Finnish Lapland in the grip of cinema fever

Film and TV productions bring money to far north

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By Katri Kallionpää
     
      The plate contains meat balls made out of reindeer testicles, bear paw, matsutake salad, with a garden angelica schnapps on the side. The dish called “Heroes of the Arctic Circle”, is consumed quickly. In addition to the bill for EUR 35, the diner can sign his or her name on a certificate, on which the name of film director Dome Karukoski is on the top.
      The Pihvikeisari restaurant at Ylläs is already taking advantage of the movie Napapiirin sankarit, which is now being filmed in the area. The Finnish tile translates as “Heroes of the Arctic Circle”, although the official English language title is Lapland Odyssey.
     
A thick fog has altered Tuesday’s plans. Instead of wide open spaces, the crew is shooting a scene on the Tiurajärvi road.
      There are several lorries on the spot, one of which has slid into a ditch. It is pulled out immediately. The crew of 50 people works like a machine, and the shooting is proceeding on a tight schedule.
      The foggy grey of morning is soon replaced by the foggy grey of the evening. The road is illuminated by a “moon” that shines from the top of a crane. The stars of the film, Timo Lavikainen , Jasper Pääkkönen, and Jussi Vatanen, walk into the yard of a house to steal petrol
     
Exotic Lapland? Precisely. Karukoski shows on the camera’s screen display how enchanting the trees, the snow, and the light of the television that can be seen through the window of the house.
      “Lapland is a landscape of adversity, burned and occupied. It is like Finnish self-esteem”, Karukoski explains. The film tells about a man who has experienced much adversity, and who is without a job as a result.
      “Now he has to raise his head out of that situation. Lapland is a continuity of the experiences of the protagonist”, Karukoski says.
      This is precisely why he wants to shoot his adventure comedy right here in Ylläs, in spite of the fact that the cold, fog, snow, darkness, and distances are very expensive for a filmmaker.
     
Shooting the film costs an estimated EUR 10,000 a day.
      The budget of Lapland Odyssey is two million euros, a fifth of which will stay behind in Finnish Lapland.
      On the other hand, Karukoski points out that the exotic backdrop of Lapland is one reason why the project succeeded in getting foreign financing.
     
Karukoski has nothing against the idea that Lapland Odyssey might promote the local travel industry. “We are not filming a tourist advertisement, but a good film can increase interest in a country that it is depicting”, Karukoski says.
      There are numerous examples: the films that have been shot in Iceland in recent years have brought EUR 3 million to Iceland’s tourist services.
      The da Vinci Code has brought nearly 7 million euros to Scotland, where much of it was filmed. Finnish Lapland hopes to experience a similar boost.
      Erkki Kautto, director of business for the City of Rovaniemi, believes that film may prove to be a major business in Finnish Lapland.
      “The City of Rovaniemi has set as its goal that Lapland should become the centre of the film content business in Finland”, he says.
     
In addition to Lapland Odyssey, there are other film and television productions involving locations in Finnish Lapland, the hottest of which is the international Nicolas North by Antti Jokinen.
      People in Rovaniemi are already talking about Rollywood - a studio that is being set up on the banks of the River Ounasjoki for Nicolas North.
     
The movie boom has come as a surprise even to professionals in the travel business. “Cinema has slipped in quickly. The travel market will have its work cut out for it if it is to meet the challenge and get all possible benefits out of it”, says Sanna Kortelainen, head of marketing at Rovaniemi Tourism & Marketing Ltd.
      “It is a new challenge for us to spearhead marketing with movies. However, everyone is still very excited. Film and television productions have brought positive reactions and a new rise to travel and to creative businesses”, Kortelainen points out.
     
The base for the cinema business in Finnish Lapland has been built up for a long time. The Lapland Centre of Expertise for the Experience Industry (LEO) has been operating for ten years.
      A film commission has operated in Finnish Lapland since 2008. It is a body, supported by the European Union, which is marketing Finnish Lapland for the production of cinema, advertising, and television programming.
      Head of development Jetta Huttunen says that these projects benefit the region in three waves.
      In the first wave, the actual production is shot. The production crew needs accommodation, food, vehicles, carpenters, and many other things. The rule of thumb is that half of a film’s budget is left in the area where it is filmed.
      In the second wave, a ready movie, television series, or music video starts to attract tourists. In the third, services are built indoors to meet the needs of the tourists.
      This is exactly what the Pihvikeisari restaurant at Ylläs has understood. So kippis - let’s knock back a garden angelica schnapps for Lapland Odyssey.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 13.12.2009


Links:
  Internet Movie Database (IMDB): Napapiirin sankarit / Lapland Odyssey

Helsingin Sanomat