Sunday, April 29, 2012

Miracle spring for the Finnish cinema

Sixteen Finnish movies have had their premiere this year, and there are two more premieres to come before summer. This is exceptionally much in the little land of ours. But even more exceptional is these movies' success with the audiences. In the count of the Finnish Film Foundation earlier this month there were already over a million admissions to domestic movies in our country of 5,4 million inhabitants. The percentage of domestic cinema admissions was an incredible 44%.

This success is most importantly due to the talents of the film-makers. A strong basis has been established by the efforts of the Finnish Film Foundation. It has succeeded in raising the funding of the Finnish cinema to a new level. It has also consciously supported many-sidedness in film production together with its partners in tv companies.

From the perspective of art commercial success may be irrelevant, but cinema is both art and commerce, and without a strong commercial foundation film art cannot flourish either. A good example is the history of Italian cinema. When it was commercially at its most successful in the 1950s and the 1960s it reached also its highest artistic level.

the domestic premieres so far:
Vares - Kaidan tien kulkijat / The Path of the Righteous Men / 6.1.2012
Punaisen metsän hotelli (doc) / Red Forest Hotel / 13.1.2012
Rat King / 20.1.2012
Canned Dreams (doc) / Säilöttyjä unelmia / 27.1.2012
Hulluna Saraan / Love & Other Troubles / 27.1.2012
Vuosaari / Naked Harbour / 3.2.2012
Risto Räppääjä ja Viileä Venla / Ricky Rapper and Cool Wendy / 10.2.2012
Härmä / Once Upon a Time in the North / 17.2.2012
Kulman pojat / Fanatics / 24.2.2012
Tähtitaivas talon yllä / Stars Above / 2.3.2012
Kohta 18 / Almost 18 / 9.3.2012
Vares - Uhkapelimerkki / Gambling Chip / 16.3.2012
Taistelu Näsilinnasta 1918 / Conquest of the Näsilinna Palace 1918 / 23.3.2012
Saunavieras / [The Sauna Guest] / 23.3.2012
Rouva Presidentti (doc) / Madam President / 30.3.2012
Iron Sky / 4.4.2012

forthcoming during the next weeks:
Kovasikajuttu (doc) / The Punk Syndrome / 4.5.2012
Venäjän vapain mies (doc) / A Russian Libertine / 11.5.2012

From last year's movies Le Havre, Hiljaisuus / Silence, Avain Italiaan / The Italian Key, Herra Heinämäki / Mr. Hayhill, and Varasto / Storage have been successful in this year, too.

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