The Nordisk Film & TV Fond nominated series The Paradise (8x50') premieres February 9 on Yle1 and at a later date on Orange TV in Spain, under the title Kosta.

On Sunday Finnish viewers will discover Yle’s latest high quality international drama, filmed in Finnish, Spanish and English, and created in full cooperation from development stage with Spain’s leading media group and co-producer Mediapro.

Produced by MRP Matila Röhr Productions, the eight-part series is directed by Marja Pyykkö (Black Widows, Hooked), based on a script by crime author and Bordertown screenwriter Matti Laine, nominated for this year’s Nordisk Film & TV Fond prize for Best Nordic Screenplay.

The show is set in Fuengirola on Spain’s Costa del Sol, also known as little Finland due to the 15,000+ Finns, living there. When the small community is affected by a series of murders, two unlikely crime investigators are asked to cooperate: the local police officer Andrés Villanueva, in his 30s, a man affected by a feeling of loss, with strong ties with the Nordic residents, and Oulu-based top policewoman Hilkka Mäntymäki (60), close to retirement, struggling at home with her husband suffering from dementia.

The contrast between the two main characters’ working practices and cultural background, but also between the icy North and warm South of Europe play a prominent role in the series.

In the title roles are popular Spanish actor Fran Perea (well-known in Finland for his role in the drama comedy Los Serrano) and Finnish star actress Riitta Havukainen. Other cast members include María Romero, Óscar Zafra, Emilio Palacios, Risto Tuorila, Carl-Christian Rundman and Armi Toivanen.

Marko Röhr and Tiina Pesonen of MRP Matila Röhr are producing, with Mediapro Studios’ Laura Fernández Espeso, Javier Méndez, Ran Tellem, Bernat Elías and Yle Draa’s Jarmo Lampela and Suvi Mansnerus serving as executive producers. Mediapro Studios The Mediapro Studios Distribution handles global sales.

We sat down with Matti Laine and Marja Pyykkö to discuss the show.

How did it all start? Can you confirm that the idea for the show actually came from Ran Tellem [Mediapro Studios head of international development and Emmy-winning producer] and David Troncoso [former Mediapro Studios development executive, now at Atresmedia Studios]?
Matti Laine: Well David first met Jarmo Lampela [Yle head of drama]. David had noticed that there is a large Finnish community living in Fuengirola and suggested that perhaps Mediapro and YLE could do a TV series located there and produce it together. Jarmo thought right away it was a great plan. Then they brought me in as well as Ran. The genre was obvious as both Mediapro and Yle needed a crime series.

How was your collaboration with Jarmo, David and Ran?
ML: It was a true joyride. At first, we spent some time in Fuengirola, did some research and investigated stories to tell, speaking to the local community, Spanish police forces etc. We had brainstorming sessions, and after each session, I would fly back home to write storylines, drafts, character developments, then sent my notes back to them. I got great feedback, especially from Ran who went over the screenplay in minute detail with me to make sure it was as strong and authentic as possible. I wrote a lot of the material in Spain and continued the research there and in Finland during the whole process.

Using as a starting point real life situations and environment and borrowing techniques from documentary filmmaking to build a fiction story is quite unique…
ML: Our goal was to push the Nordic noir boundaries by going deeper into reality and emotions.

What are the main themes of the series beyond the crime plot?
ML: There are two main themes in the series: the first one is the aspiration for a different and better life abroad, that many Finns share with other people around the world. The second theme is memory - the memories you want to remember and those you want to forget. From this idea, we developed the main character, the retired police woman Hilkka Mäntymäki. We felt that having a female cop in her 60s was something we hadn’t seen much in crime series. The series is also about opposites, darkness/light, male/female, remembering/wanting to forget, Spain/Finland.

Did you have some actors in mind when you wrote the script?
ML: Yes. Riitta Havukainen was brought in very early, as soon as we decided to go for a 60 year-old female detective. Riitta is our national jewel.

How was the overall experience of working on such a major international co-production?
ML: Writing is writing, no matter how big or small the production is, but to be honest, at first I was totally nervous. Mr. Tellem has an Emmy, for god sake! But after a while, as we dived deeper into the story and the trust between us grew stronger, I realised that this production may become something really interesting. After that I was just thankful of getting the opportunity and simply just tried to do my best.

Marja, at what stage did you board the series?
Marja Pyykkö: Jarmo [Lampela] called me at a very early stage. He new I had strong connections with the Spanish language and culture as I had worked as a volunteer in Central America, and travelled across Spain when I was younger. It was crucial for me to get a grip of the characters and story from the very outset. Matti and I read all the scripts together during pre-production and we both spend a lot of time in Fuengirola as well.

Had you worked with Matti before?
MP: Yes. We’ve known each other since school time. Matti had acted in one of my film school projects as he studied acting while I studied directing.

You’ve worked on quite a few crime shows. What attracted you to this particular story?
MP: For me doing another Nordic crime wasn’t so interesting. But when reading the first script, I could feel that this material had many layers - humour, emotional depth, whereas Nordic noirs are often pretty rough and mostly descriptive. I felt I could explore different themes, levels, stay closer to the characters and take Nordic noir to a different emotional level. The crime plot of course is also very solid. It was a lot of fun to try to create something new, which is what I’m always trying to do.

Can you tell me about the challenges of directing in different languages and locations?
MP: It was very exhausting, but also one of the most interesting times of my life. Working in a totally new environment gave me fresh ideas.

Did Mediapro Studios take the decisions on the Spanish key cast & crew?
MP: No. Of course they mentioned the name of Fran Perea, but I said I can’t hire an actor for a main role without testing him/her. I need to know we can communicate well and connect. Fran came to the screen test. He was very well prepared, had a great energy, he spoke Spanish, English…even Finnish! I ended up casting the whole Spanish team. I often feel the casting process is under-valued, but for me it is crucial. As a director, I need to know the work level and capacity of each actor.

ML: With the Finnish cast, we wanted to surprise the local audience and play with anti type casting. Both Pekka Strang and Riitta Havukainen have very different roles from what we’re used to, and we brought in new faces. Again, this was part of our creative decision to use documentary filmmaking techniques.

MP: Working with Spanish actors was fascinating. They are not used to rehearsals in the scale that we do in Finland, but they were very happy to go through the text during preparation. That extra prep work meant that actors were able to bring their own input in the dialogue, to slightly change the tones and during filming, it gave us all more freedom as everyone was well prepared.

One funny cultural difference is that in Finland, we believe that less is better. If I remove a line from the dialogue, actors are just happy about it, it gives more space for acting. But Spanish actors didn’t like it. They said: please don’t remove my palabras [words]!! The Spanish crew as well was wonderful and they appreciated the Finnish working practices.

Could you go deeper into your visual style and how you worked with your cinematographer Heikki Färm?
MP: Visually, I wanted to be bold, and use gold, glow with the action scenes, then breathe when there is a moment of relief. I told Heikki let’s go with the ‘Mexican’ style: with an edge, not too slick. He is highly experienced in documentary filmmaking and moved the camera in the documentary style. For me Heikki is a true artist. He always finds the best angle for the camera light when I work with actors. I always have my own idea for the main camera shot, then he suggests something strong aesthetically and with a couple of lights he can make the look realistic with the eye of an artist. I really appreciate working with him.

Now that you have created a new universe, will there be a season 2?
MP: Let’s wait. We need to see how audiences will react first as this show is innovative in many ways. But of course, we’d love to do another season.