WRITTEN BY: Annika Pham
Miia Tervo’s debut feature won seven statuettes including Best Film at Wednesday evening’s on-site film awards ceremony.
Besides Best Film, Aurora also picked up Jussi awards for Best Directing, Screenplay, Main Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Costume Design.
The dramedy about a party girl who falls for an Iranian asylum seeker was produced by Max Malka for Dionysos Films.
The film opened the 2019 Göteborg Film Festival and won Best International Film at Edinburgh. It was last year’s Finnish candidate for the Nordic Council Film Prize.
In a moving thank you speech, Chike Ohanwe who won Best Supporting Actor said: “In 2020, Finland received the winner of the first dark-skinned Jussi Award.” He paid tribute to his former teachers for their cultural education and commitment and closed his address to the glamorous Jussi gala audience with “Wakanda Forever”, referring to the fictional land in the US blockbuster Black Panther.
The second biggest Jussi winner was J.P Valkeapää’s BDSM dark comedy Dogs Don’t Wear Pants with six accolades for Best Actor, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Music and Sound Design.
The film was produced by Helen Vinogradov and Aleksi Bardy for Helsinki-filmi. It had its world premiered at Cannes’s Directors Fortnight in 2019 and travelled to numerous festivals, picking up Best Picture at the Austin Fantastic Fest and in Sitges among others. It is this year's Finnish entry for the Nordic Council Film Prize.
Elsewhere, Zaida Bergoth’s Maria’s Paradise won Best Production Design, Reetta Huhtanen’ Gods of Molenbeek won Best Documentary and Anna Paavilainen’s Two Bodies on a Beach Best Short Film.
During the awards ceremony, held on-site with strict anti-Covid-19 rules (including the banning of hugs and handshakes), other film personalities celebrated by their peers include producer Markus Selin of Solar Films who received an Honorary Award for his ‘significant contribution to the Finnish film industry’.
For the second time, the Nordisk Film Prize worth €20,000 was presented at the Jussi Gala. The award which celebrates a talent - or group of talents's - contribution to raising the profile of domestic cinema over the past year, was handed out to the team of the anthology film Force of Habit: Elli Toivoniemi, Kirsikka Saari, Anna Paavilainen, Alli Haapasalo, Reetta Aalto, Jenni Toivoniemi and Miia Tervo.
The People’s Choice sponsored by the leading Finnish streamer Elisa Viihde was given out to Solar Films’ King of Hearts directed by Aleksi Mäkelä.
The annual Jussi Awards ceremony was initially set to unspool March 20, but was postponed due to the pandemic. It was transmitted Wednesday night on MTV3.
Full list of Jussi Awards:
- Best Film: Aurora (producer Max Malka)
- Best Director: Miia Tervo - Aurora
- Best Actress: Mimosa Willamo - Aurora
- Best Actor: Pekka Strang - Dogs Don’t Wear Pants
- Best Supporting Actress: Miitta Sorvali - Aurora
- Best Supporting Actor: Chike Ohanwe - Aurora
- Best Script: Miia Tervo - Aurora
- Best Cinematography: Pietari Peltola -Dogs Don’t Wear Pants
- Best Music: Michal Nejtek - Dogs Don’t Wear Pants
- Best Sound Design: Micke Nyström -Dogs Don’t Wear Pants
- Best Editing: Mervi Junkkonen - Dogs Don't Wear Pants
- Best Production Design: Jaagup Roomet – Maria’s Paradise
- Best Costume Design: Jouni Mervas - Aurora
- Best Make Up: Aija Beata Rjabovska - Dogs Don’t Wear Pants
- Best Documentary: Gods of Molenbeek by Reetta Huhtanen, produced by Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen, Hanne Phlypo and Alex Tondowski
- Best Short Film: Two Bodies on a Beach by Anna Paavilainen
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