How does it feel to be ‘on the other side of the table’ and in the number 1 film job in Finland?
Lasse Saarinen: I have been here half a year. It has been interesting as I’ve been a ‘client’ of this building the last 30 years! I just have to change my views 180 degrees. It’s a unique opportunity. …

... and you’re now the one saying no, which is the hardest…
LS: Let’s say the film commissioners are the ones with the tough job. I just have to agree with themJ

Finnish films are doing very well domestically with nearly 30% market share over the last two years, and internationally 2017 started extremely well with competition slots at A festivals for The Good Postman in Sundance, Tom of Finland in Göteborg, The Other Side of Hope in Berlin. How can this success be sustained? LS: Well there is no one secret. But the film commissioners here have taken the right support decisions and done a tremendous job. We have an amazing variety across the 20 or so feature length films that we support each year, and if we get such a good audience domestically, it’s partly because we cater for different audiences.

2017 should be another strong year. We have started well for example with the children’s film Jill, Joy & the Mysterious Stranger [almost 130,000 admissions in 2 weeks); Aki Kaurismäki’s The Other Side of Hope is playing now in cinemas, and mainstream films coming up include Tom of Finland, Miami, Lapland Odyssey 3, the historical films The Eternal Road, The Unknown Soldier to cite a few. We have also interesting new directors such as Jussi Hiltunen [The Law of the Land] and Hannaleena Hauru [Thick Lashes of Lauri Mäntyvaara].

What is your overall production budget for 2017?
LS: We have around €21m for film development and production. For TV drama production, we have around €1m. This budget has remained stable over the last 4-5years. We should be able to provide a greater support to the booming sector of TV drama and I’ve discussed this with our Minister of Culture and Education.

Mid-range films are the ones struggling. How do you plan to help small independent producers sustain their business in today’s changing market?
LS: The Film Foundation took the right decision in 2015 to support slate funding and to remove the production support cap of 50% or €800,000 per film. This is important for films that can’t expect high revenues from the theatrical and ancillary markets. These middle films are actually those doing well on the festival circuit, so it’s all the more important to support them in a more efficient way.

What are your main challenges and goals for this year?
LS: One of the main decisions that I have to take soon is to appoint new film commissioners for the next three years, with possibility to two more years. I will also turn towards our Culture Minister to ask for more funds and help producers look for more co-production partners to be less dependent on public funding.

A 25% cash rebate incentive as just been introduced. This should boost the local production sector and make Finland more competitive…How will you collaborate with Tekes (Finnish funding agency for Innovation)?
LS: Tekes is overseeing the funds under the Ministry of Industry. They take their own grant decisions. We have promoted it in Berlin and I’m sure this will attract a lot of interest. We have lobbied to get this incentive over the last five-six years and it was wonderful to get this support. The €10m investment each year is expected to generate at least a €40m production spend in the country.

A new Film Law is in preparation. What major changes are expected?
LS: This is indeed the most important thing for the Film Foundation and I’m in the working group to draft the Film Law. One of my objectives is to make sure it is adapted to the changes in the audio-visual industry and allows us for more flexibility with regards to our funding decisions. After several months of careful preparation, we’re now ready to start writing the statutes.

So what is the calendar?
LS: The statutes should be ready before the summer, then the Film proposal will go to Parliament that will announce its decision in the autumn, and the new Film Law should be effective early 2018.

Film distribution in the digital age has been revolutionized and many institutes have had to adapt their guidelines to make them platform-neutral. What is the Foundation doing in this area?
LS: I’m planning to draft new distribution guidelines to make them platform-neutral as well. But we have to be patient as the government is focusing on the new Film Law, so the changes to our distribution guidelines won’t be implemented before 2018.

Finland is celebrating 100 years of independence this year. How are you involved?
LS: We have invested almost €10m in a 100-year label attached to over ten films (both feature films and documentaries and fiction films) such as Tom of Finland, The Unknown Soldier, The Other Side of Hope, The Eternal Road. Secondly, together with the film archives, we have prepared a Finnish film collection that will travel abroad throughout 2017.

On a Nordic level, are you satisfied with the relationship with your colleagues? What areas could be improved?
LS: Surprisingly, it’s still a bit difficult to co-produce with Sweden (harder than with Germany for instance) and our films still don’t travel enough in the rest of the Nordics. Because of our language we are still the outsiders, but on an institutional level, we enjoy the good relationships with our Nordic colleagues.

What are your views on the Single Digital Market?
LS: If things go badly, the European Commission will be responsible for destroying the film financing of smaller countries. We are advising our Ministries as well as taking part in discussions within EFAD to lobby Brussels against this. Let’s see what will happen.