Sámi Language Historical Drama ‘Je’vida’ Takes Top Honors at Helsinki’s Finnish Film Affair

Ed Meza @edmezavar U.S. streaming service Topic has inked an exclusive U.S. and Canadian rights deal with Germany’s Beta Film for four European crime series ahead of this year’s Mipcom TV programming mart in Cannes. Dedicated to crime and suspense, Topic, part of First Look Entertainment, picked up the third season of critically acclaimed Austrian-German series “Pagan Peak”; Finnish title “Helsinki Syndrome”; “Silent Road” from Greece; and Croatian-Ukrainian co-production “The Silence.” The agreement also includes renewals of Italian political thriller “1992” and follow-up seasons “1993” and “1994.” Described as Italy’s “House Of Cards,” the show  examines how Italian politics were shaken to the core by a major criminal investigation against widespread corruption in the 1990s.

Katie Reul editor The annual Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF) came to a close Saturday evening, concluding an 11-day event by screening the year’s top honorees at Háskólabíó alongside the award-winning Austrian drama “Vera.” Victors in the New Visions category, which exclusively features debut and sophomore films from filmmakers, are among the works which earned an on-screen reprisal. Winners include Golden Puffin recipient “Rodeo,” continuing the film’s early success in the awards circuit at festivals like Cannes and Champs-Élysées. “I spent five years writing what became ‘Rodeo,'” director Lola Quivoron previously told Varietyin regard to her feature debut. “I wanted to create a true fiction tale and weave in elements of genre, gangsterism and a bit of western. The idea was to make a film that had an aesthetic and a cinematic dimension.”

EXCLUSIVE: German TV dramas are continuing to sell internationally ahead of Mipcom Cannes.

Keke Palmer, Machine Gun Kelly, Adam Sandler and more are among the stars set to be honored at the 2022 Newport Beach Film Festival.The annual film festival's awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, Oct. 16 at Balboa Bay Resort, celebrating a host of talents from the big screen.Palmer, Aubrey Plaza, Jonathan Majors, and Patton Oswalt will receive Artist of Distinction Awards, «presented to individuals known for their contribution to the arts, philanthropic endeavors, and an overriding commitment to their craft to tell unique and bold stories.» Kelly, who goes by his real name, Colson Baker, in his acting roles, and star Anna Diop will receive Spotlight Awards.Sandler will be honored with the festival’s inaugural Performance of the Year Award in recognition of his work in, Eddie Redmayne will be presented with the Icon Award at the NBFF Centerpiece screening of his upcoming film,, and director Paul Feig will receive the Career Achievement Award at a screening for Additionally, filmmaker Ron Howard will receive the Variety Legend and Groundbreaker Award, «for his outstanding creative leadership and impactful artistic achievements that have proved both visionary and enduring,» director and star Cooper Raiff will receive the Maverick Award, and star Aimee Carrero will receive the Breakout Award. The 23rd Newport Beach Film Festival will be held in person from October 13-20 and will spotlight over 350 films from around the world.

“The Menu.”The film festival, held at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar in Austin, Texas, is one of the premiere genre film festivals in the country and has led to more acquisitions than South by Southwest, which takes place in Austin every spring. A joyful celebration of all things genre, this year was no different – with buzzy titles like Searchlight’s “The Menu” and MGM’s “Bones and All” playing alongside more esoteric fare like “Shin Ultraman.” There was even a high profile Marvel Studios premiere in their upcoming black-and-white Halloween special, “Werewolf by Night” (which really brought the house down).“We really gave our jury members a tough job this year.

Christopher Vourlias Production is underway in Romania and Hungary on the new HBO Max Original “Spy/Master,” a spy drama series set during the height of the Cold War that will star British Independent Film Award-nominated actor Alec Secăreanu (“God’s Own Country,” “RUXX”). The 6 x 50’ series, which was the winner of HBO’s national screenwriting competition in Romania, marks one of the streaming service’s final productions from Central and Eastern Europe. As Variety first reported in July, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery will no longer produce originals for HBO Max in the Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland), Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey, and will also remove some content from its platform in order to free up licensing deals elsewhere.

Apple made a massive splash at Oscars Night 2022 last year, with “Coda” becoming the first Best Picture winner ever distributed from a streaming service. And of course, Apple wants to keep its streak through the Academy Awards next year.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix is establishing an internal games studio in Helsinki, Finland, announcing that it will be led by former Zynga and Electronic Arts exec Marko Lastikka as studio director. “This is another step in our vision to build a world-class games studio that will bring a variety of delightful and deeply engaging original games — with no ads and no in-app purchases — to our hundreds of millions of members around the world,” Amir Rahimi, Netflix’s VP of game studios, wrote in a blog post announcing the studio’s launch. Rahimi joined Netflix in November 2021, after serving as president of games for Scopely; before that, he was SVP and GM of FoxNext.

Christopher Vourlias Finnish director Katja Gauriloff won the top prize this week at the Finnish Film Affair’s showcase of fiction works in progress for “Je’vida,” an intimate historical drama that is the first film ever shot in the Skolt Sámi language. The film centers on Iida, an elderly Skolt Sámi woman who finds herself in the process of selling her family’s old house and land while keeping her cultural heritage secret from her niece. It’s the story of a woman who has abandoned her past under the pressures of assimilation, weaving across three different historical eras to examine the fate of Finland’s Indigenous peoples in the post-war period.

Christopher Vourlias The Nordic screen industries are riding a tide of recent success, from Joachim Trier’s dual Oscar-nominated “The Worst Person in the World” (Norway), and Juho Kuosmanen’s Cannes prize winner “Compartment No. 6” (Finland), to Apple TV’s hit Norwegian crime drama “Exit.” But the Nordics have a ways to go on diversity and inclusion and can do more to support emerging talents — including taking a more mindful approach toward how on-set practices can create an unhealthy work environment. Those were the key takeaways of a panel discussion on Sept. 21 at the Finnish Film Affair, the industry arm of the Helsinki International Film Festival — Love & Anarchy. Moderated by Finnish TV presenter Andrea Reuter, the event brought together three up-and-coming film professionals from Nordic countries to discuss the hopes and challenges for the next generation of filmmakers from the region.

Marta Balaga LevelK has boarded Icelandic thriller “Natatorium,” directed by Helena Stefánsdóttir Magneudóttir. The film started shooting on Sept. 14, and is expected to bow locally next year. Produced by Sunna Gudnadóttir for Bjarstýn Films, marking the company’s first feature film, it’s financed with the support from the Icelandic Film Center and the Finnish Film Foundation. Scanbox, Sena and RUV YLE are behind the project as well. “I am mostly interested in working on films with female directors and/or scriptwriters, [projects] with high artistic integrity and universal appeal,” says Gudnadóttir, who previously worked on “A White, White Day,” and Iceland’s Oscar submission “Beautiful Beings.” She adds that “Natatorium” has three complex female leads, and 60% of the crew is female as well.

Marta Balaga “The Woodcutter Story,” a Finnish drama with a surreal touch, has been sold to Australia (Palace Films), Baltics (Estinfilm), Sweden (Njuta), Germany (Eksystent) and France (Urban), Paris-based Totem Films shared exclusively with Variety. Directed by Mikko Myllylahti, it sees a good man who runs into bad luck: he loses his job and his wife leaves, but Pepe (Jarkko Lahti) is trying to keep his head high. Even when strange things start to happen in his sleepy village. The film, which premiered in Cannes’ Critics Week, screens Wednesday at the Helsinki Film Festival – Love & Anarchy. It will have its North American premiere at Chicago Film Festival and its U.K. premiere at the London Film Festival.

Marta Balaga Finland’s Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture (AVEK) and Finnish Cultural Foundation are launching Kehittämö – Talent Development Lab, Variety has learned exclusively. Described as Finland’s first audiovisual development program, it will provide aspiring creators with financial support – €55,000 each, bringing the yearly budget up to half a million – and mentoring from international experts, including Karol Griffiths, who has collaborated with the Coen brothers, Gitte Hansen and Alex Szalat, the head of Docs Up Fund. “[It will allow us to] bring high quality fiction and documentary films, media artworks and other audiovisual works to the culture-loving audience. AVEK has excellent understanding and wide networks in the sector and working with them will bring added value to the Cultural Foundation’s work,” says director of cultural affairs Juhana Lassila.

Marta Balaga LevelK continues to terrify international distributors with Finnish horror “The Knocking,” directed by Max Seeck and Joonas Pajunen. The film has now been sold to over 70 countries, Variety has learned, with the company sealing further deals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Alamode Film), Latin America (Gussi), CIS (Capella Film), France (KMBO), Indonesia (PT. Falcon) and Taiwan (AV-Jet International Media). “We have been looking at many Nordic projects, especially the Finnish ones. We definitely see a shift in not just more genre projects emerging, but also in the subjects and the creativity,” says CEO Tine Klint.

Christopher Vourlias As the Finnish Film Affair embarks on the start of its second decade, the organizers of the annual industry event, which runs parallel to the Helsinki International Film Festival — Love & Anarchy, can both reflect on 10 years of success and look ahead for ways to continue to serve both the Finnish and the Nordic film industries. “Finnish Film Affair started in 2012 with 240 participants. This year, for our 11th edition, we have nearly 500 delegates attending from over 20 countries, with a third of them being international guests and buyers,” Finnish Film Affair director Maria Pirkkalainen told Variety on the eve of the event, which runs from Sept. 21 – 23.

Christopher Vourlias Five years ago, the Finnish Film Affair launched the first edition of its Nordic Flair training program, an initiative designed to offer career development for film professionals from across the Nordic region that takes place parallel to the Helsinki International Film Festival — Love & Anarchy. This year’s event focuses on sales agents, distributors, buyers and broadcast commissioners working in one or more of the Nordic countries and is designed to offer participants the tools to innovate new sales and distribution models, scout emerging Nordic filmmaking talent and lead their professional teams through challenging times. “There are many Nordic talents working internationally behind the scenes in the business of film, and with the focus this year, we want to highlight that,” says Finnish Film Affair director Maria Pirkklainen, noting that “training opportunities have been scarce for this group in general.”

Brad Pitt has unveiled his debut sculptures at a Finnish art gallery, alongside Australian musician Nick Cave.On Saturday (September 17), the actor presented his first-ever public art display at the Sara Hildén Art Museum in Tampere, the third-largest city in Finland. The presentation was part of a larger exhibition by British artist Thomas Houseago.Pitt’s nine works in the show included a moulded plaster panel “depicting a gunfight” and a series of house-shaped sculptures that have been fired upon with different types of ammunition.Meanwhile, Cave presented a series of ceramic figurines depicting “the life of the Devil in 17 stations”, reflecting his life-long interests in religion and mythology.“For Nick and I this is a new world and our first entry.