‘Bubble,’ ‘Nasrin’s Voice,’ ‘The Great Silence’ Take Top Honors at Finnish Film Affair

Garth Brooks is paying tribute to Randy Travis!

JD Linville “Mister8,” a Finnish comedy series produced by It’s Alive Films, is set to make its international debut at Canneseries. In this meet cute turned meet-your-competition, Juho (Pekka Strang) pits himself against his love interest Maria’s (Krista Kosonen) seven other partners – one for each day of the week.

Annika Pham Mikko Pöllä and Roope Lehtinen, seasoned Finnish showrunners and co-founders of Fire Monkey (“White Wall,” “Bad Apples”), are bringing to market a handful of premium dramas in post and development.Headlining their production slate under REinvent’s sales banner is the thriller “Enemy of the People,” from “Man in Room 301” helmer Mikko Kuparinen, currently in post.Co-created by Lehtinen and Timo Varpio (“Easy Living”), the eight-part TV show boasts a stellar cast, including Kreeta

Ashley Hume Women In Film, Los Angeles hosted its first fundraising event since 2019 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Formerly named the Crystal + Lucy Awards, the WIF Honors: Trailblazers of the New Normal gala was held on Wednesday night at the recently opened Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in L.A.

Annika Pham Paris-based APC (About Premium Content) has acquired world sales rights on the six-part Finnish thriller “A Good Family,” currently filming in Estonia before moving back to Finland.The high-end drama about love, marriage and parenthood is based on Finnish author and screenwriter Petri Karra’s 2019 novel “The Dark Light” (“Musta Valo”).

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentA trio of well-experienced Finnish producers, Eero Hietala, Lasse Koskinen and Ilkka Hynninen, have joined forces to launch Take Two Studios, a production company which will focus on premium drama, documentaries and podcasts. Hietala and Hynninen previously co-founded Aito Media in 2003 and produced more than 1,700 hours of programming during their 18-year run as co-CEO’s.

Marta Balaga Taking place at the Zurich Convention Center two days before its official theatrical release, the Swiss premiere of “No Time to Die” attracted a slew of local celebrities, Zurich Film Festival delegates and even Finnish racing driver Kimi Räikkönen, all of whom were eager to witness Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007.The event marked the film festival debut for a James Bond movie, and the gathered audience rose to the occasion with no-nonsense opinions about the 25th instalment in

Marta Balaga Recently spotlighted at the Finnish Film Affair, where it was given the Best Nordic Project Award, Danish production “The Great Silence” will head straight to the convent, where Sister Alma (played by “Ninjababy” lead Kristine Kujath Thorp) is preparing to take her perpetual vows. But once her recovering alcoholic brother shows up, stirring up memories of a family secret, Alma begins to question her choices.

Will Tizard ContributorLocal characters in Finnish TV and film are increasingly diverse in ethnicity, disabilities and gender roles, according to industry insiders who took on the issue in Helsinki on Friday at the Finnish Film Affair, but there is still a long way to go.“We know this is not just a Finnish challenge – this is a global challenge,” said Keely Cat-Wells, CEO and founder of C Talent and Zetta Studios, who has also advised organizations from UCLA to Virgin Media on disability

Will Tizard ContributorFinnish film productions, which tend to be small-scale, have some of the lowest carbon footprints in Europe, panelists agreed at the Finnish Film Affair industry event on Friday.

Marta Balaga The Finnish Film Foundation, which receives its funding through the Ministry of Education and Culture from lottery and pool funds allocated for promoting film art, is facing new budget cuts. Its CEO, Lasse Saarinen, speaks to Variety about his battle to minimize the damage.The cut of 440,000 euros ($515,000) introduced this year might be followed by an additional 1.94 million euros ($2.28 million), making up approximately 8.8% of the foundation’s subsidy and operating budget.

Jamie Lang This year’s San Sebastian Nest competition for international student short films honored Sara Grgurić’s Croatian relationship drama “In the Woods” with this year’s Nest Award and its accompanying €10,000 ($11,800) cash prize.“Because of its complexity and its precision, because with little it tells something enormous and because since we saw it, it has stayed with us, we give the award to ‘In the Woods,’” said the jury as they made the announcement.Spanish production “Pont de Pedra”

WarnerMedia’s New Singapore Base

Marta Balaga Pop singer Kikka, a.k.a. Kirsi Hannele Viilonen, who passed away in 2005 at just 41 years old, will finally get her due in the upcoming biopic being produced by Helsinki’s Komeetta.

Will Tizard ContributorThe spectacular rise of green-haired Finnish pop star Alma has inspired one of Finnish Film Affair’s most buzzy documentaries in progress, “Alma – Who Am I?” Finnish director and actor Pamela Tola spoke to Variety about her film.

Kate Aurthur editorAfter safely and successfully filming its most recent season last year in Portland, Ore., “Top Chef,” Bravo’s Emmy-winning culinary competition, has moved to Houston for Season 19. Production has begun there, and the show will premiere next year.Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons are all returning to adjudicate the new group of cheftestants.

Will Tizard ContributorFinnish producers are hailing a new partnership aimed at combatting climate change on projects shooting in the country, says Anni Wessman, head of APFI, the film and TV producers’ association in Finland.The initiative, done in concert with the Albert international environmental nonprofit focused on the film and TV sector, will give producers a set of tools and metrics already embraced by 20 countries for measuring everything that factors into a production’s carbon

Marta Balaga Finnish series “Mister8,” produced by It’s Alive Films and sold internationally by Federation Entertainment, will celebrate its international premiere at Canneseries. The series festival will take place on Oct.