City Helsinki Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Christopher Vourlias Miia Tervo’s “The Missile,” an absurdist dramatic comedy based on the real-life story of a Soviet missile landing in Finnish Lapland in 1984, took home the top prize Thursday at the Finnish Film Affair, an annual industry event running parallel to the Helsinki International Film Festival — Love & Anarchy. “The Missile” was one of five fiction feature works in progress that were pitched to an audience of industry guests in Helsinki on Sept.

Christopher Vourlias LevelK has boarded the dark comedic drama “The Kidnapping of a President” by Finnish director Samuli Valkama (“No Thank You”), the company announced this week in Helsinki. The film, which is produced by John Lundsten (“Renki”) and Melli Maikkula (“KilJuset”) for Tack Film, is based on the incredible, pulled-from-the-headlines story of the abduction of the first president of Finland.

Marta Balaga Welcome to Kino Laika: Aki Kaurismäki and Mika Lätti’s cinema in Karkkila, an hour away from Helsinki. A place where love for movies – and dogs – meets ghosts of cinema’s past. “One time, I had a 35mm copy of the Lumière brothers’ film ‘Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat.’ I lent it to some cinema and it never came back.

Marta Balaga Finland is ready to compete with the famed Bergman Estate on Fårö, as a new residence program for Nordic filmmakers takes shape. Set in Söderlångvik, patron of the arts Amos Anderson’s former summer residence on Kimito Island in southwest Finland, it will target mainly actors and directors. The initiative, a result of a collaboration between Föreningen Konstsamfundet association – founded by Anderson in 1940 – and Helsinki Int.

Christopher Vourlias As part of its industry program running parallel to the Helsinki Film Festival — Love & Anarchy, which takes place Sept. 14 – 24, the Finnish Film Affair is presenting five local TV series currently in the works that will be pitched to potential co-producers, financiers, broadcasters, streaming platforms, sales agents and other international industry reps. The five projects will be presented on Sept.

Christopher Vourlias At its latest edition, which takes place parallel to the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival — Love & Anarchy, the Finnish Film Affair will again host its well-received Nordic Flair training program, an initiative designed to offer career development for film professionals from across the Nordic region. After a 2022 edition that focused on sales agents, distributors, buyers and broadcast commissioners, this year’s event will host actors working in one or more of the Nordic countries.

Marta Balaga Caution! Kaisa El Ramly’s upcoming feature “Gateways & Dreams” has debuted a trailer, so watch out for moving vehicles. The tragicomic road movie, produced by Helsinki-based Inland Film Company and co-produced by Sweden’s Läsk, focuses on multiple characters stuck in their cars on one summer’s day, as well as one hitchhiker and a very special dog. Following its screenings at Helsinki Int.

Marta Balaga Director Katja Gauriloff has made history with “Je’vida,” the first feature shot in the Skolt Sámi language. “It’s my native tongue, but because of forced assimilation in Finland [of the Sámi people] I didn’t actually learn it. I am studying it only now,” she tells Variety ahead of the Toronto premiere.

Relieved Alfredo Morelos has finally ended his three-continent search for a new club as he gets set to sign for Santos.

EXCLUSIVE: Nadia Forde has joined the cast of Conflict, the Finnish political thriller series from Rebellion director Aku Louhimies and XYZ Films.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Beta Film has dropped the trailer for “Estonia,” a Scandinavian limited series about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster. The eight-part cinematic show, which is represented in international markets by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”), charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on Sept.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Noted Japanese director Ando Momoko (“Kakera: Pieces of Our Life,” “0.5mm”) has been named as the ambassador for this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. She also features, alongside her father Okuda Eiji in the festival’s newly-released poster, which recreates a scene from Ozu Yasujiro’s “Tokyo Story” and in which Okuda and Ando represent the classic film’s Ryu Chishu and Hara Setsuko characters. The poster image, shot at the rooftop garden of Kitte Marunouchi Building, with Tokyo Station in the background, was designed by Koshino Junko, who has created the festival’s key visuals for the past three years.

Arctic Circle maker Yellow Film & TV, which calls itself the biggest independent production studio in the Nordics, has signed a Chief Content Officer and added to its drama department.

EXCLUSIVE: Helsinki-based sales company The Yellow Affair has acquired world sales rights to the TIFF Centrepiece title JE’VIDA, a Sámi language historical drama by Finnish filmmaker Katja Gauriloff.

Marta Balaga FilmSharks has picked up world sales rights to Finnish children’s film “Snot & Splash: The Mystery of Disappearing Holes.” “It was a bidding war. They got offers from everybody,” said FilmSharks CEO Guido Rud. “Snot & Splash” (“Räkä ja Roiskis”) is produced by It’s Alive Films – founded by director Teemu Nikki and Jani Pösö – and set for distribution in its native Finland (Scanbox), Scandinavian sub distribution by Sweden (Folkets Bio) and Norway (Norsk Filmdistribusjon), and Italy in the spring (I Wonder Pictures).

Coldplay have added more shows to their upcoming European tour, set to kick off in summer 2024.The British indie-rock veterans announced details of their new tour last week (July 20) — set to kick off in June, and feature their first-ever live dates in Greece, Romania and Finland.Featuring stops across Europe – including dates in Italy, France, Germany, Austria and more – Chris Martin and co. have now added seven additional dates to the 2024 ‘Music Of The Spheres’ tour.Extra dates in Bucharest, Lyon, Rome and Helsinki have been added as of today (July 25), as well as an additional show in Dublin’s Croke Park Stadium at the beginning of September, making for three back-to-back shows in the Ireland capital.The 2024 tour – which shares its name with the group’s latest album, 2021’s ‘Music Of The Spheres’ – arrives on the heels of their ongoing 2023 stadium shows, which kicked off in May.

Coldplay have announced a series of European stadium tour dates, set to take place in summer 2024. Find ticket information and a list of dates below.The new run of tour dates arrive on the heels of the band’s current 2023 stadium shows, which kicked off in May.

Kaytranada, Finnish superstar ALMA and Swedish-Finnish singer-songwriter Markus Krunegård have joined the main festival’s roster, along with other additions to its Backyard stage.Check out Flow Festival’s full line-up – complete with the latest additions – below.New additions to Flow Festival’s Backyard stage are Arp Frique and Coco María, who join previously announced acts Nooriyah, John Gómez, Kampire, Renata Do Valle, Awesome Tapes, HabibiFunk, Zakia, Gop Tun, Lil’ Tony, Ocean People, Marc Fred, Maria Wesander, and Dj Mojo.Previously announced performers for Flow Festival 2023 include Blur, Wizkid, Lorde and Christine & The Queens, FKA twigs, Caroline Polachek, Suede, Devo, Shygirl, Jockstrap, Moderat, Tove Lo, Amyl & The Sniffers, Kelela, Eris Drew b2b Octo Octa, Folamour, Jyoty, Kerri Chandler, Chaos In The CBD and more.The iconic Balloon 360° stage – which already had its line-up revealed in May – includes Horace Andy, Balming Tiger, DOMi & JD Beck, Meshell Ndegeocello, Alogte Oho and His Sounds of Joy, Nala Sinephro, Esa’s Afro-Synth Band, Kamazu, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Olli Ahvenlahti, Tumomo & Markus, Verneri Pohjola, Ne Galakktiset, Kaisa’s Machine, Elsi Sloan, Sonia, and Valtteri Laurell Nonet.Tickets for Flow Festival 2023 are on sale now – you can purchase yours here.

unable to answer “easy” clues, making the show difficult to watch.One of the clues read, “Going straight to HEL? Then you’re on a direct flight to this northern European country.”The returning champion, Bryan, buzzed in to offer the answer “Helsinki,” which was incorrect – it was the name of the airport, but the clue asked for the country, which is Finland.The other two contestants failed to answer even after Bryan gave them the hint, which was irritating for one viewer.“I’m sorry, how did both of the other two contestants miss ringing in with ‘Finland?’” the person asked on Twitter. “Bryan practically handed the answer to them when he mistakenly said ‘Helsinki’ instead of naming the country.”Another contestant, Alicia, had some issues with figuring out the timing with her buzzer, causing her to not successfully buzz in until after the contestants’ intros were made, which made someone on Reddit wonder if this was a record for “the furthest a game has gone without one contestant successfully buzzing in.”Perhaps the biggest issue of the night happened in “Final Jeopardy.”The clue was “Centenarian ceramic artist Beatrice Wood helped inspire one of the main characters & narrator of this film from the 1990s.”The players answered “Ed Wood,” “Toy Story” and “Ghost” respectively, but none of those movies were the right answer – host Mayim Bialik revealed that “Titanic” was the movie referenced.One fan exclaimed, “Seriously @Jeopardy, some incredibly easy Final Jeopardy questions of late, and all 3 contestants tonight missed the movie, The Titanic.

"Jeopardy!" fans seem to have just as much fun taking issue with the game show as they do watching it. The latest example of this took place after Thursday night's episode, one in which viewers accused the contestants of being unable to answer "easy" clues, making the show difficult to watch.

McKinley Franklin editor Finis Dean Smith, a stuntman regular in John Wayne Westerns who turned to Hollywood after becoming an Olympic gold medalist, died Saturday. He was 91.  Smith was born in Breckenridge, Texas and began his athletic career competing in track and field competitions, earning All-American status in the 100-meter dash in 1952. He went on to win varying athletic championships, culminating in his inclusion on Team U.S.A. as a member of the 4×100-meter relay team at the Helsinki Olympics, where he would win the gold medal. Following his graduation from University of Texas at Austin, Smith would play for the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers for a few years ahead of his career in the entertainment industry. 

As temperatures continue to climb here in the UK, it’s safe to say that Summer is well and truly here. Yet with the days now at their longest and the balmy temperatures keeping the rain at bay, more and more of us will be hoping to spend some well deserved time outside to soak in those all important rays.

EXCLUSIVE: Activist Artists Management has signed Hanna Västinsalo, the Finnish writer-director whose debut feature, Palimpsest, won an HFPA Special Prize at last year’s Venice Film Festival. The emerging filmmaker will now be represented at the company by Bernie Cahill and Jon Kanak.

Celine Dion has cancelled her 2024 ‘Courage’ world tour dates due to a neurological illness she first disclosed last year.In late 2022, the legendary singer confirmed that she has been living with a disorder called stiff person syndrome, an extremely rare autoimmune neurological condition that affects one person in a million.After the singer postponed her European tour dates to February 2023 due to “ongoing health issues”, she then pushed them back again to 2024, admitting she “wasn’t ready” to disclose details of her condition previously.Now, the 2024 dates have been cancelled, with Dion saying in a statement that she’s “heartbroken” about the decision.“It’s not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again,” she told fans.“I want you all to know, I’m not giving up… and I can’t wait to see you again!”She added: “I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again.

Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann fell off the stage at the band’s first concert of the year in Vilnius, Lithuania on Monday (May 22).At the end of the gig at Vingis Park, all six members of the German industrial metal band stood at the front of the stage to thank fans and wrap up the gig, as recorded in video footage.Seconds later, Lindemann fell into an opening behind him while most of the band members remained oblivious to what happened.The band appeared the look into the void a few seconds later, though it’s not known if Lindemann sustained any injuries.The band are due to continue their European this weekend for two shows at Helsinki’s Olympiastadion on Saturday (27) and Sunday (28).They will also perform shows in Munich, Madrid, Lisbon, Budapest, Berlin, Paris and more throughout the summer, before their close out at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on August 4.

Mubi has snapped up rights to the acclaimed feature Fallen Leaves, written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki, in a competitive situation, following its world premiere in Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

“It felt like this bloody world needed some love stories now,” Fallen Leaves director Aki Kaurismäki said of his Palme d’Or contender this afternoon.

nothing in common.)“Fallen Leaves” is the first movie Kaurismaki has made since 2017’s “The Other Side of Hope” – which was, he said at the time, the last movie he would ever make. And if it’s odd that it’s the first movie after his last movie, the Cannes program says that it’s also the fourth part of a working-class trilogy (“Shadows in Paradise,” “Ariel” and “The Match Factory”) that he made three decades ago. Ansa (Alma Pöysti) works in a supermarket, at least until she’s fired for taking home a sandwich with an expired sell-by date.

Following his show-stopping performance at last weekend's Eurovision Song Contest grand final in Liverpool, it's safe to say the UK's fallen a little bit in love with Finland's Käärijä.

Scooch bandmates Russ Spencer and Caroline Barnes represented the UK with their camp cabin crew anthem Flying The Flag (For You) in 2007. Now, they tell us how they found romance as well as fame after their Eurovision performance in Helsinki. Chatting about their lasting love, Caroline says, “We both had other partners during Eurovision, but I think we eventually just came to the realisation we were in love with each other.