FINNISH BLOOD SWEDISH HEART A musical documentary by Mika Ronkainen

A son and a father go on a road trip that turns into a musical journey into the emotional memory and the history of Finnish immigration in Sweden; of shame, guilt, crime, alcoholism, and family secrets.

Kai Latvalehto, an ex-musician in his forties, drives with his father Tauno from Oulu in Northern Finland all the way down to in Southern Sweden to revisit the places they lived in back in the 1970's - from Kai's childhood until he was a teenager. The journey of a father and son turns into a musical trip into the emotional memory and the history of Finnish immigration in Sweden; of shame, guilt, crime, alcoholism, and family secrets.

The film tells the personal story of a father and a son, but also that of those 600,000 Finns who moved to Sweden in the 1960’s–1970’s as migrant workers escaping the huge unemployment in Finland. Around 200,000 of them returned back to Finland in the 1980s. Kai and Tauno were among those who returned.

The film creates a special cinematic genre of its own. While being a documentary, it also is a road movie, and a musical. The musical backbone of the film is formed by songs written in the 1970's by the first generation of Finnish immigrants in Sweden, and performed live in the film by second generation Sweden-Finnish musicians.

"Finnish Blood Swedish Heart" is Mika Ronkainen's third feature length documentary after successful “Screaming Men” and “Freetime Machos”. “Finnish Blood Swedish Heart” was awarded with the Dragon Award for the Best Nordic Documentary at Göteborg Film Festival 2013, and with three awards (Main Award, Audience Award, and Risto Jarva Award) at Tampere Film Festival 2013. Mika Ronkainen was selected for Ten European Directors to Watch by Variety's critics at Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2013.

Director Mika Ronkainen Cinematographer Vesa Taipaleenmäki Editor Åsa Mossberg Sound design Esa Nissi Cast Kai Latvalehto, Tauno Latvalehto, Oiva Latvalehto With musical performances by Anna Järvinen, Darya Pakarinen, Love Antell, , Mirella Hautala, Månskensorkestern, Hannu Kiviaho, Heikki Kiviaho, Harri Mänty, Jukka Takalo Producer Ulla Simonen / Klaffi Productions Executive producers Kimmo Paananen & Mika Ronkainen Co-producers Antonio Russo Meranda / Hysteria Film Annie Bataillard & Anne Baumann / ARTE G.E.I.E. In co-operation with YLE / Erkki Astala and SVT / Hjalmar Palmgren Financed by Finnish Film Foundation / Miia Haavisto; ESEK & LUSES / AV Special Support Swedish Film Institute / Tove Torbjörnsson; NFTF / Karolina Lidin Duration 90 minutes Screening formats DCP; HDCam; DigiBeta Press Thess Mooij / SilverSalt PR [email protected] tel +420 732 331 517 Festival distribution Finnish Film Foundation, [email protected] FINNISH BLOOD SWEDISH HEART A 90-minute musical documentary by Mika Ronkainen

The musical backbone of the film is formed by songs written in the 1970's by the first generation of Finnish immigrants in Sweden, performed live in the film by second generation Sweden-Finnish musicians. Most of the songs were originally released in 1973 by an influential Finnish record company Love Records on a forgotten compilation album Immigrant's Road which has never been re-issued.

THE BACKING BANDS:

MÅNSKENSORKESTERN Finnish tango played by Swedish urban hipsters? Darya & Månskensorkestern (Moonshine Orchestra in English) managed to make traditional Finnish tango trendy in the club scene. The two founding members Viktor Littmarck and Darya Pakarinen have a Finnish parent each and a shared passion for older Finnish music. The band’s debut album Älska, lid och glöm (Love, suffer, and forget) was released in 2011.

ESKILSTUNA BOYS Harri Mänty is a former member of Kent - the most popular domestic group ever in Sweden since Abba. Harri, alongside with brothers Hannu and Heikki Kiviaho, grew up in industrial Eskilstuna in the 1970’s as children to Finnish immigrants, who compromised a staggering 10% of the town’s population. The Kiviaho brothers started as teen punks and have since then played in numerous highly popular outfits, including Sator, Thåström and Fatboy.

THE SINGERS:

ANNA JÄRVINEN Popular both in Sweden and in Finland, Anna has released three critically and commercially acclaimed albums. Although she writes and records in Swedish, she has been consistent in stressing her Finnish background both in interviews and in her music with lyrics like "Helsinki, come and get me, please".

MARKUS FAGERVALL The charismatic winner of Swedish . His debut album became the best selling debut album ever in Sweden.

DARYA PAKARINEN Lead singer of Darya & Månskensorkestern. Has an Iranian father and a Finnish mother.

LOVE ANTELL Has Finnish parents but speaks no Finnish, which really is surprising, considering his vocal performance in the film. Debut solo album released in April 2012.

MIRELLA HAUTALA A competent vocalist and artist who masters genres as varied as ska, punk and traditional Finnish dance music. Speaks Finnish with a strong Turku accent, although she has never lived in Finland. and JUKKA TAKALO A successful solo artist in Finland and the singer of the now defunct Aknestik – the band he co-founded with Kai Latvalehto, the main character in the film. Aknestik's biggest hit was Suomirokkia (Finnish rock). Jukka also lived his early childhood in Sweden. REVIEWS:

FILMKOMMENTAREN: http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/2138/ VARIETY: http://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/finnish-blood-swedish-heart-1117949268/