Helsinki Filmi's CEO Aleksi Bardy (photo) is familiar with those dramatic times in Finnish history, having produced Aku Louhimies' Tears of April (Käsky) and scripted Lauri Törhönen's The Border (Raja 1918). Där vi en gang gått won the Finlandia Prize in 2006 and its author Kjell Westö is one of the most acclaimed contemporary Swedish speaking Finnish novelists. The TV series - the biggest ever for Helsinki Film - will be adapted for the screen by Jimmy Karlsson (Mother of Mine) for filmmaker Peter Lindholm, who previously filmed another Westö novel, Kites Over Helsinki.
Där vi en gang gått will portray different classes of Finns over a 25 year period, and the impact of the Finnish civil war on their lives. Bardy has secured financing from the Finnish and Swedish public broadcasters YLE and SVT and is looking for other partners in Europe.
On the feature film side, Bardy is looking forward to seeing how the audience will receive Toni Laine's feature debut Playground, a romantic triangle love story set in a playground. The German actress Sibel Kekilli (Head On) plays a mother and wife who moves from Germany to Finland and adapts in her own way to her new life.
Then in three weeks, the film Lapland Odyssey, the third collaboration between Bardy and filmmaker Dome Karukoski, will start filming in Lapland. The €2m project - a dark comedy about three unemployed men - is co-produced with Anagram Film in Sweden and Ripple World Pictures in Ireland. Both Playground and Lapland Odyssey are supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.