Exclusive: Picture Tree International (Pti) has boarded sales on religious cult drama Raptures (Rörelser) about the notorious real-life Korpela Movement which took hold in the remote Torne Valley on the border of Sweden and Finland in the 1930s.
Written and directed by Swedish filmmaker Jon Blåhed, the film is inspired by true events captured in the novel Dagning; röd! by award-winning minority Meänkieli language author Bengt Pohjanen.
The drama, which is currently in the second half of its shoot in northern Finland and Sweden, will be the first feature shot in Meänkieli, which is spoken by some 70,000 people in the Torne Valley but was suppressed by the Swedish state for decades.
Blåhed took further inspiration from his own family history connected to the strict Læstadian movement in the Torne Valley region where he grew up.
The drama revolves around Rakel, a devout Christian believer whose husband Teodor forms a liberal...
Written and directed by Swedish filmmaker Jon Blåhed, the film is inspired by true events captured in the novel Dagning; röd! by award-winning minority Meänkieli language author Bengt Pohjanen.
The drama, which is currently in the second half of its shoot in northern Finland and Sweden, will be the first feature shot in Meänkieli, which is spoken by some 70,000 people in the Torne Valley but was suppressed by the Swedish state for decades.
Blåhed took further inspiration from his own family history connected to the strict Læstadian movement in the Torne Valley region where he grew up.
The drama revolves around Rakel, a devout Christian believer whose husband Teodor forms a liberal...
- 2/7/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
“Helsinki Crimes,” ITV Studios Finland’s contemporary Finnish detective series, has been sold to Australia’s Sbs On Demand, AMC Networks International’s SundanceTV channel in Spain and Walter Presents in Ireland and the U.K.
Oble, the Paris-based production and distribution company, co-produced and is repping “Helsinki Crimes” in international markets.
The series, which is based on the bestselling novels of award-winning Finnish writer Matti Yrjänä Joensuu, follows the journey of a renowned detective, Timo Harjunpaa, as he investigates a wave of serious crimes in present-day Helsinki, in the height of summer.
The eight-part glossy crime series, which has been modernized by ITV Studios Finland, has been a hit since it premiered on C More’s streaming service in February. Olli Rahkonen (“Olli Mäki”) stars as detective Timo Harjunpaa and Olga Temonen plays his partner Onerva Nykanen.
“’Helsinki Crimes’ is not your traditional police procedural. Harri Virtanen’s interpretation...
Oble, the Paris-based production and distribution company, co-produced and is repping “Helsinki Crimes” in international markets.
The series, which is based on the bestselling novels of award-winning Finnish writer Matti Yrjänä Joensuu, follows the journey of a renowned detective, Timo Harjunpaa, as he investigates a wave of serious crimes in present-day Helsinki, in the height of summer.
The eight-part glossy crime series, which has been modernized by ITV Studios Finland, has been a hit since it premiered on C More’s streaming service in February. Olli Rahkonen (“Olli Mäki”) stars as detective Timo Harjunpaa and Olga Temonen plays his partner Onerva Nykanen.
“’Helsinki Crimes’ is not your traditional police procedural. Harri Virtanen’s interpretation...
- 7/12/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Finland’s Mikko Myllylahti returns to Cannes’ Critics Week with his feature debut as a director “The Woodcutter Story.” His short “Tiger” premiered in the same section in 2018, while “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki,” which he co-wrote with Juho Kuosmanen, won Un Certain Regard back in 2016.
“It’s a very strange film,” he tells Variety about his dark fairytale about the ever-optimistic Pepe, whose world – confined to a small, snowbound town – is slowly crumbling around him. Admitting that after “Olli Mäki,” based on a true story of a boxer preparing for his big break in the 1960s, he needed to “get away from reality.”
“I was fascinated by old tales and in Finland, they can be quite cruel,” he says. But the film was also inspired by a real-life encounter with a woodcutter from the north, not far away from his hometown of Tornio, whose calm...
“It’s a very strange film,” he tells Variety about his dark fairytale about the ever-optimistic Pepe, whose world – confined to a small, snowbound town – is slowly crumbling around him. Admitting that after “Olli Mäki,” based on a true story of a boxer preparing for his big break in the 1960s, he needed to “get away from reality.”
“I was fascinated by old tales and in Finland, they can be quite cruel,” he says. But the film was also inspired by a real-life encounter with a woodcutter from the north, not far away from his hometown of Tornio, whose calm...
- 5/18/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
In Juho Kuosmanen’s debut feature The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, a Finnish boxer (and baker) gets a title shot at Helsinki Olympic Stadium against the American featherweight champion. At their joint press conference, the Finnish media is desperate to hear from their distinguished foreign guest: “What do you think of our country?” The real Olli Mäki lost by second-round Tko, but this movie about a small nation jostling for recognition on the world stage took top honors at Un Certain Regard in 2016. Kuosmanen is back at Cannes this year and he’s gone up a class: […]
The post Shooting on a Moving Period Russian Train: Juho Kuosmanen on Cannes 2021 Competition Premiere Compartment No. 6 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Shooting on a Moving Period Russian Train: Juho Kuosmanen on Cannes 2021 Competition Premiere Compartment No. 6 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/13/2021
- by Mark Asch
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In Juho Kuosmanen’s debut feature The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, a Finnish boxer (and baker) gets a title shot at Helsinki Olympic Stadium against the American featherweight champion. At their joint press conference, the Finnish media is desperate to hear from their distinguished foreign guest: “What do you think of our country?” The real Olli Mäki lost by second-round Tko, but this movie about a small nation jostling for recognition on the world stage took top honors at Un Certain Regard in 2016. Kuosmanen is back at Cannes this year and he’s gone up a class: […]
The post Shooting on a Moving Period Russian Train: Juho Kuosmanen on Cannes 2021 Competition Premiere Compartment No. 6 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Shooting on a Moving Period Russian Train: Juho Kuosmanen on Cannes 2021 Competition Premiere Compartment No. 6 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/13/2021
- by Mark Asch
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The director is readying the tale of an Iranian family seeking asylum in Finland, which is being produced by Aamu Film Company. Produced by Aamu Film Company, which was behind the Cannes revelation The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, Hamy Ramezan’s feature debut, Oasis of Now (the winner of this year’s Best Project Award at the Finnish Film Affair), will tell the story of an Iranian family seeking asylum in Finland. This is a topic that Ramezan knows only too well, having fled persecution in Iran and experienced life in refugee camps as a boy. “It was the foundation of this project,” Ramezan tells Cineuropa when we talked two days before he wrapped the shoot, tired yet surprisingly bright-eyed. “It has been very personal, without me actually knowing how much it has affected me. I always remember my childhood as very happy and full of warmth.
The film is about a love affair between two male dancers in contemporary Georgia.
Swedish filmmaker Levan Akin’s Georgia-set drama And Then We Danced, which premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, has sold to key international territories including Avalon (Spain), Fine Films (Japan) and Mexico (Cinecanibal) for Paris-based Totem Films.
Set against the backdrop of Georgia’s traditional dance scene, And Then We Danced revolves around a talented young dancer who develops feelings for a male rival in an environment where gay relationships remain taboo.
The feature was one of the most favourably reviewed films in the Directors’ Fortnight selection this year.
Swedish filmmaker Levan Akin’s Georgia-set drama And Then We Danced, which premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, has sold to key international territories including Avalon (Spain), Fine Films (Japan) and Mexico (Cinecanibal) for Paris-based Totem Films.
Set against the backdrop of Georgia’s traditional dance scene, And Then We Danced revolves around a talented young dancer who develops feelings for a male rival in an environment where gay relationships remain taboo.
The feature was one of the most favourably reviewed films in the Directors’ Fortnight selection this year.
- 5/29/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Finnish poet-turned-filmmaker Mikko Myllylahti’s feature debut, “The Woodcutter Story,” won Cannes’ Critics’ Week inaugural Next Step award, part of a program aimed at helping the directors of the 10 shorts playing in the sidebar to make their feature debut.
“The Woodcutter Story,” which is being developed by the production banner Aamu Film Company, unfolds in Finland’s Lapland, in a quiet village where a dark force enters and sparks a series of tragic events. The tragedies start dragging down the morale of all but one villager, the local woodcutter whose unflinching optimism becomes suspicious.
Myllylahti said the movie mixed black comedy, surrealism and metaphorical thriller elements. He said the movie would also carry an environmental theme and would be about hope. The filmmaker, who has had four collections of poems published, said the tone of “The Woodcutter Story” was inspired by the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” and the work of Robert Bresson.
“The Woodcutter Story,” which is being developed by the production banner Aamu Film Company, unfolds in Finland’s Lapland, in a quiet village where a dark force enters and sparks a series of tragic events. The tragedies start dragging down the morale of all but one villager, the local woodcutter whose unflinching optimism becomes suspicious.
Myllylahti said the movie mixed black comedy, surrealism and metaphorical thriller elements. He said the movie would also carry an environmental theme and would be about hope. The filmmaker, who has had four collections of poems published, said the tone of “The Woodcutter Story” was inspired by the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” and the work of Robert Bresson.
- 5/18/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Trans-Siberian Railway-set tale is Kuosmanen’s follow-up to The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki.
New Paris-based sales company Totem Films is kicking off its slate with the acquisition of the international rights to Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s upcoming Trans-Siberian Railway-set drama Compartment No 6.
It is Kuosmanen’s second feature following The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki which won the main prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2016.
Totem Films was launched last October by leading sales agents Agathe Valentin and Bérénice Vincent and cinema finance expert Laure Parleani.
Set against the backdrop of 1980s Soviet Union,...
New Paris-based sales company Totem Films is kicking off its slate with the acquisition of the international rights to Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s upcoming Trans-Siberian Railway-set drama Compartment No 6.
It is Kuosmanen’s second feature following The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki which won the main prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2016.
Totem Films was launched last October by leading sales agents Agathe Valentin and Bérénice Vincent and cinema finance expert Laure Parleani.
Set against the backdrop of 1980s Soviet Union,...
- 3/5/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Distributor’s credits include Embrace Of The Serpent, The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki.
Northern Banner Releasing has picked Canadian rights to the hot-button documentary This Is North Preston ahead of its world premiere at Whistler Film Festival.
The film focuses on North Preston, Canada’s largest black community that started out as a safe haven for escaped slaves and in recent years has been tainted with a reputation for being a hotbed of pimping and human trafficking.
Director Jaren Hayman explores the community’s decline, its violence, economic struggle, and systemic racism, through the eyes of the pimps,...
Northern Banner Releasing has picked Canadian rights to the hot-button documentary This Is North Preston ahead of its world premiere at Whistler Film Festival.
The film focuses on North Preston, Canada’s largest black community that started out as a safe haven for escaped slaves and in recent years has been tainted with a reputation for being a hotbed of pimping and human trafficking.
Director Jaren Hayman explores the community’s decline, its violence, economic struggle, and systemic racism, through the eyes of the pimps,...
- 11/29/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Respected sales executives and gender equality activists join forces on independent sales collective.
Top French sales agents Agathe Valentin and Bérénice Vincent are joining forces with cinema finance expert Laure Parleani to create Paris-based sales and financing company Totem Films.
The new outfit will handle around 10 titles a year spanning fiction, documentary and animation. The founders have already secured one investor and are in the process of raising more funds.
“We came together gradually through the complementary nature of our professional profiles. We were all three looking for new outlooks, new horizons and had long been dreaming of getting involved...
Top French sales agents Agathe Valentin and Bérénice Vincent are joining forces with cinema finance expert Laure Parleani to create Paris-based sales and financing company Totem Films.
The new outfit will handle around 10 titles a year spanning fiction, documentary and animation. The founders have already secured one investor and are in the process of raising more funds.
“We came together gradually through the complementary nature of our professional profiles. We were all three looking for new outlooks, new horizons and had long been dreaming of getting involved...
- 10/9/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Quirky road trip comedy follows journey from Italy to small village in Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine.
Paris-based sales company Premium Films has announced first deals on Italian director Andrea Magnani’s road trip comedy Easy (pictured) ahead of its premiere in the Filmmakers of the Present competition at Locarno.
The debut feature has sold to China (Lemon Tree), Turkey (Fabula) and Ukraine (Multi Media Distribution) ahead of the screening. Tucker Film will release the picture in Italy on August 31.
Rising Italian comedy actor Nicola Nocella stars as a Isidoro, a former teenage go-cart champion going by the nickname of Easy, who has fallen prey to depression and obesity in adulthood.
His dynamic, ultra-successful brother Filo gives Easy a challenge that will get him behind the wheel again: to drive a coffin from Italy to a small village in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine.
It is an Italian-Ukrainian co-production involving Kiev-based Fresh Production Group alongside Italy’s Pilgrim...
Paris-based sales company Premium Films has announced first deals on Italian director Andrea Magnani’s road trip comedy Easy (pictured) ahead of its premiere in the Filmmakers of the Present competition at Locarno.
The debut feature has sold to China (Lemon Tree), Turkey (Fabula) and Ukraine (Multi Media Distribution) ahead of the screening. Tucker Film will release the picture in Italy on August 31.
Rising Italian comedy actor Nicola Nocella stars as a Isidoro, a former teenage go-cart champion going by the nickname of Easy, who has fallen prey to depression and obesity in adulthood.
His dynamic, ultra-successful brother Filo gives Easy a challenge that will get him behind the wheel again: to drive a coffin from Italy to a small village in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine.
It is an Italian-Ukrainian co-production involving Kiev-based Fresh Production Group alongside Italy’s Pilgrim...
- 8/4/2017
- ScreenDaily
Juho Kuosmanen's The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (2016) is playing July 1 - August 1, 2017 exclusively on Mubi in the United States. It was our great pleasure to welcome Jarkko Lahti, the lead of Juho Kuosmanen's feature debut, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, to our office to talk about his experience making the film.
- 7/13/2017
- MUBI
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Best in Show (Christopher Guest)
Christopher Guest has had an exceptionally strong ’00s with A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration, and it remains to be seen how his upcoming Mascots will be received, but his arguable peak is still the gloriously funny mockumentary Best in Show. Guest’s other films have lovingly skewered egotistical oddballs and the insanity of subjective or objective criticism, so Best in Show is...
Best in Show (Christopher Guest)
Christopher Guest has had an exceptionally strong ’00s with A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration, and it remains to be seen how his upcoming Mascots will be received, but his arguable peak is still the gloriously funny mockumentary Best in Show. Guest’s other films have lovingly skewered egotistical oddballs and the insanity of subjective or objective criticism, so Best in Show is...
- 7/7/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Juho Kuosmanen's The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (2016) is playing July 1 - August 1, 2017 exclusively on Mubi in the United States.The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki is a subtle bait-and-switch of a film, but that’s okay. Certain generic conventions imply that it will head in a certain direction, but I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to tell you that it doesn’t. In fact, the refusal of Olli Mäki—the film and the man—to play by the rules is the most interesting thing it has going for it. The man, like the film, has a very clear trajectory mapped out in front of him, and a super-human form of concentration—the kind that makes “winners”—is demanded of him. Instead, Olli prefers to live a life of distraction,...
- 7/1/2017
- MUBI
Chicago – As a film set in 1962, shot on glorious black & white 16mm stock, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” has both a feeling that it was made back then, and a timelessness that radiates from that quality. The film is about a boxer, but his heart turns out to be the champion.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
This is based on an actual event, the 1962 Featherweight boxing championship that took place in Finland, between the title character Olli Mäki and American Davey Moore. Although the match is the centerpiece, the story is about young love, and how it can be more important than the “biggest thing ever.” The dichotomy between the two factors is the engine of the plot, and creates a nice meditation on life’s priorities – similar to what happens in “Rocky” – and truer to a spirit of what transpires in real life. This is a hidden gem, which won awards at Cannes,...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
This is based on an actual event, the 1962 Featherweight boxing championship that took place in Finland, between the title character Olli Mäki and American Davey Moore. Although the match is the centerpiece, the story is about young love, and how it can be more important than the “biggest thing ever.” The dichotomy between the two factors is the engine of the plot, and creates a nice meditation on life’s priorities – similar to what happens in “Rocky” – and truer to a spirit of what transpires in real life. This is a hidden gem, which won awards at Cannes,...
- 5/9/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Juho Kuosmanen’s first feature, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, is a modest-seeming film that hits all of its marks with unusual precision, following featherweight boxer Mäki (Jarkko Lahti) in the two weeks leading up to a big fight against American champ Davey Moore. Mäki is nervous and evasive, slacking on his training and running away to the distraction of his maybe-fiance. Throughout the film, he’s trailed by a documentary crew (a detail based on reality) that repeatedly stages faux-verite scenes of Mäki in training, meeting financiers, et al. — in a sly way, Kuosmanen is almost congratulating himself on the high […]...
- 4/24/2017
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
A charming tale about a featherweight uncomfortable with the unexpected burden of being a national hero
Set in the 1960s and shot in black and white on gorgeous, grainy 16mm, Juho Kuosmanen’s charming slice-of-life drama is a warm, welcome sideways look at the Finnish featherweight boxing champion Olli Mäki. Kuosmanen’s camera follows Mäki (Jarrko Lahti) documentary-style, keeping pace while he trains for a high-profile fight with an American opponent and embarks on the ensuing publicity tour. But the ever-modest Mäki is uncomfortable with his newfound status as national hero, and would prefer to spend his off-time with girlfriend, Raija (Oona Airola, lovely and low key). The film is at its most fun outside the ring and spending time with the couple: at a wedding in the rural village of Kokkola; night swimming; she riding on the handlebars of his bike and laughing.
Continue reading...
Set in the 1960s and shot in black and white on gorgeous, grainy 16mm, Juho Kuosmanen’s charming slice-of-life drama is a warm, welcome sideways look at the Finnish featherweight boxing champion Olli Mäki. Kuosmanen’s camera follows Mäki (Jarrko Lahti) documentary-style, keeping pace while he trains for a high-profile fight with an American opponent and embarks on the ensuing publicity tour. But the ever-modest Mäki is uncomfortable with his newfound status as national hero, and would prefer to spend his off-time with girlfriend, Raija (Oona Airola, lovely and low key). The film is at its most fun outside the ring and spending time with the couple: at a wedding in the rural village of Kokkola; night swimming; she riding on the handlebars of his bike and laughing.
Continue reading...
- 4/23/2017
- by Simran Hans
- The Guardian - Film News
Pulp Fiction actress signs up for Cannes section.
Pulp Fiction actress Uma Thurman has been named president of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard jury.
Seen as the festival’s second most high-profile category behind the international competition, this year’s Un Certain Regard programme features titles from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Michel Franco and Mathieu Amalric.
Last year, Finnish black and white boxing film The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki won the strand’s top prize.
Thurman was a member of the Cannes international competition jury in 2011 when Robert De Niro was president. They awarded the Palme d’Or to Terrence Malick’s The Tree Of Life.
Most noted for her roles in Quentin Tarantino’s films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2, Thurman was more recently seen alongside Bradley Cooper in chef drama Burnt.
She will feature in Lars von Trier’s upcoming film The House That Jack Built as well...
Pulp Fiction actress Uma Thurman has been named president of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard jury.
Seen as the festival’s second most high-profile category behind the international competition, this year’s Un Certain Regard programme features titles from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Michel Franco and Mathieu Amalric.
Last year, Finnish black and white boxing film The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki won the strand’s top prize.
Thurman was a member of the Cannes international competition jury in 2011 when Robert De Niro was president. They awarded the Palme d’Or to Terrence Malick’s The Tree Of Life.
Most noted for her roles in Quentin Tarantino’s films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2, Thurman was more recently seen alongside Bradley Cooper in chef drama Burnt.
She will feature in Lars von Trier’s upcoming film The House That Jack Built as well...
- 4/21/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
A lighthearted Finnish comedy-drama about a real-life boxer, a biopic of Chile’s national hero and a gruesome yet beautiful cannibal horror
Gentle Finnish comedy-drama about real-life featherweight contender Olli Mäki (Jarkko Lahti) who in 1962 challenged the Us title-holder. If only he could take his eyes off the delightful Raija (Oona Airola), he might actually be in with a chance. Like Olli himself, this whimsical film is as light as a feather without ever feeling inconsequential.
Continue reading...
Gentle Finnish comedy-drama about real-life featherweight contender Olli Mäki (Jarkko Lahti) who in 1962 challenged the Us title-holder. If only he could take his eyes off the delightful Raija (Oona Airola), he might actually be in with a chance. Like Olli himself, this whimsical film is as light as a feather without ever feeling inconsequential.
Continue reading...
- 4/21/2017
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Sports biopics tend to emphasize the most dramatic bullet points of their subjects’ lives and careers: the grudge matches, the impossible comebacks, anything that earns its own bolded Wikipedia section. What they don’t tend to focus too heavily on, for perhaps obvious reasons, are the moments between the milestones—not the big wins, but the small stuff, like attending a wedding or trying to jump-start a car or sitting down for an obligatory dinner with a sponsor. The rich, unexpected charm of Finnish award-winner The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki is the way it builds a sports biopic out of nothing but mundane foibles. Granted, the movie’s namesake, a now-retired Finnish boxer, hasn’t lived a roller-coaster ride of a life, at least compared to a world-famous champ like Muhammad Ali. But given that the titular pugilist spends most of this minor-key dramatization with his...
- 4/20/2017
- by A.A. Dowd
- avclub.com
The story of a Finnish boxer taking on a big-shot Us star on home turf is the basis for this strange and wonderful comedy
Here is a treat and a delight: this lovely film from Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen is a gentle, shrewd, somehow mysterious love story, based on real life, beautifully photographed in luminous black-and-white and drawing inspiration from Scorsese and Truffaut. It is inspired by the Finnish boxer Olli Mäki, who electrified Finland’s boxing fans in 1962 by getting a shot at the world featherweight title, fighting on home turf against visiting American star Davey Moore. It is to be the greatest day of his life – but not for the reasons he might once have thought.
The movie has Jarkko Lahti playing the intense, wiry Olli, who finds that as the big fight approaches, he has fallen in love with a beautiful young schoolteacher, Raija (Oona Airola) – to...
Here is a treat and a delight: this lovely film from Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen is a gentle, shrewd, somehow mysterious love story, based on real life, beautifully photographed in luminous black-and-white and drawing inspiration from Scorsese and Truffaut. It is inspired by the Finnish boxer Olli Mäki, who electrified Finland’s boxing fans in 1962 by getting a shot at the world featherweight title, fighting on home turf against visiting American star Davey Moore. It is to be the greatest day of his life – but not for the reasons he might once have thought.
The movie has Jarkko Lahti playing the intense, wiry Olli, who finds that as the big fight approaches, he has fallen in love with a beautiful young schoolteacher, Raija (Oona Airola) – to...
- 4/20/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.
Will This April Dump Weekend See Any New Movie Open Over $10 Million?
After the decent opening of last week’s The Fate of the Furious--though not quite as much as I predicted--it’s going to be hard for any new movie to make a mark against its second weekend even if it drops 55% or more this weekend, which is very likely.
Probably the best bet to make money this weekend is the thriller Unforgettable (Warner Bros.), which pits Kathryn Heigl against Rosario Dawson and is the directorial debut by producer Denise Di Novi (Crazy, Stupid, Love). It also stars Geoff Stults as the ex-husband of Heigl’s character Tessa, who becomes engaged to Dawson’s Julia, making her the stepmom to the former’s daughter,...
Will This April Dump Weekend See Any New Movie Open Over $10 Million?
After the decent opening of last week’s The Fate of the Furious--though not quite as much as I predicted--it’s going to be hard for any new movie to make a mark against its second weekend even if it drops 55% or more this weekend, which is very likely.
Probably the best bet to make money this weekend is the thriller Unforgettable (Warner Bros.), which pits Kathryn Heigl against Rosario Dawson and is the directorial debut by producer Denise Di Novi (Crazy, Stupid, Love). It also stars Geoff Stults as the ex-husband of Heigl’s character Tessa, who becomes engaged to Dawson’s Julia, making her the stepmom to the former’s daughter,...
- 4/19/2017
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
This month brings Amazonian exploration, shoot-’em-ups, boundary-pushing documentaries, kaiju battles, and more. Before the summer genuinely kicks off, and with it the Cannes Film Festival, there’s also a handful of films from last year’s outing. Check out our picks for what to see this month and chime in with what you’re most looking forward to.
Matinees to See: Win it All (4/7), Gifted (4/7), Mine (4/7), Their Finest (4/7), The Void (4/7), Aftermath (4/7), Salt and Fire (4/7), The Assignment (4/7), Queen of the Desert (4/7), The Student (4/14), By the Time it Gets Dark (4/14), Little Boxes (4/14), The Fate of the Furious (4/14), The Promise (4/21), Tramps (4/21), One Week and a Day (4/28), Obit (4/26), Buster’s Mal Heart (4/28), and Sleight (4/28)
15. The Circle (James Ponsoldt; April 28)
Synopsis: A woman lands a dream job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, only to uncover a nefarious agenda that will affect the lives of her friends, family and that of humanity.
Matinees to See: Win it All (4/7), Gifted (4/7), Mine (4/7), Their Finest (4/7), The Void (4/7), Aftermath (4/7), Salt and Fire (4/7), The Assignment (4/7), Queen of the Desert (4/7), The Student (4/14), By the Time it Gets Dark (4/14), Little Boxes (4/14), The Fate of the Furious (4/14), The Promise (4/21), Tramps (4/21), One Week and a Day (4/28), Obit (4/26), Buster’s Mal Heart (4/28), and Sleight (4/28)
15. The Circle (James Ponsoldt; April 28)
Synopsis: A woman lands a dream job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, only to uncover a nefarious agenda that will affect the lives of her friends, family and that of humanity.
- 4/4/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It’s not two genres you’d necessarily think of being a perfect blend — boxing and romance — but Juho Kuosmanen got it just right with his feature debut, “The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki.” The film picked up an Un Certain Regard award at Cannes last year, and after hitting a slew of festivals, it’s now gearing up to hit cinemas.
Read More: Cannes Review: Juho Kuosmanen’s Modest, Minor Key ‘The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki’
Starring Jarkko Lahti, Oona Airola, and Eero Milonoff, the film tells the true story of the Finnish boxer who wins the heart of his country as he gears up for a featherweight championship fight against his U.S.
Continue reading New Trailer For Cannes Winning, Boxing Romance ‘The Happiest Day In The Life of Olli Mäki’ at The Playlist.
Read More: Cannes Review: Juho Kuosmanen’s Modest, Minor Key ‘The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki’
Starring Jarkko Lahti, Oona Airola, and Eero Milonoff, the film tells the true story of the Finnish boxer who wins the heart of his country as he gears up for a featherweight championship fight against his U.S.
Continue reading New Trailer For Cannes Winning, Boxing Romance ‘The Happiest Day In The Life of Olli Mäki’ at The Playlist.
- 3/7/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
"Could you box for the camera? Look cruel." Mubi has premiered an official Us trailer for the Finnish film The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, which critics have been raving about since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year. The film won the Grand Jury prize in Un Certain Regard, and went on to play at a bunch of other film festivals. Jarkko Lahti stars as Olli Mäki, and the film tells the true story of the famous Finnish boxer who fought American featherweight world champion Davey Moore for the 1962 title. This was shot entirely on 16mm black & white film, which looks great. The full cast includes Oona Airola as his love interest Raija, plus Eero Milonoff, Joanna Haartti, Pia Andersson, and the real Olli Mäki in a cameo role. I've heard nothing but superb things about this, and I can't wait to see it myself.
- 3/7/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
After premiering at Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Un Certain Regard Prize, Juho Kuosmanen‘s debut feature The Happiest Day In the Life of Olli Mäki went on to become Finland’s Oscar entry, and now it’ll get a U.S. release this spring courtesy of Mubi. Following a Finnish boxer whose newfound romance gets in the way of his training for a major fight, a U.S. trailer has now arrived and it looks to stunningly-photographed drama, all in black-and-white.
We said in our review, “The Happiest Day In the Life of Olli Mäki is a boxing biopic that has no interest in the sport of boxing. Winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Juho Kuosmanen’s dryly funny, blissfully sweet, and deceptively absorbing work revels in Olli Mäki’s psychological surroundings as he contends with the strangeness of national promotion,...
We said in our review, “The Happiest Day In the Life of Olli Mäki is a boxing biopic that has no interest in the sport of boxing. Winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Juho Kuosmanen’s dryly funny, blissfully sweet, and deceptively absorbing work revels in Olli Mäki’s psychological surroundings as he contends with the strangeness of national promotion,...
- 3/6/2017
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Maren Ade’s much-fancied German crowd-pleaser is among nine selected by the Academy to proceed to the nominations phase but there is no joy for Asia or Latin America.
The shortlist, announced on Thursday afternoon, includes three from Scandinavia – Hannes Holm’s Swedish selection A Man Called Ove, Martin Zandvliet’s Danish entry Land Of Mine, and Erik Poppe’s The King’s Choice from Norway.
Asghar Farhadi’s Iranian submission The Salesman is in the mix, as are Australia’s Tanna by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler, and Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only The End Of The World for Canada.
Flying the flag for Russia is Andrei Konchalovsky’s Paradise, while Switzerland’s My Life As A Zucchini by Claude Barras also makes the cut.
Conspicuous by their absence are The Age Of Shadows (South Korea), Afterimage (Poland), Neruda (Chile), Elle (France), Julieta (Spain), Sieranevada (Romania) and The Happiest Day In The Life Of [link...
The shortlist, announced on Thursday afternoon, includes three from Scandinavia – Hannes Holm’s Swedish selection A Man Called Ove, Martin Zandvliet’s Danish entry Land Of Mine, and Erik Poppe’s The King’s Choice from Norway.
Asghar Farhadi’s Iranian submission The Salesman is in the mix, as are Australia’s Tanna by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler, and Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only The End Of The World for Canada.
Flying the flag for Russia is Andrei Konchalovsky’s Paradise, while Switzerland’s My Life As A Zucchini by Claude Barras also makes the cut.
Conspicuous by their absence are The Age Of Shadows (South Korea), Afterimage (Poland), Neruda (Chile), Elle (France), Julieta (Spain), Sieranevada (Romania) and The Happiest Day In The Life Of [link...
- 12/16/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Maren Ade’s much-fancied German crowd-pleaser is among nine selected by the Academy to proceed to the nominations phase but there is no joy for Asia or Latin America.
The shortlist, announced on Thursday afternoon, includes three from Scandinavia – Hannes Holm’s Swedish selection A Man Called Ove, Martin Zandvliet’s Danish entry Land Of Mine, and Erik Poppe’s The King’s Choice from Norway.
Asghar Farhadi’s Iranian submission The Salesman is in the mix, as are Australia’s Tanna by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler, and Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only The End Of The World for Canada.
Flying the flag for Russia is Andrei Konchalovsky’s Paradise, while Switzerland’s My Life As A Zucchini by Claude Barras also makes the cut.
Conspicuous by their absence are The Age Of Shadows (South Korea), Afterimage (Poland), Neruda (Chile), Elle (France), Julieta (Spain), Sieranevada (Romania) and The Happiest Day In The Life Of [link...
The shortlist, announced on Thursday afternoon, includes three from Scandinavia – Hannes Holm’s Swedish selection A Man Called Ove, Martin Zandvliet’s Danish entry Land Of Mine, and Erik Poppe’s The King’s Choice from Norway.
Asghar Farhadi’s Iranian submission The Salesman is in the mix, as are Australia’s Tanna by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler, and Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only The End Of The World for Canada.
Flying the flag for Russia is Andrei Konchalovsky’s Paradise, while Switzerland’s My Life As A Zucchini by Claude Barras also makes the cut.
Conspicuous by their absence are The Age Of Shadows (South Korea), Afterimage (Poland), Neruda (Chile), Elle (France), Julieta (Spain), Sieranevada (Romania) and The Happiest Day In The Life Of [link...
- 12/16/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The process of picking the nominees for best foreign-language film are very complicated, perhaps unnecessarily so. However, it’s a real challenge to narrow the field of 85 official submissions to just nine.
See MoreOscars 2017: How the Academy Picks the Foreign Language Shortlist
So which films have been screening well enough to make the first six voted on by the regular Oscar members? We’ve created a gallery of what I think are the top nine, as gleaned from various sources about what screened well (and what didn’t).
See MoreAnne Thompson Picks Nine Films for the Best Foreign Film Shortlist: Gallery
Also popular (but not represented in the gallery) are two films eligible in other categories: the Golden Globes-nominated stop-motion animated “My Life as a Zucchini” (Switzerland), and Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner “Fire at Sea” (Italy), which is a strong documentary contender.
There’s also aborigine...
See MoreOscars 2017: How the Academy Picks the Foreign Language Shortlist
So which films have been screening well enough to make the first six voted on by the regular Oscar members? We’ve created a gallery of what I think are the top nine, as gleaned from various sources about what screened well (and what didn’t).
See MoreAnne Thompson Picks Nine Films for the Best Foreign Film Shortlist: Gallery
Also popular (but not represented in the gallery) are two films eligible in other categories: the Golden Globes-nominated stop-motion animated “My Life as a Zucchini” (Switzerland), and Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner “Fire at Sea” (Italy), which is a strong documentary contender.
There’s also aborigine...
- 12/14/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The process of picking the nominees for best foreign-language film are very complicated, perhaps unnecessarily so. However, it’s a real challenge to narrow the field of 85 official submissions to just nine.
See MoreOscars 2017: How the Academy Picks the Foreign Language Shortlist
So which films have been screening well enough to make the first six voted on by the regular Oscar members? We’ve created a gallery of what I think are the top nine, as gleaned from various sources about what screened well (and what didn’t).
See MoreAnne Thompson Picks Nine Films for the Best Foreign Film Shortlist: Gallery
Also popular (but not represented in the gallery) are two films eligible in other categories: the Golden Globes-nominated stop-motion animated “My Life as a Zucchini” (Switzerland), and Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner “Fire at Sea” (Italy), which is a strong documentary contender.
There’s also aborigine...
See MoreOscars 2017: How the Academy Picks the Foreign Language Shortlist
So which films have been screening well enough to make the first six voted on by the regular Oscar members? We’ve created a gallery of what I think are the top nine, as gleaned from various sources about what screened well (and what didn’t).
See MoreAnne Thompson Picks Nine Films for the Best Foreign Film Shortlist: Gallery
Also popular (but not represented in the gallery) are two films eligible in other categories: the Golden Globes-nominated stop-motion animated “My Life as a Zucchini” (Switzerland), and Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner “Fire at Sea” (Italy), which is a strong documentary contender.
There’s also aborigine...
- 12/14/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Moonlight fan poster by Tony StellaMoonlight, Deadpool, Mel Gibson, Trolls: a portrait of mainstream cinema in 2016 in the form of the eclectic list of nominees for the 2017 Golden Globes.Speaking of awards, the European Film Awards were announced over the weekend, with Germany's Toni Erdmann deservedly winning in the film, direction, actor, actress, and screenwriter categories. A moment of pride: our film, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, took home the Discovery award.An even more handsome list of films can be found at Film Comment's best released and unreleased films of the year. The poll is discussed in the magazine's latest podcast.The First Look series, a January festival at New York's Museum of the Moving Image, has always been on the cutting edge of film programming, and the 2017 First Look lineup looks very strong indeed, including a video game (!), Hirokazu Kore-eda's After the Storm,...
- 12/14/2016
- MUBI
Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller both won acting prizes for Toni Erdmann. Maren Ade became the first female director to win the top prize at the European Film Awards' 29 year history as her offbeat comedy Toni Erdmann swept away the competition.
The film, which tells the tale of a father's madcap attempts to reconnect with his daughter on a visit, was named best film as well as picking up the directing and writing awards for Ade, while its stars Sandra Hüller and Peter Simonischek were named best actress and actor.
The almost-as-offbeat A Man Called Ove - a comedy about a widower's failed attempts to kill himself - was named best European comedy, while the discovery prize went to Hannes Holm's boxing drama The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki.
Gianfranco Rosi's Fire At Sea was named best documentary, while the animation award went to My Life As A Zucchini.
The film, which tells the tale of a father's madcap attempts to reconnect with his daughter on a visit, was named best film as well as picking up the directing and writing awards for Ade, while its stars Sandra Hüller and Peter Simonischek were named best actress and actor.
The almost-as-offbeat A Man Called Ove - a comedy about a widower's failed attempts to kill himself - was named best European comedy, while the discovery prize went to Hannes Holm's boxing drama The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki.
Gianfranco Rosi's Fire At Sea was named best documentary, while the animation award went to My Life As A Zucchini.
- 12/11/2016
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The European Film Academy — more than 3,000 filmmakers across Europe – voted for this year’s European Film Awards. At the 29th EFAs ceremony on Saturday in Wroclaw, Poland, in a major rebuke to the Cannes competition jury that snubbed German director Maren Ade’s three-hour father-daughter comedy “Toni Erdmann,” her country’s foreign Oscar selection took home five top awards: Best European Film, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress. The awards ceremony is hosted by different countries each year.
Three Scandinavian Oscar entries: “A Man Called Ove” (Sweden), “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki” (Finland), and “Land of Mine” (Denmark) won awards, along with Oscar submissions from Italy (documentary “Fire at Sea”) and Switzerland (animated film “My Life as a Zucchini”). Andrzej Wajda, whose film “Afterimage” is Poland’s official Oscar entry, won an honorary award.
The U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences members participating in the...
Three Scandinavian Oscar entries: “A Man Called Ove” (Sweden), “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki” (Finland), and “Land of Mine” (Denmark) won awards, along with Oscar submissions from Italy (documentary “Fire at Sea”) and Switzerland (animated film “My Life as a Zucchini”). Andrzej Wajda, whose film “Afterimage” is Poland’s official Oscar entry, won an honorary award.
The U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences members participating in the...
- 12/11/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The European Film Academy — more than 3,000 filmmakers across Europe – voted for this year’s European Film Awards. At the 29th EFAs ceremony on Saturday in Wroclaw, Poland, in a major rebuke to the Cannes competition jury that snubbed German director Maren Ade’s three-hour father-daughter comedy “Toni Erdmann,” her country’s foreign Oscar selection took home five top awards: Best European Film, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress. The awards ceremony is hosted by different countries each year.
Three Scandinavian Oscar entries: “A Man Called Ove” (Sweden), “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki” (Finland), and “Land of Mine” (Denmark) won awards, along with Oscar submissions from Italy (documentary “Fire at Sea”) and Switzerland (animated film “My Life as a Zucchini”). Andrzej Wajda, whose film “Afterimage” is Poland’s official Oscar entry, won an honorary award.
The U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences members participating in the...
Three Scandinavian Oscar entries: “A Man Called Ove” (Sweden), “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki” (Finland), and “Land of Mine” (Denmark) won awards, along with Oscar submissions from Italy (documentary “Fire at Sea”) and Switzerland (animated film “My Life as a Zucchini”). Andrzej Wajda, whose film “Afterimage” is Poland’s official Oscar entry, won an honorary award.
The U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences members participating in the...
- 12/11/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Germany’s Oscar hopeful wins five major awards in Wroclaw at politically charged ceremony.
Toni Erdmann has been voted the best European film of 2016 at the European Film Awards in Wroclaw.
More than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - voted at this year’s awards ceremony.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The comedy also picked up awards for best European Director (Maren Ade), European Actress (Sandra Hüller), European Actor (Peter Simonischek) and European Screenwriter (Maren Ade).
The top prize for Toni Erdmann marked the first time in the EFAs’ 29-year history that the Best European Film award went to a female director as Maren Ade pointed out on accaccepting the evening’s final statuette with her partners Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski of their production company Komplizen Film.
Swedish comedy drama A Man Called Ove was voted best European comedy, while there were also wins for Fire At Sea...
Toni Erdmann has been voted the best European film of 2016 at the European Film Awards in Wroclaw.
More than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - voted at this year’s awards ceremony.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The comedy also picked up awards for best European Director (Maren Ade), European Actress (Sandra Hüller), European Actor (Peter Simonischek) and European Screenwriter (Maren Ade).
The top prize for Toni Erdmann marked the first time in the EFAs’ 29-year history that the Best European Film award went to a female director as Maren Ade pointed out on accaccepting the evening’s final statuette with her partners Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski of their production company Komplizen Film.
Swedish comedy drama A Man Called Ove was voted best European comedy, while there were also wins for Fire At Sea...
- 12/10/2016
- ScreenDaily
Germany’s Oscar contender wins five major awards in Wroclaw
Toni Erdmann has been voted the best European film of 2016 at the European Film Awards in Wroclaw. More than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - voted at this year’s awards ceremony.
The comedy also picked up awards for best European Director (Maren Ade), European Actress (Sandra Hüller), European Actor (Peter Simonischek) and European Screenwriter (Maren Ade).
Swedish comedy drama, A Man Called Ove, was voted best European comedy.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Meanwhile, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake won the first European University Film Award (Eufa), a collaboration between the Efa and Filmfest Hamburg. Students from 13 European countries came together in Hamburg this week and selected Loach’s film from five nominated titles.
On announcing the winner in Wroclaw, Filmfest director Albert Wiederspiel revealed that the initiative had been so popular that it was likely that universities...
Toni Erdmann has been voted the best European film of 2016 at the European Film Awards in Wroclaw. More than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - voted at this year’s awards ceremony.
The comedy also picked up awards for best European Director (Maren Ade), European Actress (Sandra Hüller), European Actor (Peter Simonischek) and European Screenwriter (Maren Ade).
Swedish comedy drama, A Man Called Ove, was voted best European comedy.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Meanwhile, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake won the first European University Film Award (Eufa), a collaboration between the Efa and Filmfest Hamburg. Students from 13 European countries came together in Hamburg this week and selected Loach’s film from five nominated titles.
On announcing the winner in Wroclaw, Filmfest director Albert Wiederspiel revealed that the initiative had been so popular that it was likely that universities...
- 12/10/2016
- ScreenDaily
Germany’s Oscar contender wins five major awards in Wroclaw
Toni Erdmann has been voted the best European film of 2016 at the European Film Awards in Wroclaw. More than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - voted at this year’s awards ceremony.
The comedy also picked up awards for best European Director (Maren Ade), European Actress (Sandra Hüller), European Actor (Peter Simonischek) and European Screenwriter (Maren Ade).
Swedish comedy drama, A Man Called Ove, was voted best European comedy.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Meanwhile, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake won the first European University Film Award (Eufa), a collaboration between the Efa and Filmfest Hamburg. Students from 13 European countries came together in Hamburg this week and selected Loach’s film from five nominated titles.
On announcing the winner in Wroclaw, Filmfest director Albert Wiederspiel revealed that the initiative had been so popular that it was likely that universities...
Toni Erdmann has been voted the best European film of 2016 at the European Film Awards in Wroclaw. More than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - voted at this year’s awards ceremony.
The comedy also picked up awards for best European Director (Maren Ade), European Actress (Sandra Hüller), European Actor (Peter Simonischek) and European Screenwriter (Maren Ade).
Swedish comedy drama, A Man Called Ove, was voted best European comedy.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Meanwhile, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake won the first European University Film Award (Eufa), a collaboration between the Efa and Filmfest Hamburg. Students from 13 European countries came together in Hamburg this week and selected Loach’s film from five nominated titles.
On announcing the winner in Wroclaw, Filmfest director Albert Wiederspiel revealed that the initiative had been so popular that it was likely that universities...
- 12/10/2016
- ScreenDaily
By Jose Solís.
In 1962, a young Finnish boxer faced featherweight champion of the world Davey Moore in a match that would go down in sports history as one of the most bittersweet for the tiny European country. Director Juho Kuosmanen has captured the event from the perspective of the challenger (played by Jarkko Lahti in a breakthrough) who finds himself vanishing among the excitement and pressure of the fight. The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki is a bittersweet tale about our need to create larger than life personalities that help us fulfill our desires, but fail to fulfill those who are actually participating in the experience. We see the sensitive, but quiet, Olli light up when he’s with his girlfriend Raija (Oona Airola), even though his manager Eelis (Eero Milonoff) suggests she will only make him lose the fight. Despite that the film is about a boxer,...
In 1962, a young Finnish boxer faced featherweight champion of the world Davey Moore in a match that would go down in sports history as one of the most bittersweet for the tiny European country. Director Juho Kuosmanen has captured the event from the perspective of the challenger (played by Jarkko Lahti in a breakthrough) who finds himself vanishing among the excitement and pressure of the fight. The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki is a bittersweet tale about our need to create larger than life personalities that help us fulfill our desires, but fail to fulfill those who are actually participating in the experience. We see the sensitive, but quiet, Olli light up when he’s with his girlfriend Raija (Oona Airola), even though his manager Eelis (Eero Milonoff) suggests she will only make him lose the fight. Despite that the film is about a boxer,...
- 12/6/2016
- by Jose
- FilmExperience
Paolo Virzi’s Italian buddy movie starring Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Micaela Ramazzotti will open the roster of 47 films from the 28 EU member states at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The Us premiere of Henrik Ruben Genz’s Danish caper Satisfaction 1720 will close the 29th annual edition of the showcase, running from December 1-18.
The selection includes 14 foreign language Oscar submissions such as Maren Ade’s German comedy Toni Erdmann, Juho Kuosmanen’s Finnish biopic The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki and Italian documentarian Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea.
Nine Us premieres include On The Other Side (Zrinko Ogresta, Croatia), Pericle (Stefano Mordini, Italy), Together For Ever (Lithuania), and Upstream (Marion Hänsel, Belgium).
The EU is represented in the United States by the Washington DC Delegation of the European Union, which works with the diplomatic missions of the 28 EU member states.
The...
The Us premiere of Henrik Ruben Genz’s Danish caper Satisfaction 1720 will close the 29th annual edition of the showcase, running from December 1-18.
The selection includes 14 foreign language Oscar submissions such as Maren Ade’s German comedy Toni Erdmann, Juho Kuosmanen’s Finnish biopic The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki and Italian documentarian Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea.
Nine Us premieres include On The Other Side (Zrinko Ogresta, Croatia), Pericle (Stefano Mordini, Italy), Together For Ever (Lithuania), and Upstream (Marion Hänsel, Belgium).
The EU is represented in the United States by the Washington DC Delegation of the European Union, which works with the diplomatic missions of the 28 EU member states.
The...
- 11/9/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Heartstone and Norwegian film-makers win big in Lübeck; Austerlitz takes home Golden Dove at Leipzig.
Lübeck’s 58th Nordic Film Days (Nov 2-6) has become the latest successful stop for Icelandic filmmaker Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s Heartstone after premiering in the Venice Days in September and picking up three awards at Warsaw Film Festival last month.
Gudmundsson’s debut was awarded the €12,500 Ndr Film Prize by a jury including Swedish actress Inger Nilsson (who played the title role of Pippi Longstocking in the classic children’s films when she was nine years old), Munich-based producer Jörg Bundschuh (The Fencer) and film director Marc Brummund (Sanctuary), for a “feature film of special artistic quality”.
The intensely moving coming of age tale, which takes place over one summer at a remote fishing village in Iceland, is being handled by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique.
Three nods for Norway
Elsewhere, Norwegian filmmakers took home three awards from the largest Nordic...
Lübeck’s 58th Nordic Film Days (Nov 2-6) has become the latest successful stop for Icelandic filmmaker Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s Heartstone after premiering in the Venice Days in September and picking up three awards at Warsaw Film Festival last month.
Gudmundsson’s debut was awarded the €12,500 Ndr Film Prize by a jury including Swedish actress Inger Nilsson (who played the title role of Pippi Longstocking in the classic children’s films when she was nine years old), Munich-based producer Jörg Bundschuh (The Fencer) and film director Marc Brummund (Sanctuary), for a “feature film of special artistic quality”.
The intensely moving coming of age tale, which takes place over one summer at a remote fishing village in Iceland, is being handled by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique.
Three nods for Norway
Elsewhere, Norwegian filmmakers took home three awards from the largest Nordic...
- 11/7/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Heartstone and Norwegian film-makers win big in Lübeck; Austerlitz takes home Golden Dove at Leipzig.
Lübeck’s 58th Nordic Film Days (Nov 2-6) has become the latest successful stop for Icelandic filmmaker Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s Heartstone after premiering in the Venice Days in September and picking up three awards at Warsaw Film Festival last month.
Gudmundsson’s debut was awarded the €12,500 Ndr Film Prize by a jury including Swedish actress Inger Nilsson (who played the title role of Pippi Longstocking in the classic children’s films when she was nine years old), Munich-based producer Jörg Bundschuh (The Fencer) and film director Marc Brummund (Sanctuary), for a “feature film of special artistic quality”.
The intensely moving coming of age tale, which takes place over one summer at a remote fishing village in Iceland, is being handled by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique.
Three nods for Norway
Elsewhere, Norwegian filmmakers took home three awards from the largest Nordic...
Lübeck’s 58th Nordic Film Days (Nov 2-6) has become the latest successful stop for Icelandic filmmaker Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s Heartstone after premiering in the Venice Days in September and picking up three awards at Warsaw Film Festival last month.
Gudmundsson’s debut was awarded the €12,500 Ndr Film Prize by a jury including Swedish actress Inger Nilsson (who played the title role of Pippi Longstocking in the classic children’s films when she was nine years old), Munich-based producer Jörg Bundschuh (The Fencer) and film director Marc Brummund (Sanctuary), for a “feature film of special artistic quality”.
The intensely moving coming of age tale, which takes place over one summer at a remote fishing village in Iceland, is being handled by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique.
Three nods for Norway
Elsewhere, Norwegian filmmakers took home three awards from the largest Nordic...
- 11/7/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The nominations for the 29th European Film Awards were announced this Saturday in Seville. Four films which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival are included in the race for Best European Film, including the Palme d’Or winner “I, Daniel Blake” and Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle.”
Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” leads the pack with six nominations including Best Film and Best Director. Among the Best Actress and Actor nominees this year are Isabelle Huppert for her critically acclaimed role in “Elle” and Hugh Grant for his charming performance in “Florence Foster Jenkins.”
Read More: British Independent Film Award Nominations: ‘I, Daniel Blake’ Leads with 7
The Efa, in collaboration with the European Film Academy and Efa Productions, honor the greatest achievements in European cinema.
The 2016 European Film Awards will take place on December 10 in Wroclaw, Poland.
Read More: 2016 Ida Documentary Awards Nominations Include ‘13th,’ ‘The White Helmets’ and ‘Fire At...
Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” leads the pack with six nominations including Best Film and Best Director. Among the Best Actress and Actor nominees this year are Isabelle Huppert for her critically acclaimed role in “Elle” and Hugh Grant for his charming performance in “Florence Foster Jenkins.”
Read More: British Independent Film Award Nominations: ‘I, Daniel Blake’ Leads with 7
The Efa, in collaboration with the European Film Academy and Efa Productions, honor the greatest achievements in European cinema.
The 2016 European Film Awards will take place on December 10 in Wroclaw, Poland.
Read More: 2016 Ida Documentary Awards Nominations Include ‘13th,’ ‘The White Helmets’ and ‘Fire At...
- 11/5/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
The Happiest Day In the Life of Olli Mäki is a boxing biopic that has no interest in the sport of boxing. Winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Juho Kuosmanen’s dryly funny, blissfully sweet, and deceptively absorbing work revels in Olli Mäki’s psychological surroundings as he contends with the strangeness of national promotion, the accruing pressures of competing, and a burgeoning romance that’s feeling more permanent than he expected.
Mäki (played by Jarkko Lahti) was a Finnish boxer who had a shot at the 1962 title when he faced American champion Davey Moore (John Bosco Jr.). Kuosmanen’s film drops in on Mäki shortly before the title fight when Mäki comes home to a small town for a family wedding and meets his future girlfriend, Raija (a deeply charismatic Oona Airola), the singer at said wedding. From these opening minutes,...
Mäki (played by Jarkko Lahti) was a Finnish boxer who had a shot at the 1962 title when he faced American champion Davey Moore (John Bosco Jr.). Kuosmanen’s film drops in on Mäki shortly before the title fight when Mäki comes home to a small town for a family wedding and meets his future girlfriend, Raija (a deeply charismatic Oona Airola), the singer at said wedding. From these opening minutes,...
- 11/4/2016
- by Michael Snydel
- The Film Stage
Chicago – The recently completed 52nd Chicago International Film Festival offered a world perspective on cinema, and honors the films that will influence the arts culture for years to come. Their Awards Night was October 21st, 2016, and was hosted by Richard Roeper, film critic of the Chicago Sun Times. The recipient of the top prize of the fest, the Gold Hugo, was “Sieranevada” (Romania), directed by Cristi Puiu.
The 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Awards Night was Oct. 21, 2016
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
The awards event took place at the AMC River East Theatre. Presenters included Programming Director Mimi Plauché, programmers Anthony Kaufman and Sam Flancher, plus various jury members – which included Geraldine Chapman (actress and daughter of Charlie Chaplin), who presided over the International Feature Film Competition Jury. Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com sat on the Animation Shorts jury. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named...
The 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Awards Night was Oct. 21, 2016
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
The awards event took place at the AMC River East Theatre. Presenters included Programming Director Mimi Plauché, programmers Anthony Kaufman and Sam Flancher, plus various jury members – which included Geraldine Chapman (actress and daughter of Charlie Chaplin), who presided over the International Feature Film Competition Jury. Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com sat on the Animation Shorts jury. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named...
- 10/30/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The official submissions for the foreign language Oscar are in from around the world, and the Academy has deemed a record 85 eligible to compete. Last year, 81 submissions were released theatrically in their home countries between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015. (This year’s deadline for submissions was October 3, 2016.)
Several Academy foreign committees comprised of members from all the branches will whittle down the films to a shortlist of nine and finally, five Oscar nominees. (Last year’s winner was Cannes prize-winner “Son of Saul,” directed by Hungarian Lazlo Nemes.) Many countries pick films that do well on the festival circuit as their strongest Oscar contender; others do not.
Politics often intervene: Brazil’s submission was expected to be Cannes competition film “Aquarius,” starring Sonia Braga, but it was embroiled in controversy over filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho’s support of outgoing impeached president Dilma Rousseff. Bruno Barreto’s Brazil selection committee went...
Several Academy foreign committees comprised of members from all the branches will whittle down the films to a shortlist of nine and finally, five Oscar nominees. (Last year’s winner was Cannes prize-winner “Son of Saul,” directed by Hungarian Lazlo Nemes.) Many countries pick films that do well on the festival circuit as their strongest Oscar contender; others do not.
Politics often intervene: Brazil’s submission was expected to be Cannes competition film “Aquarius,” starring Sonia Braga, but it was embroiled in controversy over filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho’s support of outgoing impeached president Dilma Rousseff. Bruno Barreto’s Brazil selection committee went...
- 10/12/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
This weekend the Toronto International Film Festival will have the North American premiere of The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, a film which Mubi will be releasing theatrically in the Us and UK next year. Winner of the Prix Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year (a prize won in recent years by such gems as Blissfully Yours, The Best of Youth, Moolaadé, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Tulpan, Dogtooth, The Missing Picture, White God and Rams) this beautiful, charming love story set in the world of boxing will be Mubi’s first ever theatrical release.Set in Finland in 1962 (the Finnish title Hymyilevä Mies translates as Smiling Man), The Happiest Day... tells the true story of national featherweight champion Olli Mäki and his world championship fight against American Davey Moore (a tragic figure commemorated in Bob Dylan’s song “Who Killed Davey Moore?”). Director Juho Kuosmanen...
- 9/10/2016
- MUBI
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