FINNISH FILM AFFAIR AWARDS 2026 ANNOUNCED!

The highlight of the 15th Finnish Film Affair was our bold Showcase Day on Thursday, 24 September, presenting some of the most promising and buzzy projects from Finland, the Nordics and beyond. The Showcase Day culminated in an award ceremony, where we celebrated outstanding fiction, documentary and series projects with a distinguished selection of industry awards.

This year, our Showcase Day featured 38 projects in total. The selection included five fiction films in progress and eight in development, eight documentary projects, six series projects, as well as eight genre-bending projects presented in our brand new Nordic Genre Lab. Our Nordic Selection showcased four projects representing Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. The Finnish project in the Nordic Selection was also featured in the Fiction in Development category.

BEST FICTION PROJECT

HALIMA (Naima Mohamud) was awarded the Best Fiction Project and received €3000 from the Finnish Film Foundation.

“The director’s energetic and authentic voice shone through in the pitch and translates into what promises to be a compelling lead performance. This is a 90s tinged snapshot of a Finland we haven’t seen on screen before, by a fresh Finnish voice,” the jury describes their decision.

HALIMA was pitched by director Naima Mohamud and producer Jani Pösö.

BEST NORDIC PROJECT

The Best Nordic Project went to 11 HOURS (Emilie Beck) and was awarded €3000 from the Amos Anderson Fund.

“This pitch made us all immediately lean forward in our seats. Using the form of a ripped-from-the-headlines hostage thriller to illuminate a complex and layered social story. It’s a film we can’t wait to see more of,” the jury sums up.

The jury for Fiction and Nordic Projects included producer and executive Jodi Hildebrand, Phoebe Hall (BFI), and festival director Fernando Vasquez.

11 HOURS was pitched by producer Marte Hansen and director Emilie Beck.

BEST DOCUMENTARY PROJECT

DARKNESS COUNTS (Anna Antsalo) was awarded the Best Documentary Project and received €3000. The Best Documentary Project award was supported by AVEK.

“The award for best documentary project goes to a project that turns the greatest enemy of filmmaking, darkness, into a visually captivating element. The filmmaker’s connection to her character and his passion shows us a world that is very unique and at the same time universal,” the jury describes.

The documentary jury consisted of artistic director Isabel Arrate Fernandez (IDFA), director Einari Paakkanen, and documentary expert Filipp Kruusvall (Estonian Film Institute).

DARKNESS COUNTS was pitched by director Anna Antsalo and Venla Hellstedt.

All three cash prizes are intended for the international marketing and promotion of the awarded projects.

NORDIC GENRE LAB

The winner of the Best Genre Project went to SAUNA DIPLOMACY (Teemu Niukkanen) and was granted 2500€ worth of colour grading services that go towards the project’s international marketing, as well as 2500€ worth of production services, sponsored by Post Control Helsinki & Angel Films.

“We believe that the project was a clear stand out. The concept feels very original, fun and commercially viable. This pitch was also the most comprehensible without getting too weighed down with the specific details of the project. This is a team that knows how to pitch, and did an excellent job convincing us of the future success of SAUNA DIPLOMACY,” praises the jury.

The jury for Nordic Genre Lab Projects included head of acquisitions Noëmie Devide, Sydney Brumsfield (Searchlight), and screenwriter Espen Aukan.

SAUNA DIPLOMACY was pitched by director Teemu Niukkanen and producers John Lundsten and Oskari Huttu.

Nordic Genre Lab is a new intensive training and networking programme dedicated to genre feature film development in the Nordic countries, debuting at Finnish Film Affair.

FIVE TERRIFIC INDUSTRY AWARDS

This year, FFA proudly presented four prestigious industry awards, including a new award presented in collaboration with Marché du Film.

The Producers Network Award, presented in partnership with Marché du Film, was awarded to Anniina Leppänen from Helsinki Filmi. The recipient was selected from the producers of a project pitched at Finnish Film Affair. Leppänen was pitching BABYFACE, which was featured in the Fiction in Development category. The Producers Network Award grants free accreditation to the Producers Network at the Marché du Film in Cannes the following year, including access to invite-only events.

This year, the MIDPOINT Consulting Award has expanded into providing consultations for both a Fiction in Development project as well as one pitched series. The winner of the MIDPOINT Feature Consulting Award was BIG DEAL, pitched by director Hedda Mjøen and producer Oda Kruse, and the winner of the MIDPOINT Series Consulting Award was BODY IN THE CLOSET, pitched by director Elin Grönblom and producer Mia Oikarinen. The MIDPOINT Consulting Awards provides an in-depth online consultancy for the projects with one of the MIDPOINT Institute’s experts. The award was selected from the Fiction in Development and the series projects by MIDPOINT’S own Alexandra Gabrižová. The award is sponsored by MIDPOINT Institute.

Connecting Cottbus Producers Exchange was presented to Anita Hyppönen. Connecting Cottbus (coco) handpicked Hyppönen to take part in cocoLAB at their East West co-production market and networking platform dedicated to Eastern European cinema.

The winner of the Göteborg Film Festival Award was LINDEN LANE 6, pitched by producer Anita Hyppönen and director Josefina Rautiainen. Presented in collaboration with Göteborg Film Festival, the award grants full market accreditations to the Göteborg Film Festival 2027. The recipient was selected from the fiction feature projects by the Nordic Film Market Project Manager Alexandra Tortosa.

FFA congratulates all the awarded projects!

Finnish Film Affair is the beloved industry event of Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy and the leading international film and TV industry event in Finland. For 15 years, FFA has brought together filmmakers, producers, financiers, sales agents, distributors and festival representatives from around the world, providing a platform for outstanding Finnish and Nordic projects with an international twist and global potential.