At its latest edition, which takes place parallel to the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival — Love & Anarchy, the Finnish Film Affair will again host its well-received Nordic Flair training program, an initiative designed to offer career development for film professionals from across the Nordic region.
After a 2022 edition that focused on sales agents, distributors, buyers and broadcast commissioners, this year’s event will host actors working in one or more of the Nordic countries. Maria Pirkkalainen-Barber, head of Finnish Film Affair and Nordic Flair, says the goal in Helsinki is to offer a launching pad for rising talents looking to take the next step in their careers.
“The opportunities for actors to develop their own chances for an international breakthrough can be challenging, and access to agents and casting directors is competitive. Not to mention how the pandemic years made it more difficult for actors to build international networks,” Pirkkalainen-Barber says.
After a 2022 edition that focused on sales agents, distributors, buyers and broadcast commissioners, this year’s event will host actors working in one or more of the Nordic countries. Maria Pirkkalainen-Barber, head of Finnish Film Affair and Nordic Flair, says the goal in Helsinki is to offer a launching pad for rising talents looking to take the next step in their careers.
“The opportunities for actors to develop their own chances for an international breakthrough can be challenging, and access to agents and casting directors is competitive. Not to mention how the pandemic years made it more difficult for actors to build international networks,” Pirkkalainen-Barber says.
- 9/13/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Saana Koivisto, Inka Kallén, Pekka Strang | Written and Directed by Joonas Pajunen, Max Seeck
As a young girl, Matilda (Saana Koivisto) was discovered locked inside a cage while her father’s dead body lay outside, and her mother was declared missing. Now an adult, Matilda inherits the house and the surrounding forest along with her older siblings, Maria (Inka Kallén) and Mikko (Pekka Strang). Their return sees the siblings face their traumatic past while grappling with unfathomable forces.
Writing/directing duo Joonas Pajunen and Max Seeck capture this look at a family struggling with their past, while glimpsing at how it has affected their present. Flashbacks capture the souring relationship between the family and its patriarch, as tensions rise from his domineering nature. While Matilda and Mikko want to sell the location of such bad memories, Maria is wary of the environmental damage that may be caused by the buyer.
As a young girl, Matilda (Saana Koivisto) was discovered locked inside a cage while her father’s dead body lay outside, and her mother was declared missing. Now an adult, Matilda inherits the house and the surrounding forest along with her older siblings, Maria (Inka Kallén) and Mikko (Pekka Strang). Their return sees the siblings face their traumatic past while grappling with unfathomable forces.
Writing/directing duo Joonas Pajunen and Max Seeck capture this look at a family struggling with their past, while glimpsing at how it has affected their present. Flashbacks capture the souring relationship between the family and its patriarch, as tensions rise from his domineering nature. While Matilda and Mikko want to sell the location of such bad memories, Maria is wary of the environmental damage that may be caused by the buyer.
- 9/1/2023
- by James Rodrigues
- Nerdly
Finnish horror film The Knocking marks the feature debut of Max Seeck and Joonas Pajunen, and Variety indicates in a report this morning that it’s coming Stateside early next year.
The film is “expected to premiere domestically in February 2023.”
LevelK has also sold The Knocking to over 70 countries around the world.
The Knocking is said to “revolve around three adult siblings who return to their childhood home, where their parents were allegedly murdered many years ago. Their plan is to get the house and estate ready to be sold but an evil force tries to prevent them from doing so.”
“Our mission with ‘The Knocking’ is to create a mood that enables waking up these fears hiding in the corners of our minds,” the filmmakers said in a statement.
“We were also inspired by old Finnish stories and myths. So many of them are about spirits hiding away in the woods,...
The film is “expected to premiere domestically in February 2023.”
LevelK has also sold The Knocking to over 70 countries around the world.
The Knocking is said to “revolve around three adult siblings who return to their childhood home, where their parents were allegedly murdered many years ago. Their plan is to get the house and estate ready to be sold but an evil force tries to prevent them from doing so.”
“Our mission with ‘The Knocking’ is to create a mood that enables waking up these fears hiding in the corners of our minds,” the filmmakers said in a statement.
“We were also inspired by old Finnish stories and myths. So many of them are about spirits hiding away in the woods,...
- 9/21/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
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.
“‘The Knocking’ ticks those boxes in providing a Nordic horror with an original story, told through classic genre tropes, which is exactly what the buyers are looking for at the moment.”
The film is produced by Markus Selin and Jukka Helle for Helsinki-based Solar Films, also behind Mika Kaurismäki’s “The Grump: In Search of an Escort,...
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.
“‘The Knocking’ ticks those boxes in providing a Nordic horror with an original story, told through classic genre tropes, which is exactly what the buyers are looking for at the moment.”
The film is produced by Markus Selin and Jukka Helle for Helsinki-based Solar Films, also behind Mika Kaurismäki’s “The Grump: In Search of an Escort,...
- 9/21/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
LevelK, the international sales and aggregation outfit, has boarded Finnish horror film “The Knocking,” the feature debut of Max Seeck and Joonas Pajunen.
“The Knocking” revolves around three adult siblings who return to their childhood home, where their parents were allegedly murdered many years ago. Their plan is to get the house and estate ready to be sold but an evil force tries to prevent them from doing so.
Seeck and Pajunen said the “inspiration for ‘The Knocking’ comes from the Finnish forests, which offer an excellent setting for psychological horror and a stage for a world that oozes rather gloomy folklore and pushes the buttons of the viewers’ subconscious.”
“Our mission with ‘The Knocking’ is to create a mood that enables waking up these fears hiding in the corners of our minds,” said the pair.
The film stars Pekka Strang, Saana Koivisto (“The Serpent”) and Inka Kallen.
Max Seeck...
“The Knocking” revolves around three adult siblings who return to their childhood home, where their parents were allegedly murdered many years ago. Their plan is to get the house and estate ready to be sold but an evil force tries to prevent them from doing so.
Seeck and Pajunen said the “inspiration for ‘The Knocking’ comes from the Finnish forests, which offer an excellent setting for psychological horror and a stage for a world that oozes rather gloomy folklore and pushes the buttons of the viewers’ subconscious.”
“Our mission with ‘The Knocking’ is to create a mood that enables waking up these fears hiding in the corners of our minds,” said the pair.
The film stars Pekka Strang, Saana Koivisto (“The Serpent”) and Inka Kallen.
Max Seeck...
- 4/26/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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