Amanda Pilke, Pekka Strang to topline banking drama The Invincibles

Filming of the eight-part series The Invincibles (Rosvopankki) will take place between Helsinki and Tallinn, in the fall and winter 2021-2022.

Matti Kinnunen (2021 Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize 2021 nominee for the series Cargo) - has co-written the script with Mikko Reitala (Laugh & Die). Moskito Television’s Head of Drama Mari Kinnunen serves as producer.

In the starring roles are Amanda Pilke (Purge, Forbidden Fruit), Pekka Strang (Mister8, Dogs Don’t Wear Pants), Hannu-Pekka Björkman (Shadow Lines) and Wanda Dubiel (Omerta 12/6).

The drama is inspired by the true events of Finland’s banking crisis of the late 1980s-early 1990s, which had long-lasting effects on the country. The story combines fictitious characters with real people, such as financier Christopher Wegelius (now in his 90s) who was then involved in the collapse of Skopbank, but finally cleared by the Finnish Supreme Court in 2000.

The story follows the young idealist economist Salla Nurminen (Amanda Pilke) from the Bank Inspectorate, who vows to fight corrupt bankers. She becomes supervisor of the central savings bank SKOP, run by the charismatic CEO Christopher Wegelius (Pekka Strang). SKOP is where young invincible lions can build fortunes, by speculating through a ‘strike and cash in’ approach. Soon Salla enters a cat and mouse game with Wegelius.

“The depression in the 1990s was an experience that transformed the psyche of the entire nation,” noted Mari Kinnunen. “The era also shares similarities with the current Covid crisis. And as with all major crisis, the illusion of a controlled reality comes crumbling down,” she noted.

For Petri Kemppinen, CEO at Aurora Studios, the story is totally relevant “as it deals with the back story of Finland's banking crisis, which lead to massive unemployment, the fall of small enterprises and a big recession in the 80s-90s. An era which many of the current leading politicians, including Prime Minister Sanna Marin, have experienced as small children, when lots of cuts were made in social costs, as they were deemed a necessity.“

The series received co-financing from the Finnish Film Foundation, Aurora Studios’ private equity fund - the Finnish Impact Film Fund, Nelonen Media, the Estonian Film Foundation and Estonia’s Stellar Films. The premiere on Finland’s leading streaming service Elisa Viihde Viaplay is set for the fall 2023.