Greater Clarity Needed on Impact of Production on Environment, Finnish Film Affair Panelists Say

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.

Naman Ramachandran Former Disney Plus and Netflix executive Matt Brodlie and ex-Sierra/Affinity president Jonathan Kier have teamed to launch Los Angeles-based Upgrade Productions. The duo will serve as co-presidents.With backing from German powerhouse Constantin Film and a strategic partnership with Bron, Upgrade will develop and produce premium local language productions for a global audience.

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

A Greater Manchester Police officer who repeatedly sexually assaulted a young girl has been dismissed from the police.

A Greater Manchester Police officer has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman during a night out in the city centre.

A Greater Manchester Police officer has denied sexually assaulting a 'vulnerable' woman after a night out in the city centre.

Deadline Hollywood has hired Max Goldbart as International TV Editor, based in London, and promoted International Film Reporter, Tom Grater, also in London.

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”).

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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.

Fremantle has completed its acquisition of 12 NENT Studios production labels in the Nordics for an undisclosed sum. The purchase, first announced in July, will see Fremantle take control of Strong Productions (Denmark); Grillfilms, Moskito Television and Production House (Finland); Monster, Novemberfilm, One Big Happy Family, Playroom, Rakett and Strix TV (Norway); and Balbua and Strix Television (Sweden).

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFremantle has completed its previously announced acquisition of 12 production labels in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark from Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group).The RTL Group-owned “Got Talent” producer will use their new assets — 12 companies in all across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark — to form Fremantle Nordics.The Scandinavian NENT Group had its unscripted assets on the sales block since early 2020.

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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

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

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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.

Will Tizard ContributorThe Finnish Film Affair industry event awarded the upcoming feature “Bubble” with top honors for its fiction in progress pitch on Thursday, capping a competition in which six projects presented a wide range of stories, settings and styles.Mainly Finnish productions pitched their films, some seeking international partners, with most hoping for sales, festival and distribution deals.“Bubble,” the story of a teenage girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother

WarnerMedia’s New Singapore Base