Director of the Year: Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää; Producers of the Year: Petteri Pasanen and Hannu Tuomainen
25.9.2009

Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää has been awarded as Director of the Year by The Association of Finnish Film Directors, and Petteri Pasanen and Hannu Tuomainen as Producers of the Year by The Central Organization of Finnish Film Producers. These honorary mentions were announced on Thursday September 24, in a gala evening dedicated to Finnish cinema, organized by Love & Anarchy Helsinki International Film Festival (September 17–27, 2009). The gala evening culminated in the Finnish premiere of Saara Saarela´s Twisted Roots (Väärät juuret), which will have its domestic premiere on October 9, 2009. Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää is the director of The Visitor (Muukalainen), which is his debute feature. According to the The Association of Finnish Film Directors, this film shows the director´s uncompromising vision and courage to make non-mainstream cinema. The Visitor had its world premiere at the Venice Days of the Venice International Film Festival in 2008. Pasanen and Tuomainen are the producers of the feature-length animation film Niko and the Way to the Stars (Niko – lentäjän poika, 2008). According to the Central Organization of Finnish Film Producers, the success of this film clearly proves the professional skill of the producers in terms of coming up with vast international financing and global distribution. This Finnish-German-Danish-Irish co-production has been sold to over 100 countries, and already during 2008 it got an audience of around 1,5 Million admissions in international distribution. In Finland, Niko has also clearly interested the audience and has over 230 000 admissions in cinemas. It also got two Jussi Awards (Finnish “Oscars”), one for the best film and one for the best script. The professional skill of Pasanen and Tuomainen has been acknowledged abroad as well. They were nominated for the best producers at Cartoon Movie in France. Niko is also a contender for the EFA award for best European animation, to be announced at the European Film Awards Ceremony on 12 December in Germany´s Ruhr Metropolis. International sales of The Visitor are handled by Wild Bunch, and those of Niko and the Way to the stars by Telepool.

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