Finns at Cannes 2025
Welcome to the Nordic House!
The Five Nordics returns to 11 Square Mérimée in Cannes!
We strive to maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone at Nordic House. To ensure the safety of all individuals on our premises, guards will use metal detector and conduct bag checks at the entrance. Note that big bags or luggage are not permitted inside Nordic House.
Meet the Finnish Film Foundation in Cannes:
Lasse Saarinen
Chief Executive Officer
+ 358 9 6220 3023
Jaana Puskala
Head of International Department
• managing international promotion
• project support for international promotion: feature films
+ 358 9 6220 3026
Jenni Domingo
Advisor / International Promotion and Cultural Export of Feature Films
• festival distribution strategy for feature films
• travel support and material and marketing support for feature films
+ 358 9 6220 3032
Otto Suuronen
Advisor / International Promotion and Cultural Export of Short Films
• festival distribution strategy for short films and short documentary films
• travel, project and material and marketing support for short films and short documentary films
• monthly short film screenings at Kino K13
• curating short film programmes
+ 358 9 6220 3019
Matti Paunio
Head of Production
• management of the production department
• coordinating the Foundation’s international training and co-production projects
• the Finnish representative in the Eurimages Fund
• support for the promotion of other film culture
+358 9 6220 3038
Kirsi Hatara
Film Commissioner
• development support and production support for feature films
• development support for drama series (episodes 22 minutes and over)
• slate development support
•50/50 production support
+358 9 6220 3029
ACID
A Light That Never Goes Out
Debut feature / World premiere
Directed by Lauri-Matti Parppei
Produced by Ilona Tolmunen for Made
Sales: Patra Spanou Film
Pauli (29), a classical flutist, returns to his small Finnish hometown to recover after a breakdown. Unable to play, he feels like a failure. Pauli runs into Iiris, who makes experimental music by herself. Iiris starts persuading him to try and make some music together, and she’s convinced that by joining forces, they’d be able to create something completely new and unique. Pauli, who has always sought perfection, is drawn to her chaotic energy and finds comfort in their sonic experiments.
La Cinef
The Lightning Rod
Directed by Helmi Donner
Produced by Sandra Enkvist and Hadi Nikzad / ELO Film School Finland, Aalto University
A young mother, Irina, is on the run from her poisonous relationship. She thinks her grandmother’s house is a safe place, but learns that grandma has her own wounds too.
Screening:
Tuesday May 20, at 14:30, Salle Buñuel
Official competition
Eagles of the Republic
Minority co-production SE-FR-DK-FI
Directed by Tarik Saleh
Finnish co-producer: Bufo
Marché du Film
Short Film Corner
Selected by the Finnish Film Foundation
PANEL
Framing Democracy: The Power of Film
Presented by The Five Nordics
The Nordic film institutes invite key voices from politics, culture, and civil society to explore how films can foster dialogue, strengthen freedom of expression and democratic resilience.
Saturday May 17, 12:00–13:00
At Main Stage (Riviera)
Event / Cannes Next
Nordic AI Mixer
Presented by The Alchemist Collective
With support from the Finnish Film Foundation
Sunday May 18, 18:00–20:00
At Village Innovation (Pantiero)