Programme
This year’s event, taking place on 23–25 September 2026, brings together industry professionals for an inspiring Showcase Day, a thorough yet topical panel programme, and a range of networking opportunities ranging from birthday parties to bubbles.
The panel programme will take place on Wednesday the 23rd, kicking off at 10:15 and running till 16:30, followed by the opening reception and of course the opening film, this year’s spectacular horror treat, Nightborn. On Thursday the 24th, the Showcase Day runs from 9:00 in the morning until 16:15, followed by project meetings and the buzzing afterparty, this time also a birthday party, marking 15 years! On Friday the 25th, the panel programme will begin at 10:00 with sessions throughout the day until coming to a close at 16:00 afterwhich FFA gathers for one last hurrah in the closing reception from 16:30-18:00.
Join us to connect with colleagues, exchange ideas, and spark new collaborations!
Wednesday 23.9.
Locations
Panel locations take place at Gilda (Narinkka 2, 00100 Helsinki), unless stated otherwise. The opening reception and screening are at Bio Rex Lasipalatsi (Mannerheimintie 22-24, 00100 Helsinki).
10:15-10:25
Opening Words
Opening words by Lydia Taylerson, Pauliina Ståhlberg at Gilda.
10:25-11:00
Introduction to the Nordic Ecological Standard
This session delves into the Nordic Ecological Standard (NES), that was launched in autumn 2025 by the Nordic film institutes, in cooperation with the Nordic Film & TV Fund. The NES was inspired by international best practices and adapted to the Nordic context. It sets new, clear, evolving guidelines that promote eco-friendly practices across all stages of audiovisual production. The Finnish Film Foundation is currently in a transition period with the NES, and will introduce the standard as mandatory for production support recipients, starting in 2027.
This talk explores themes such as: What does the NES entail and how will it change the “business-as-usual” production methods? Which “green measures” have the greatest impact? What is the role of carbon calculation? Where and when does the standard apply, and what is the NES-process for individual productions?
The session is presented by Kaisa Astikainen, Environmental coordinator at the Finnish Film Foundation. An introduction will also be delivered by new foundation head Stuba Nikula.
Speakers: Kaisa Astikainen, Stuba Nikula
11:00-11:45
When Less is More – How to Make the Most Out of a Budget
Can a small budget make for a better film? This talk will argue yes! A feature film budget tends to reflect how much it is possible to finance, and they always seem to miss 100K or more. But what if the approach was different? What if a film had the budget it needed – but that budget turned out to be quite small? What if aiming for a low budget turned the idea into a bolder, better film? Developing advisor and former artistic director Mette Damgaard-Sørensen will share insights on how to ask bold questions and develop inspiring concepts, drawing on experiences from more than a decade of helping to develop low-budget features, which have gone on to become festival darlings and found their audiences.
The talk is part of the Kehittämö programme, supported by AVEK and the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Speakers: Mette Damgaard-Sørensen
11:45-12:00
Coffee break
12:00-13:15
Kehittämö Talent Development Lab
Kehittämö is AVEK’s talent development lab for emerging Finnish audiovisual creators. It is created together with the Finnish Cultural Foundation to strengthen distinctive new artistic voices and to help first feature-length works reach audiences in Finland and internationally. The programme supports projects at an unusually early stage: creators apply first with an original idea and previous work samples, and the selected talents are then connected with producers, international mentors and a tailored development process. The creators from the two most recent editions, 2025 and 2026, will present themselves and their projects on stage at Finnish Film Affair.
Speakers: Grant Keir, Mette Damgaard-Sørensen
13:15-14:15
From Co-Pro to a Global Franchise
Join filmmaker Danny Cannon (CSI franchise, Gotham) for a fireside chat as he digs into the creative process of co-productions and the journey of transforming original stories into familiar franchises. Cannon’s expertise will hit particularly close to home as he is the lead director and executive producer on the upcoming Finnish IP “The Faithful Reader” series.
Speakers: Danny Cannon
Moderator: Marta Balaga
14:15-15:00
Lunch break
15:00-15:30
Connect with Talent: Spotlight on Collaborative Writing
Searching for the right collaborator to shape your next project? MIDPOINT Institute presents a curated online database of writers, script consultants, and development executives from MIDPOINT programs seeking new international collaborations. This creative marketplace connects writing talent with industry professionals, supporting MIDPOINT’s mission to help alumni succeed globally.
This session also spotlights Helsinki-based scriptwriter and dramaturg Simo Ritari, a recent graduate of the Writers’ Room program focused on collaborative writing. Fluent in five languages, Simo shares firsthand insights from his industry experience.
Speakers: Alexandra Gabrižová (MIDPOINT Institute, Program Coordinator & Consultant, Series), Simo Ritari (scriptwriter)
15:30-16:30
Show Me the Money… Then Show Me the Slate
Can the Nordic funding model survive and evolve? For decades, European films have been financed through a delicate patchwork of public funds, broadcasters, distributors, tax incentives, pre-sales and producer equity. Is that model now fundamentally broken? Hearing from the likes of private equity standpoints as well as regional models, panellists will dive into the questions on everyone’s mind when facing a rapidly changing funding landscape.
Speakers: Celine Dornier (IPR.VC), James Copp (Night Train Media), Kjetil Omberg (NFI), Cecilie Aspenes (NFTF)
Moderator: Marta Balaga
16:45-17:45
FFA’s Opening Reception
Opening reception hosted by City of Helsinki at Bio Rex Lasipalatsi (Mannerheimintie 22-24, 00100 Helsinki).
18:00-19:30
FFA’s Opening Screening / Love & Anarchy’s National Gala
The opening screening of this year’s Finnish Film Affair is Hanna Bergholm’s spine-tingling Nightborn (2026). The screening takes place in the beautiful thetare hall of Bio Rex Lasipalatsi (Mannerheimintie 22-24, 00100 Helsinki), and is organised in collaboration with the Love & Anarchy festival.
NOTE! You must have a ticket to access the screening
Thursday 24.9. Showcase Day
Showcase day
Our Showcase Day presents a selection of the most promising projects coming from Finland, the Nordics, and some even further beyond.
Location: Bio Rex Lasipalatsi (Mannerheimintie 22-24)
9:00-9:10 Opening words from Lydia Taylerson and Audio Network
9:10-9:45 Series
9:45-10:32 Fiction in Progress
10:30-11:15 Nordic Selection
11:30-13:00 Lunch break
13:00-13:40 Fiction in Development
13:40-14:30 Nordic Genre Lab
14:30-14:50 Coffee break Sponsored by Valofirma
14:50-16:15 Documentaries
CREATIVE EUROPE MEDIA’S POP-UP OFFICE
Interested in the Creative Europe programme and its support for the audiovisual sector? For the showcase day, Media Desk will set up their office at Lasipalatsi lobby. Drop by during Thursday’s breaks to meet Liisa Sauri and Anni Rossi and ask anything you’d like to know about the MEDIA Strand.
Location: Bio Rex Lasipalatsi lobby (Mannerheimintie 22-24)
16:00-19:00
Curated meetings for international guests and project representatives
Location: Scandic Helsinki Hub (Annankatu 18)
18:00-23:00
Award Ceremony
The winners of the showcase day are announced and awarded at our famous Sauna Dinner.
NOTE! This event is invite only with limited capacity. Invitations will be checked at the door.
20:00-late
FFA Goes Kino Töölö / Industry Birthday Party
Kino Töölö (formerly Korjaamo Kino) is celebrating its 10th birthday, and FFA is celebrating its 15th. Kino Töölö and FFA would like to invite all guests of the Finnish Film Affair to celebrate cinema in all its forms. This birthday party at Kulttuurikeskus Korjaamo will also serve as FFA’s official afterparty. Entrance with FFA badge.
Location: Töölönkatu 51 B
Friday 25.9.
Locations
Panel locations take place at Gilda (Narinkka 2, 00100 Helsinki), unless stated otherwise. The closing reception is at Scandic Helsinki Hub (Annankatu 18, 00120 Helsinki).
09:00-09:30
Location: Scandic Helsinki Hub
Morning Coffee: Producer Leadership in the Changing Film Industry
This Morning Coffee session at Scandic Helsinki Hub presents findings from a new study examining the Finnish audiovisual industry from the perspective of strategic leadership and project-based business. The study maps the current landscape, examining how strategic decision-making and producer leadership intersects with content and project development, financing, distribution, and the development of individual projects and production slates.
The session also introduces a conceptual framework for development in fiction production and considers producer leadership in relation to the wider structures and changing environment of the film industry.
Johanna Wartio is Project Manager and Specialist of Digital Creative Industries and Beyond project (ERDF) and Doctoral Researcher in Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Film.
Speakers: Johanna Wartio
10:00-10:30
Future Possibilities? What’s Next for Agora EU Funding
A look into the future of the EU’s Creative Europe funding in the form of Agora EU and how it will affect the entire industry landscape. Its objective is to promote cultural diversity, safeguard artistic and media freedom, and protect fundamental EU rights and democratic values, yet how will the merger affect smaller grassroots organizations, geographic balance, independent media and most importantly, independent producers? Does the proposed structure risk increased centralisation of funding at EU level, and how can territorial ownership be safeguarded? Without specific protections and dedicated budgets for the independent sector, will European stories increasingly be controlled by its media giants?
Speakers: Hugo Rosak (Head of Industry, Karlovy Vary), Liisa Sauri (Creative Europe Desk / Finland), Julie-Jeanne Regnault (European Producers Club)
10:30-11:20
Pick Me! How to get your Film into the Festivals
Grab a chair and sit in on what really goes on behind the festival silver screens; how does a film stand out, what are the selection processes really like, and what affects the creative choices that shape each festival? IDFA Artistic Director Isabel Arrate Fernandez and Tribeca Senior Programmer Jason Gutierrez shed light on what it really means to put a festival programme together.
Speakers: Isabel Arrate Fernandez (IDFA), Jason Gutierrez (Tribeca)
Moderator: Suvi Railo
11:30-12:30
Who’s Watching? Finding Your Audience
In this session, we dive into global distribution challenges and emerging trends in the film scene, with a special focus on the documentary perspective. As audiences shift from traditional cinemas to streaming platforms and smaller screens, what must directors, producers and distributors do differently? Joining the discussion are acclaimed Nordic directors and producers Margreth Olin and Virpi Suutari, Graham Begg (Co-CEO Rainmaker Content), and impact producer Sari Väänänen from The Secret Reading Club of Kabul.
Speakers: Graham Begg (Rainmaker Content), Margreth Olin, Sari Väänänen, Virpi Suutari
Moderator: Johanna (Nunnu) Karppinen
12:30-14:00
Lunch break
14:00-15:00
The Market Is The Monster
The uncomfortable positioning questions nobody asks until it’s too late: language, casting, budget, festivals, and who actually programs, buys, and watches your film.
Where does the money actually come from now? Home video paid for genre cinema for thirty years, then the streamers paid for everything. Today both models are unwinding and nothing has replaced them. This panel maps that shift, and asks what it means for a Nordic genre film in development right now: language, casting, budget, festival strategy, and the question of who programs, buys and watches your film. And most importantly: who finances your film and why? Todd Brown, Claire Willats, Roar Uthaug, Camille Gatin and Hanna Bergholm work through where the market is heading next, with short case studies from their own films on the positioning decisions that made all the difference. A Q&A will take place at the end of the panel.
Speakers: Claire Willats, Todd Brown, Camille Gatin, Roar Uthaug, Hanna Bergholm
Moderator: Laura Laaksonen
15:00-16:00
Quite a Trip: How a Norwegian Film Became a Hollywood Film… Shot in Finland.
This masterclass will discuss how a Norwegian film, The Trip (I Onde Dager) became Over Your Dead Body – a Hollywood film shot in Tampere. Our panellists will discuss the roots of the original film, bringing the remake to Finland, and the differences in working on Nordic films vs international films with bigger budgets and a world-famous cast.
This is the fifth XYZ Masterclass by XYZ Films with Film Tampere at the Finnish Film Affair. Moderated by Aram Tertzakian, founder of XYZ Films and producer of Over Your Dead Body, and hosted by Fanny Heinonen, Program Director of Film Tampere.
Speakers: Kjetil Omberg (NFI), Tytti Vaaleri, Laura Sutinen, Timo Vierimaa
Moderator: Aram Tertzakian (XYZ Films)
16:30-18:00
FFA’s Closing Reception
Join us for one last hurrah to raise a glass and say our goodbyes to Finnish Film Affair 2026.
Side Programme
Nordic Film Lab
Nordic Film Lab is an exclusive networking forum for up-and-coming Scandinavian filmmakers, focusing on the artistic processes of filmmaking. Nordic Film Lab is a one-year programme that provides a space for participants to meet potential future work partners, as well as to engage in in-depth discussions about creativity and the art of filmmaking.
Nordic Film Lab is organized by Göteborg Film Festival with support from Film i Väst (Presenting Partner), the Swedish Film Institute, the Norwegian Film Institute, the Danish Film Institute, the Finnish Film Foundation and Amos Anderson Fund.
This is a closed training initiative, taking place during Finnish Film Affair.
Nordic Genre Lab
Nordic Genre Lab exists to strengthen the Nordic genre film ecosystem by giving emerging filmmakers the training, mentorship, and industry connections they need to get their films made. Genre cinema – horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, thriller – has a massive global audience, yet Nordic genre filmmakers often lack dedicated support structures. Nordic Genre Lab fills that gap.
The inaugural Nordic Genre Lab has joined forces with Finnish Film Affain in a collaboration of projects and a panel, presented in the official programme.
23.-24. September
FILMMAKERS EUROPE: LOCAL ROOTS. GLOBAL ROLES. – FINLAND
Visibility of Finnish talent connects local talent with international and local casting directors through a One Minute Monologue and workshop during Finnish Film Affair. FFA and Filmmakers Europe will host professional actors from or based in Finland for an exclusive casting workshop aimed at breaking into international film productions. A limited number of participants were selected via an open call by the casting directors to learn about different aspects of the casting process.
FRANK MOISELLE is an acclaimed Irish casting director who has collaborated with many respected directors, including Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan. He has worked on TV series such as Vikings, The Tudors, The Borgias, Penny Dreadful, Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale, Ballykissangel, and the soon-to-be-released Bloodaxe. Frank has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and eight other major industry awards.
TUSSE LANDE is an established Swedish casting director with extensive experience across film and television, known for her strong eye for talent and deep knowledge of the Scandinavian acting landscape. Her work includes major Nordic and international productions such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Wallander, Beck, Jordskott, Kalifat, Ronja the Robber’s Daughter, Skyfall and Spectre.
MINNA SORVOJA is a highly experienced Finnish casting director. Her work includes acclaimed Finnish and international productions such as The Summer Book, To Cook a Bear, Sisarukset, The Reindeer Mafia, Tove, Girl Picture, Heavy Trip, Jimpa, Tell Everyone, Guts and Blue Baby. With long-standing experience in the Finnish screen industry, she brings knowledge of Finnish talent across film and television.
This is a closed training initiative, taking place during Finnish Film Affair.
25. September, 11:00-15:00
ACTORS IN HELSINKI: SPEEDACTING
Gilda (Screen 3)
Actors in Helsinki, a division of the Finnish Actors’ Union, brings together a little over 400 professional actors (FIA). All of our members are also part of the Finnish Actors Union. Our members include newly graduated talents from both Finnish and international schools as well as seasoned professionals with years of experience. Thanks to the diverse backgrounds of our talents, you are surely to find a right performer to your production from our ranks. Year 2026, we bring back our SpeedACTING concept to FFA. This platform for both actors and their employers to meet each other already gained huge success last year and returns now even bigger and better. Selected actors will each perform monologue of their choice in front of all industry representatives at once. SpeedACTING allows performers to showcase their preferred style or try something new, beyond the limits of a CV or their showreel, while employers gain a unique opportunity to experience the actor’s craft in real time. Find a new talent for your production!
Documentary Side Programme
Forum Clinic with Gitte Hansen
24 September
10:00-12:00
Venue: AVEK
Following her talk in June for Finnish Film Foundation and AVEK about international forums and co-production markets, Gitte Hansen gives hands-on advice for documentary filmmakers and producers who wish to apply to international forums. 6 projects (up to 3 team members) will have a chance of a one-on-one meeting for 20 minutes.
Gitte is a senior film consultant in project development, production, financing and distribution of documentaries with international potential. Gitte’s long experience in the international documentary industry includes executive producing films and series, world sales and international financing strategy and many years work with pitch events. She holds a master of Film and Rhetoric from the University of Copenhagen.
Clinic is part of the Kehittämö programme, supported by AVEK and Finnish Cultural Foundation.
PLEASE NOTE! This event requires a local or documentary accreditation, and RSVP is required. Availability is limited. Sign-up for this event will begin on Monday the 14th of September.
Margreth Olin on Vision, Impact and International Distribution
25 September
14:00-16:00
Venue: Gilda (Screen 2)
Margreth Olin is an award-winning Norwegian director, screenwriter, and producer based in Oslo. Educated at the University of Bergen and Volda University College, she is renowned for her deeply personal, socially impact-driven, and visually poetic documentaries – including Songs of Earth, Self Portrait, Childhood and My Body. Her films frequently spark national dialogue, drive record-breaking cinema turnouts, and inspire social change. In addition to her film career, she is also an author.
Her latest feature, Songs of Earth, was Norway’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Academy Awards. Rather than relying on traditional commercial marketing, Olin grounds her filmmaking approach in impact campaigning, personal engagement, and deep audience connection.
PLEASE NOTE! This event requires a local or documentary accreditation, and RSVP is required. Availability is limited. Sign-up for this event will begin on Monday the 14th of September.