Tiina Lymi’s Stormskerry Maja won seven awards at the Finnish Jussi gala, including Film of the Year and Direction of the Year

The Jussi Awards for films released in 2024 were handed out on Friday, March 21, 2025, at the Jussi Gala in Helsinki. The event, hosted by Constantinos Mavromichalis, was broadcasted live on MTV3.

The year 2024 was a challenging one for the film industry, but domestic films played a key role in bringing audiences back to the theatres after the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's good to remember that our audiences value domestic films: We lead the Nordic countries in the share of local theatrical releases watched," Filmiaura chair Emma Ilves stated in her opening speech.

The undisputed winner of the Jussi Gala was the Swedish speaking period drama Stormskerry Maja (Myrskyluodon Maija), written and directed by Tiina Lymi and produced by Solar films. The film based on Anni Blomqvist’s novel took home six of the official categories, including the awards for Film of the Year and for Direction of the Year. Swedish Amanda Jansson who plays Maja won the Lead Actor of the year, while Best Editing of the Year went to Joona Louhuvuori and Best Music of the year to the film’s composer Lauri Porra. Stormskerry Maja was the most watched title in Finland in 2024 and at the gala it also received the Audience Favourite certificate of honour, in collaboration with this year’s partner, Finnkino.

Stormskerry Maja is supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond (NFTVF), as is the winner of the Jussi for Best Documentary, Virpi Suutari’s Once Upon a Time in a Forest (Havumetsän lapset). The award for Best Scriptwriting went to writer-director Mia Tervo for the script to her film The Missile (Ohjus), another title supported by NFVTF. The Missile also received a Jussi for its Costume Design of the Year (Kirsi Gum) and Once Upon a Time in a Forest for its Cinematography of the Year (Teemu Liakka).

A new dedicated Jussi Award was also introduced for visual effects (previously recognised only with a certificate of honour). The award went to Tuomo Hintikka for the children’s film Snot and Splash (Räkä ja Roiskis), which also is supported by NFTVF.

This year introduced a brand-new acting category: the Jussi for Ensemble of the Year, awarded to the cast of Apple Thieves. The ensemble included Joel Hirvonen, Satu Tuuli Karhu, Antti Autio, Sami Lalou, Alex Anton, Isla Mustanoja, Esa-Matti Smolander, Asta Sveholm, and Mikko Kouki. For the first time, the Breakthrough of the Year award was given to actor Saku Taittonen for his role in Restless Cinderella.

In addition to the official Jussi Awards, Filmiaura presented the Concrete Jussi to stunt coordinator Reijo “Reka” Kontio. Kontio has had a unique career in Finland as a stunt coordinator, and has been a driving force in developing the field since the 1980s. In his youth, he practised gymnastics and acrobatics, and entered the film industry via theatre work. While honing his own skills, he also began training others. A turning point was a training programme he organised in Turku in the early 1990s. Kontio is an undisputed pioneer in his field, and has worked on more than a hundred productions.

The gala also featured the presentation of the Nordisk Film Award, worth €20,000, given in recognition of filmmakers who have significantly elevated the quality of filmmaking and enriched Finnish film culture. This year, the award went to director Virpi Suutari and cinematographer Teemu Liakka for the documentary Once Upon a Time in a Forest. The jury included directors and screenwriters Selma Vilhunen, Ville Jankeri, and Anna Dahlman, cinematographer Konsta Sohlberg, and publicist Manna Katajisto.

To all Jussi 2025 winners: CLICK HERE.