This year’s edition of Finland’s leading market introduces Finnish Weird, a pitching session training a spotlight on emerging talent working on 20 new IPs that defy conventions.

The 13th edition of the Finnish Film Affair (FFA), Finland’s leading film market, will unspool in Helsinki from 25-27 September. This year, FFA is ambitiously expanding its programme, expecting growth in attendees, and broadening its target audience by connecting the film industry with professionals from other sectors, including key reps from the gaming industry, and training a spotlight on transmedia, crossmedia and AI.

One of the first highlights of this year’s edition is the panel discussion “Rethinking Film as a Product: Building a Business with Transmedia”, which will bring together experts from both the gaming industry (Avalanche Gaming) and the film industry (Making Movies) to explore the potential of creating IP products that transcend industries.

Next, the keynote talk “State of AI: Attitudes and Momentum in Finnish Film”, hosted by producer Julius Repo, will offer a deep-dive into the integration of AI in filmmaking. Meanwhile, the keynote talk “Co-producing with India” will be delivered by award-winning producer Rakasree Basu, offering insights for buyers and key industry players. Moreover, animation will take centre stage during the panel discussion “Nordic Animation: How to Make New Classics”, which will see the participation of Denmark’s Jørgen Lerdam, Finland’s Marika Makaroff, Norway’s Frank Mosvold and Iceland’s Haukur Sigurjónsson. The panellists have gained extensive experience at creating adaptations of Hans Christian Andersen and Tove Jansson’s books and crafting brand-new characters such as Niko, Ploey and Ella Bella.

One of the most anticipated novelties of this year’s edition, however, is the Finnish Weird pitching session, set to celebrate emerging talent working on IPs that defy conventions. The open call attracted a number of submissions from over 20 countries. The final selection includes 20 projects, and each will be pitched for two minutes in front of a jury of industry professionals. The confirmed jurors are Elina Ahlbäck, CEO and Founder of Elina Ahlbäck Literary Agency; Jason Gutiérrez, Programming Manager for Tribeca Film Festival; creator Jarno Laasala (The Dudesons); and director and DoP Samuel Boateng.

Some of the Finnish Weird hot projects include Raven, a horror coming-of-age short directed by Laura Hyppönen, Estonian-Lithuanian project Mari, Sweetie (Mari, kallis) by Vivian Säde, The Head Job, written by Timo Turunen, and Postpartum - Payback Time, a reality TV project penned by Milla Puolakanaho.

To read more about weirdness: CLICK HERE.

Coming up next is the Main Showcase, which will introduce “seven promising works in development”. Amongst them are Little Mr. Sandman (Nukkumatti) from director Heikki Kujanpää, and She Did Now Show Remorse (Ei kertonut katuvansa), a period drama based on true events, helmed by Selma Vilhunen who carries a shortfilm Oscar-nomination. Five more pitches will feature projects in production or post-production. Some of the buzziest are Klaus Härö’s new effort Never Alone (Ei koskaan yksin) and Paula Korva’s debut feature Sudden Outbursts of Emotions (Juokse lempesi edestä).

Zooming in on the series section, some of the most anticipated shows are the TV adaptation of the bestselling novel Hildur (penned by Matti Laine and produced by Take Two Studios with Saga Film) and the 6x50 thriller Nonday (written by Antti Pesonen and staged by ReelMedia).

Furthermore, documentaries will be repped by the likes of Jussi Sandhu’s But I'm No Influencer and Vesa Kuosmanen’s Fruitcakes – The Dawn of Drag (Lumppukuningattaret (työnimi)). Sandhu’s pic follows Mark, a businessman from the Philippines studying in Finland, who finds himself in the middle of an influencer academy; whilst Kuosmanen’s centres on the memories of drag performers Jolanda and Mummo.

Finally, the Nordic Selection strand will showcase projects from Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Among these is Nipster, a feature that closely examines eco-fascism, directed by Sunniva Eir Tangvik Kveum.

The projects will vie for three prizes, backed by the Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK and Konstsamfundet, the latter of which will also fund the Nordic Selection strand.

The Jury for Best Fiction and Nordic Projects consists of Gudrun Giddings (CEO and Producer, G4C Innovation), Heidi Zwicker (Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival), Martin Morgenfeld (Founder, MACO), and Claire Willats(Film Executive and Consultant, Rockwood Pictures).

The Jury for Best Documentary Project includes Marianna Kaat (Director, Producer, Associate Professor, Tallinn University for Baltic Film), Iris Olsson (Film Director, Script Consultant, Project Coach), and Freja Johanne Nørgaard Sørensen (Senior Sales and Acquisitions Executive, DR Sales).

The winning project of the Finnish Weird section will receive gear rental sponsored by Angel Films, editing facilities provided by Postcontrol, and a €2,000 grant offered by the newly founded Riimu Creative Agency, headed by Laura Laaksonen.

In addition, on 25 September the FFA will welcome the talents of Kehittämö Development Lab, a joint development programme courtesy of AVEK and the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Five projects will be presented at the session, including Flowers of Farewell, the debut feature of director Pavel Andonov, and Someone Gets Away Again, a documentary helmed by award-winning filmmaker Ville Koskinen.

FFA will take place at multiple venues, including Bio Rex Lasipalatsi, Musiikkitalo and Kiasma.

To all the projects: CLICK HERE.