Arto Tapio Paasilinna was a Finnish writer, being a former journalist turned comic novelist. One of Finland's most successful novelists, he won a broad readership outside of Finland in a way few other Finnish authors have before. Translated into 27 languages, over seven million copies of his books have been sold worldwide, and he has been claimed as "instrumental in generating the current level of interest in books from Finland".
Uuno Turhapuro is a Finnish comedy character and antihero created by Spede Pasanen and played by Vesa-Matti Loiri. Originally appearing in Spede Show during 1971–1973, the character gained popularity through the Uuno Turhapuro films.
Erkki Olavi "Ere" Kokkonen, born in Savonlinna, was a Finnish film director and screenwriter.
Lasse Erik Pöysti was a Finnish actor, director, theatre manager and writer. He was born in Sortavala.
Sibelius is a 2003 Finnish film biography of Jean Sibelius directed and written by Timo Koivusalo. It is the first full-length feature film about the famous composer.
Jarmo Mäkinen is a Finnish actor.
Rea Mauranen is a Finnish television actress who has appeared in several Finnish films.
Taistoism was an orthodox pro-Soviet tendency in the mostly Eurocommunist Finnish communist movement in the 1970s and 1980s. The Taistoists were an interior opposition group in the Communist Party of Finland. They were named after their leader Taisto Sinisalo, whose first name means "a battle", "a fight" or "a struggle". Sinisalo's supporters constituted a party within a party, but pressure from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union prevented the party from formally splitting. The term taistolaisuus was a derogatory nickname invented by Helsingin Sanomat and was never used by the group themselves.
Heikki Kinnunen is a Finnish actor, who became well known in the beginning of the 1970s in the comedy program Ällitälli. Kinnunen was known specially for his roles in comedy films and -series. He has played the leading role in Vääpeli Körmy films and appeared in five Uuno Turhapuro films.
The Boys is a 1962 Finnish war drama film directed by Mikko Niskanen. It is based on a 1958 novel by Paavo Rintala. It was entered into the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival. The second lead role, Jake, was played by 17-year-old Vesa-Matti Loiri, who received the Jussi Awards certificate of honor for his role as a young actor.
Vääpeli Körmy is a character played by famed Finnish comedian Heikki Kinnunen in a series of five Finnish comedies released between 1990 and 1997, as well as in a cameo appearance in Uuno Turhapuro herra Helsingin herra. The films each parody aspects of the Finnish Defense Forces but also Finland's international relations, its presidents and various political and social aspects of Finnish life.
Hilja maitotyttö is a 1953 Finnish drama film directed by T. J. Särkkä, and starred Anneli Sauli, Saulo Haarla and Tauno Palo. A film is based on the 1913 short story "Hilja the Milkmaid" by Johannes Linnankoski. When it premiered in Finland, the film caused a stir and controversy due to its eroticism and the rape scene included in the story; however, the erotic content guaranteed the sale of the film to a dozen other countries.
The Village Shoemakers is a Finnish silent comedy film made in 1923, directed and produced by Erkki Karu, written by Artturi Järviluoma and starred by Axel Slangus. The film is based on the 1864 play Heath Cobblers, written by Aleksis Kivi, and is the first of several film versions of the play.
The Sheep Eaters is a humorous Finnish novel written by Veikko Huovinen in 1970, subtitled “Finnish Outing Story.” It tells the story of two men, Sepe and Valtteri, who embark on a special car trip in August. The intention is to hunt sheep, although towards the end of the book they get enough sheep meat and otherwise only camp, also in neighboring countries. That part reflects on the way the world is going, and in fact the events only serve as a framework for the essential content of the book, that is, the discussions of “male people” marked by the humor typical of Huovinen, which mixes the boundaries of folk and high culture.
Farewell, Mr. President is a 1987 Finnish action thriller film directed by Matti Kassila and starring Hannu Lauri. It tells the story of a disgruntled waiter planning to assassinate the Finnish President. The film is based on a 1979 thriller novel of the same name by Pentti Kirstilä. Unlike contemporary Finnish films, the film is a thrilling film strongly influenced by post-classic Hollywood films.
Kiti Karoliina Kokkonen is a Finnish film and television actress, voice actress and writer. She has been the artistic director of Suomen Komediateatteri since February 2010. She is the daughter of film director Ere Kokkonen and actress Titta Jokinen.
A Charming Mass Suicide is a 1990 Finnish satirical black comedy novel by Arto Paasilinna. It's a story about two suicidal men who, when they meet each other in their own intentions, decide together to form a "suicide association", which seeks as many suicide candidates as possible from all over Finland to carry out an apparent mass suicide with them. Once the group is finally together, they take a bus to tour around Europe with the intention of driving towards their final destination, where the mass suicide would eventually be carried out.
