Finnish mogul Markus Selin and close personal friend to Hollywood-based Finnish director Renny Harlin, said that 'Mannerheim' is in the final stages of financing and will start shooting in 2008 - Harlin's first Finnish film in 20 years.

The legendary Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was the most influential military and political leader in Finnish history from the Civil War to the late 1940s, who even ruled Finland as its sixth president from 1944 to 1946. 

Producer Selin, who is Managing Director of Solar Films, explains that "what interested me in Mannerheim is the fact that he has marked many different countries' history and took part in the most important wars in modern history, WW1, WW2, the Russian Revolution and of course he helped Finland to get its independence back."

As Finland will be celebrating the 140th anniversary of its national hero in June 2008, his life and military victories will be brought back to life under Harlin's greatest care. According to Selin, the €10m film which is in final stages of financing will be a major international co-production shot in original languages: Finnish, Swedish, Russian, English and even Polish. The film will cover Mannerheim's life from the early 1900s to the 1950s and the various wars he fought.

"Logistically, it is a living nightmare because we have so many locations showing many different countries, so the budget will be tight," comments Selin. Mannerheim will be Harlin's first Finnish project in 20 years, since he left his home country to settle in Hollywood. Delivery date is scheduled for 2009.

2008 will be an extremely busy year for Selin, Finland's most eccentric and successful producer whose collaboration with filmmaker Aleksi Mäkelä has provided Finland with its biggest grossing film every single year since Bad Boys in 2003. This year, V2 Dead Angel is again number one by far with over 193.000 admissions. Mäkelä's 2008 project will be Hellsinki which will start shooting in February, starring the ‘usual suspects' Jasper Pääkkönen (lead in Bad Boys and Matti-Hell is for Heroes) and Peter Franzén.

2008 will also see the theatrical release of three Solar Films productions. The drama The Home of the Dark Butterflies by Dome Karukoski (Beauty and the Bastard) will open domestically on January 11. The company's first English language film, Dark Floors featuring the LORDI rock band, will open on February 8 and will be presented to world buyers in Berlin the following day. Then the fourth Kummeli comedy will also open in 2008.

All films are sold internationally by Nordisk Film International Sales which picked up Solar Film's catalogue late September.