Eurovision Song Contest postcards are small stories

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At least one aspect of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki is being done on a smaller budget than last year in Athens: the "postcards", or presentations of Finland, the host country.
      Producer Heikki Seppälä of the Finish Broadcasting Company YLE is not revealing the cost of producing the short fiilms, but he notes that "in Athens, the tourism business subsidised Eurovision".
      Storyhouse Finland Ltd, which produced the Finnish postcards, says that it did not want to produce tourist promotion ads. Instead, it opted for short stories about Finland. "They are short films, 35 to 42 seconds in duration - little stories in which we smile at ourselves as well", said producer Kari Tervo.
      "Let's hope that they tell something about the lives of ordinary Finns", says Roosa Toivonen, one of the directors of the clips.
     
A mobile library driving in a snowy wilderness, a silent family pulls out their mobile telephones at the dinner table, and Kimmo Pohjonen with his accordion, happily tramping to swim in a hole in the ice on the sea.
     
The music for most of the clips was by Tuomas Kantelinen.
      A total of 52 short films will be shown during the semifinals and finals of the Eurovision Song Contest. A few of them were produced by YLE itself.
      YLE signed its contract with Storyhouse at the end of last summer. The public broadcaster had produced a few of its own clips before that.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Eurovision surge hits city today (8.5.2007)
  Eurovision Song Contest events to close streets around Helsinki (7.5.2007)
  Eurovision Song Contest: a technical learning experience for Finnish professionals (4.5.2007)

Links:
  Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) Eurovision Song Contest website

Helsingin Sanomat