Finland Ramps Up Production, Takes on New Genres

variety.com:

Marta Balaga Finland has responded to a spike in demand for its content with a slew of new series. As revealed by Laura Kuulasmaa, executive director at Audiovisual Producers Finland (APFI), over 30 will be released this year alone, a 20% uptick on 2018.“Compared to eight, ten years ago, when there were maybe only five scripted series per year, the increase has been huge,” she tells Variety ahead of French TV festival Series Mania’s “Focus on Finland” showcase.

The Film in Finland cash rebate has facilitated international investments and growth of the budgets, she notes. Matti Paunio, head of production at the Finnish Film Foundation, adds:“I think the biggest trend overall is the diversification of subjects and points of view.

Scripts and series are more courageous, they take on different genres more often than ever. Production is booming, but apart from the quantity, we are also providing quality.” According to Paunio, about 47% of writers, 40% of producers and 38% of the directors of series that tapped support for development were female.Horror also continues to enjoy its moment in the sun. “Raspberry Hill,” produced by Söder Films, will focus on scaring much younger viewers, in anthology series “Nordic Horror Masters,” produced by Don Films, different directors get a chance to create their own twisted tales.“We currently have Roar Uthaug, Tommy Wirkola, Taneli Mustonen and Lars Klevberg interested in directing an episode,” reports producer Aleksi Hyvärinen, also behind “Lake Bodom” and Teresa Palmer starrer “The Twin.”“It seems there’s more courage in the marketplace to tell quirkier, crazier stories and dive into languages and cultures that have previously been avoided by the bigger players.