Ten short films from Nordic “Directors to watch” follows the December issues of the Nordic film magazines RUSHPRINT in Norway, EKKO in Denmark, Episodi in Finland and FLM in Sweden. One of the directors is Mikko Kuparinen with «Sirocco».

– How did you get the idea for the film?

“Sirocco is based on a short story by the Finnish author Tuuve Aro. She and actress Eeva Putro, who plays the leading role in the film, thought the story would make a good short film and asked me to direct it. At first I thought they were completely nuts. The short story is about fifty pages long and it mostly consists of descriptions of the main character’s inner world. Not a very good foundation for a film, I thought. Then again, I was deeply moved and at the same time disturbed by the story.  The idea of directing a film based on it intrigued me. I just didn´t know how to do it. When developing the idea further I came to the conclusion that since the short story is very literal, it should be turned into a very cinematic short film – a film that is mainly based on action and contain as few lines as possible.”

– What was the biggest challenge of making the film?

”We managed to raise a rather high budget and it happened smooth and fast, so I really cannot complain about that. They say it is hard to direct animals and children. I don´t know much about animals, but now I definitely know it is hard with babies.”

– Which feelings do you hope the audience is left with after watching the film?

“I´ve heard that people react in very different ways to Sirocco. Some are moved, but some might even feel disturbed. I´m okay with that. The most important thing, in any film, is that it provokes emotions.”

– What do you hope this film can do for your career?

“We just won The Grand Prix at Odense Film Festival with it and that feels very good. Awards always make you feel good. They give you confidence. It´s dangerous to get stuck with that sense of satisfaction awards give you, though. You have to think forward. When directing Sirocco I felt quite comfortable and confident with the naturalistic visual language that I used and have been experimenting in my previous shorts as well. I hope that in the future I will maintain the courage to make bold choices and to challenge myself, in terms of visual solutions, even further.”

– Why does the film look the way it does – aesthetically and stylistically?

“It is a style that I´ve been systematically developing. To me it is an emotionally powerful way to tell stories. Realistic acting that doesn´t look like acting.  Camerawork that doesn´t draw attention to itself. Set design that is highly constructed, yet looks natural and arbitrary.”

– How do you feel about the result today? – What is good and what is bad?

“Watching my old work is often a bit painful.  I tend to only see the mistakes. Perhaps it´s simply because my visual concepts and my thinking have developed and changed with time. Or perhaps I just get bored. However, with Sirocco I find a couple of scenes that I still actually enjoy watching.”

– What was the most important thing you learned during the making of your film?

“That it is really hard to direct a baby.”

– Which Nordic directors inspire you?

“I admire the work of Daniel Espinosa and Susanne Bier a lot. The level of realism and emotional force in their films is remarkable. And Lars von Trier is a genius. He is brilliant.”

– How would you describe the conditions for making feature films in Nordic countries?

“Finns go to see Finnish films. That´s good news. Nowadays, in Finland we make about thirty features per year. I don´t know if it would be possible to make more than that. The films might start eating each other off. In Nordic countries it still is possible to make challenging films for adult audiences. We should appreciate this and be bolder when choosing which stories to tell.”

– If you could change one thing about Nordic films, what would it be?

“There aren´t that many films from other Nordic countries that get proper theatrical distribution in Finland and it´s a shame. We definitely should see more foreign films (and not only from USA), since we are introverted and narrow minded people.”

– Which actors/film professionals from other Nordic countries would you like to work with?

“There are so many! Producers Lars Jönsson and Peter Aalbæk Jensen have produced such a huge number of great films that you have to respect their choices. I also admire the work of cinematographer Manuel Alberto Claro.”

– What is your next film going to be about?

“It is an English language, romantic drama called Bucharest-Inter 965. It is a story of an encounter between two people – A Finnish man and a French woman – away from home, in a foreign country. They meet by chance and connect even though they don´t have a language in common. At first they have bit of a crush on each other, but then start finding out things they dislike in the other person. They decide to go separate ways, but an ash cloud of a volcano prevents them from flying and they get stuck in Bucharest. What follows after will change their lives forever. Bucharest-Inter 965 will be produced by Marko Antila (8-ball, Alaska Highway) of production company Mjölk.”

av Jeppe Mørch & Marie Andersen / Filmmagasinet Ekko