The 14th Finnish Film Affair broke delegate records
The 14th edition of Finnish Film Affair brought together 550 film industry professionals from 25 countries, hosted over 230 meetings and presented 45 current projects from Finland, Nordics and beyond.
At its core, Finnish Film Affair was created to support filmmakers in building stronger success stories. For three full days, Helsinki transformed into a dynamic meeting point for film industry professionals across the world. FFA took place from 24–26 of September 2025.
Finnish Film Affair Showcased a Glimpse of Future Cinema, and Offered New Insights and Connections
Our programme dived into the strengths and challenges of European film and TV sectors, the shifting funding landscapes, as well as dismantled the festival strategies and discussed distribution, among other things.
Our speakers and panelists included Liisa Sauri (Media Desk Finland), Jim Kolmar (SXSW), Jaana Puskala (Finnish Film Foundation), Magdalena Banasik (M-Appeal), Liselott Forsman (Nordisk Film & TV Fond), Katre Kajamäe (Eurimages), Roxanne Tour (CNC France), Attica Dakhil (BFI Global Screen Fund), Liisa Holmberg (International Sami Film Institute), Victoria Fäh (IPR.VC Lab), Sarah Mosses (Together Films), Tracie Mitchell (Cyon Media), Linda Mutawi (Apparaten), Erna Aalto (Producer & COO), Emmanuel Eckert (Producer), and Dome Karukoski (Director). Our panels were moderated by Marta Balaga, Petri Kemppinen, Roosa Toivonen, and Aram Tertzakian. Our showcase day or Thursday was moderated by Andrea Reuter and Marta Balaga.
Thursday, 25 September featured glimpses of future cinema, when the FFA showcase presented 45 most promising projects from Finland, the Nordics, and beyond in various stages of development and production. From genre films to documentaries, Nordic filmmakers took turns in the spotlight, searching for distributors, funding, festivals, and other collaborations. After the showcase, the project representatives participated in curated meetings, making new connections. The showcase day culminated in an award ceremony at Löyly, and an Industry Afterparty at Helsinki Camping – Minigolf Bar & Nightclub.
Nordic Flair also made a comeback this year. Launched in 2017, Nordic Flair is an initiative of FFA that offers career development opportunities for Nordic talent. Supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond and AVEK, the initiative in 2025 focused on emerging producers. Over three intensive days in Helsinki, ten producers from Nordic countries combined access to FFA programme with exclusive closed-door sessions led by top industry experts: Tine Klint, Noemi Ferrer, Josef Kullengård and Elad Samorzik.
FFA was also delighted to host side events with Filmmakers Europe and Actors in Helsinki, and Oskari Sipola’s The More Loving One as the opening screening. FFA also organised the premieres of two exciting TV series, All The Best Girls and Icebreaker, with Elisa Viihde.
FFA Presented Seven Terrific Awards
This year, we gave out seven awards to promising and outstanding projects and filmmakers. Alli Haapasalo’s Tell Everyone was awarded Best Fiction Project, while the Best Nordic Project went to Pigtown (Pekka Ollula). Hanna Nordenswan’s Sense and Sensibility won Best Documentary Project, and the Best Finnish Weird Project was given to Boobs (Milla Puolakanaho and Juha Ilmari Laine).
FFA also branched out to present three new awards: the MIDPOINT Consulting Award for Abyss (Aino Suni & Emilia Haukka), the Connecting Cottbus Producers Exchange for Julia Elomäki, and two market accreditations to the Göteborg Film Festival for the project Thundering Smoke (Khadar Ahmed).
The awards were sponsored by the Finnish Film Foundation, Konstsamfundet, City of Helsinki, Post Control, Angel Films, MIDPOINT Institute, Connecting Cottbus (coco), and the Göteborg Film Festival.
The jury for Nordic and Fiction Projects included Aleksandra Zakharchenko (Marché du Film), Jim Kolmar (SXSW), and Marike Muselaers (Nordisk Film Production).
The documentary jury consisted of Katre Kajamäe-Gupta (Eurimages), Jason Ryle, (Toronto International Film Festival), and Natalie Campbell-Reid(Together Films).
F-Weird jury included Javier Puerto Garcia (PÖFF Rebels With a Cause), Maria Sol (Moving People & Images resident 2024), and Mathias Noschis (Alphapanda).
Read more about the awards and jury motivations here.
News from the Festival Side: Over One in Four Screenings Sold Out at Love & Anarchy
Tens of thousands of cinema lovers gathered once again in theatres across Helsinki for the Love & Anarchy festival from 18–28 September. Over one in four screenings sold out and serial cards sold at a record pace. The festival also took a firm stance for Palestine and against short-sighted government cuts. Overall, the festival reached an audience of almost 53 000.
In addition to the Gala screenings, the most popular films at this year’s festival were the Thai genre-rattler A Useful Ghost, Kelly Reichardt’s art heist tale The Mastermind, and the Cannes-winning phantasmagoria Resurrection. The most popular film from the Free Palestine selection, which encouraged discussion and gathered large audiences, was the cross-generational drama All That’s Left of You.
On Sunday, 21 September, the festival organised a spontaneous demonstration against the funding cuts to the film industry planned by the government. Executive Director Pauliina Ståhlberg also attended a discussion for members of the film industry that took place in the Finnish Parliament. “All of us have the responsibility and opportunity to speak up for justice and champion a multiplicity of voices. These are values that we strive to uphold in our organisation, and we are happy to note that our audiences have done the same by deciding to attend our event and see the diverse films from all over the world that we selected for our programme,” Ståhlberg says.
Read more about how Love & Anarchy went this year here.