Helsinki, and the city’s Love & Anarchy Film Festival brought together genre filmmakers, producers and sales agents from around the world. The 15th edition of the festival, which ran as part of the larger festival’s sections, saw a packed schedule of panels, pitches and screenings.

Nightborn, directed by Hanna Bergholm, kicked things off with a genre feature. It was followed by the inaugural Nordic Genre Lab and a full day of panels on Nordic genre’s market value and positioning. The highlight was a masterclass from XYZ Films about how Tommy Wirkola’s The Trip ended up becoming Hollywood’s Over Your Dead Body.

Lydia Taylerson, the festival’s honcho, opened the event with a clear statement of intent. “Genre films and series are definitely on the rise, including in Finland where we do have a history of dark, quirky noirs,” she said. She explained why the Nordic Genre Lab was created: “When Claire Willats [Two Magpies Entertainment, former Netflix executive] and Laura Laaksonen [Finnish producer, PR expert] approached us with the idea to create a Nordic Genre Lab and use the FFA as a hub, it felt like perfect timing as we wanted to replace Love & Anarchy’s ‘weird’ section, which was a bit vague as a concept.”

Pitch Day and the Sales Response

Thursday’s pitch day gathered projects from body horror to kids comedies, dramas and documentaries. Industry players responded strongly. Mike Runagall, managing director of London-based Altitude Film Sales, called the festival a regular stop on his calendar. “I came eight years ago for a panel. But I now feel that someone from my company should come every year. It’s a real creative hub here,” he said. He plans to follow a handful of genre projects.

Sydney Brumfield, Searchlight’s juror for the Nordic Genre Lab, agreed. “Finnish Film Affair organizers did an excellent job in selecting the projects because the quality was amazing,” she said.

The Numbers Behind the Event

A record number of people showed up at the event. A total of 630 attendees signed up for FFA, and 220 meetings between 45 different people were arranged. Across the festival’s program, which spans more than 20 sections, 121 short films and 136 feature-length films from 80 countries were screened. The attendance total was 50,000.

Ståhlberg’s closing speech thanked all participants, mentors of the training programs Nordic Flair and Nordic Genre Lab, and experts who sat on the 12 panels. She noted that the panels had been great, that she’d learned about above-the-line liaisons and IP and remake rights, and that the event had shown many different genres. She closed with a call to action: “Let’s help each other tell different stories, about different cultures. At Love and Anarchy, we do believe that with film and TV, with love and anarchy we can make the world a better place.”

Funding and the New CEO

On Wednesday, Stuba Nikula, the new CEO of the Finnish Film Foundation, took the stage to open the panel sessions. He shared two pieces of good news. On Tuesday, the Finnish government submitted its 2027 budget to Parliament, and funding for the local industry via the Finnish Film Foundation should remain stable at €23 million ($26.2 million) a year.

The second piece of good news came from the EU’s AVMS Directive. Once the law is passed, “hopefully within a month,” said Nikula, the money collected from payment obligations for streaming services will be collected in 2027 and funnelled into the industry in 2028. The money is expected to generate between €3.5 million to €7 million ($4 million to $8 million).

Comparing Finland to Norway

Finland often looks at Norway with envy. The country has a similar population size but three times the film support, with funding matched by regional and equity investors. Kjetil Omberg, the Norwegian Film Institute’s rep, addressed the comparison at a panel. He acknowledged that Norway has a good funding system on a national and regional level, but warned that the broader picture is not bright. “Public funding is decreasing, deferrals from producers and partners in post is going up, while actual private money is not flowing,” he said, estimating equity funding at only 1% of overall investment in film across the EU.

He urged producers to stop chasing single projects. “People run from one project to the next but don’t build,” he said, urging indie producers to “be more responsible.” “We have to look at the type of stories we make, who sees them. Because it’s also about who is being reached and how. The audience is key.”

The EU’s Changing Funding Landscape

Karlovy Vary’s Hugo Rosak, head of industry, and Julie-Jeanne Regnault of the European Producers Club called on the film sector to unite and fight for film infrastructure protection. Their remarks came during a session marking the close of the EU’s 35-year-old Media Program, which is ending in 2027. From now on, audiovisual funding will sit alongside money for culture, media and civil society under the mega-Agora EU banner. “Through our training programs, festivals, we contribute to the circulation of films. We do have a solid infrastructure, an eco-system that works, even if sometimes we’re not so good at flagging our success. We need to stick together and make sure the next EU program will be industry-specific to carry the goals and values of EU cinema,” Rosak noted.

Lessons From Hollywood

At a panel about global franchises moderated by Variety’s Marta Balaga, experts Danny Cannon (“CSI” franchise, “Gotham”), U.K. director/producer, and U.S.-born Jodi Hildebrand (“Marvel,” “Condé Nast”) offered advice for indie producers looking to stretch their IP and coin further. The trio advised building top-tier pilots or first films within franchises, since these are where stories live and where characters eventually return to.

Cannon also offered a warning about holding back. “Don’t hold back when you make a pilot – use everything you have, as you never know if you will get other seasons,” he said. He was in Helsinki to prepare for the Mediawan Nordic noir series “The Fai.”

Key facts:
– 630 attendees signed up for FFA
– 220 meetings between 45 people were facilitated
– 121 shorts and 136 films from 80 countries played
– Attendance reached 50,000
– Finnish Film Foundation funding: €23 million ($26.2 million) a year
– AVMS Directive funds: €3.5 million to €7 million ($4 million to $8 million)

Genre storytelling was clearly what the audience wanted at the event. The pitch day drew attention from sales chiefs at major studios. The funding announcement gives Finnish filmmakers some reassurance, even as the EU landscape continues to change.

The closing speech captured the spirit of the event. “We all need different content at different times of our lives,” Ståhlberg said. That sentiment rang through the whole week: Helsinki’s film community wants to tell different stories, about different cultures, and believes that with film and TV, with love and anarchy, they can make the world a better place.

Source material: “Nine Takeaways From Helsinki’s Finnish Film Affair, From Buzzy Titles to Hollywood Whisperers,” Variety.

film festival · Finnish Film Affair · Helsinki · Nordic Genre Lab · Streaming