Elisa Kujala, Sawandi Groskind, Siiri Halko, Rabbe Sandström and Katri Myllyniemi. Photo: Riitta Supperi
Two of the projects selected are documentaries. Rabbe Sandström’s Kuinka kuolemme explores end-of-life care and the experiences of volunteers training for it. Katri Myllyniemi’s untitled project is a documentary about cows living on ultra-modern dairy farms and the machinery that controls their happiness and efficiency.
In fiction, Kaivo (directed by Siiri Halko) is an absurdist drama about twenty-year-old Emmi, whose role as a responsible helper and foster sister is threatened when the biological parents of Iida, who was placed in the family as a child and is now becoming an adult, decide to swim out of a well and back into their daughter’s life. Elisa Kujala’s Elektra, in turn, is about the prejudices of the gaming world and one woman’s struggle for a more equal future.
Sawandi Groskind’s experimental Skarpnabba spans over half a century between memory and history. Starting with Werner in the 60s Ostrobothnia and continuing with Ada in present-day Helsinki, it explores the older rural and the newer urban landscapes of Finland through numerous natural, historical and cultural references .
Financial support and international mentoring
The five projects selected will each receive €55,000 to develop and carry out the project. Furthermore, each project will be provided with a tailor-made individual development plan and assigned a dedicated mentor. Through international mentoring, the filmmakers in the programme will also be able to expand their networks outside Finland, and their works will immediately gain international visibility within the industry.
The aim of the roughly six-month development period is to turn the ideas into strong work proposals that can succeed in a competitive market, including internationally.
“As a former producer, I know that this is a project that has been much needed in Finland. In the past, Finnish filmmakers had to go on paid international development programmes. Now we can finally offer a similar service in Finland – and with the added bonus that the projects selected for the programme receive financial support for their development in addition to mentoring,” says Ulla Simonen, Director of AVEK.
The Kehittämö – Talent Development Lab programme is implemented by AVEK and made possible with the financial support of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, which will provide the audiovisual industry with almost one million euros in additional funding over a period of four years.
Inquiries and additional information:
Ulla Simonen, Director of AVEK
ulla.simonen(at)avek.kopiosto.fi, +358 44 790 0344
www.kopiosto.fi/avek
