Bringing new Finnish films to the world’s attention requires the courage to invest in ideas. The Kehittämö programme offers international mentoring, a production company and financial support for film development in order to create a springboard for new Finnish success stories.
Now funded for the fourth time by AVEK Audiovisual Centre and the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the programme focuses on developing the first feature films of new filmmakers. The projects selected for Kehittämö will be determinedly promoted towards production and international audiences.
Projects and filmmakers selected for Kehittämö:
- Before or After, Jesse Jalonen (Wacky Tie Films / Ida Karoskoski)
- Other People’s Needs, Helmi Donner (Silmu Films / Jenni Jauri)
- A, B, C and so on, Vilja Autiokyrö (Tekele Productions / Julia Elomäki, Miia Haavisto, Marja Pihlaja)
- Happyland, Jonnakaisa Risto (Making Movies / Pauliina Maus, Kaarle Aho)
- The Edge of the World is Near, Terhi Nieminen (Filmimaa / Markku Tuurna)
Investing in the development phase to produce stories that will attract international interest
Kehittämö provides film projects with a completely unique opportunity to work with an experienced international film industry professional at a very early stage. The mentors coming to Finland from places such as Denmark and Scotland place their expertise and contacts at the selected filmmakers’ disposal, allowing these new voices to spread more widely.
“Our culture has enormous export potential that is just waiting to be tapped. However, film projects require strong support at the beginning so that they can start making efforts to attract international financiers in the development stage,” says Director of AVEK Ulla Simonen.
“Timely and adequate financial support, combined with mentoring, will pay off in the form of new knowledge and skills, foreign investments and employment. This year, each project participating in Kehittämö will receive €52,000 in funding.”
Filmmakers first apply to Kehittämö on their own, with just the idea for a new film and samples of their previous work. In the second phase, producers also join the projects. Producer Jenni Jauri (Silmu Films) is participating in Kehittämö for the third time. According to Jauri, the support and tools provided by Kehittämö’s mentors help filmmakers identify and define the core content of their project, which is essential for a good film, but also necessary for its funding.
“It often takes years to develop a film project, and often even longer for first-time filmmakers than for more experienced ones. It’s quite typical in first-time projects that the filmmaker is strongly attracted to a topic, theme or character and is able to produce material easily, but they may have difficulties with limiting the content or choosing a point of view,” Jauri remarks.
“Kehittämö provides the team of filmmakers with an exceptional opportunity to focus on working on the project for a year while also being paid for it. The programme also gives the film project credibility in the eyes of financiers and distributors both in Finland and abroad.”
The unique development programme is at risk of going unfunded
The four-year Kehittämö funding provided by the Finnish Cultural Foundation has come to an end, and AVEK, which is suffering from budget cuts, does not have enough funds to continue the programme on its own.
For the current period, Kehittämö received €150,000 in additional funding from Parliament in the form of Christmas gift funds. However, the current period of Kehittämö could be its last if a more long-term funding solution is not found.
“The Christmas gift funds were an important indication that decision-makers have also recognised the importance of the development programme for the future of the industry. I’m grateful for this and hope that we can continue our development efforts in a more lasting manner,” Simonen says.
Inquiries:
Director of AVEK, Ulla Simonen
ulla.simonen(at)avek.kopiosto.fi, +358 44 790 0344
