Girl Power In Finland Says Filmmaker Vuoksenmaa

How did you get involved in One Foot Under and what attracted you to the story?
I have been working with the writers, Mika Ripatti and Seppo Vesiluoma earlier and they offered the script to me. The very first version was ok, but it was somehow distant to me. The writers then wrote a new draft and changed the storyline quite radically and asked me to read it again. I did and that script had a really strong emotional effect on me and I said that I would love to direct it. When I was reading the script, I was laughing loud and crying and when I finished, it really made me think of my life and raised big questions: Am I living truly and honestly, have I done the right choices in my life? These emotions and questions I wanted to share with other people - the audience.

You often choose comedy to talk about serious subject matters...why?
One reason is that humour is my favourite defence. It is my way to survive difficult situations. Another reason is that I like "serious" comedies myself, comedies that have different levels inside them. One important thing is that if one speaks about serious items very darkly, it can be very hard to receive, you can be too repressed to listen. But when someone is amused, he is often more open and that is a good base for thinking.

What other filmmakers inspire you?
I have to say that there are lot of Danish and Swedish contemporary filmmakers that I like, but if I had to define my style somehow I could say that if there was a triangle made of Pedro Almodovar, Woody Allen and Ingmar Bergman, I would like to move inside that triangle, changing my position for each scripts needs.

Tell us about Dionysos Films?
When the production started on One Foot Under, Dionysos Films was still a daughter company of Filmiteollisuus. But producer Riina Hyytiä and I had been dreaming about our own company and independency. We had idealistic principles and ideas about how a company should be run and we thought that with a smaller production company, we could perhaps realize our ideas better. So about half a year ago, we bought us out -during the shooting- and started our own and independent Dionysos Films. The risks are bigger, but we love our freedom.

Do you feel more could be done in Finland (like in the other Nordic countries) to fight for gender equality, and better female representation in filmmaking?
I think that in Finland, we have so few film directors in general that the differences between individuals are bigger than differences between genders. So in directing itself, I haven't faced any problems, being a woman. But for a long time, at least here in Finland, most financiers, or people taking decisions based on script reading, were men and the scripts that they liked and chose were mostly written by men and directed by men. I don't think those choices were made on purpose, but I can imagine that it is easier to read and connect with a ‘male' script if you are a male. Luckily for a year now, we have had one woman making decisions about feature films at the Finnish Film Foundation, and I feel that the difference can be seen already now. There are many interesting stories coming up.
For years, we've had one female film commissioner responsible for shorts, documentaries and animation and in this area, Finnish filmmakers have reached a high standard. So more girl-power to financing is my recipe!