Laestadianism, also known as Laestadian Lutheranism and Apostolic Lutheranism, is a pietistic Lutheran revival movement started in Sápmi in the middle of the 19th century. Named after Swedish Lutheran state church administrator and temperance movement leader Lars Levi Laestadius, it is the biggest pietistic revivalist movement in the Nordic countries. It has members mainly in Finland, Northern America, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. There are also smaller congregations in Africa, South America, and Central Europe. In addition Laestadian Lutherans have missionaries in 23 countries. The number of Laestadians worldwide is estimated to be between 144,000 and 219,000.
Aki Olavi Kaurismäki is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the award-winning Drifting Clouds (1996), The Man Without a Past (2002), Le Havre (2011), The Other Side of Hope (2017) and Fallen Leaves (2023), as well as Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989). He has been described as Finland's best-known film director.
Salatut elämät is a Finnish television soap opera that premiered on MTV3 on 25 January 1999. The series' storylines follow the daily lives of several families who live in the same apartment block in Helsinki. The series primarily centres on the residents of Pihlajakatu and its neighbouring areas. Only four of the original twenty characters Ismo, Kalle, Aki and Kari still remain in the series, and most of the series' current characters have made their debuts in 2014 or later. Ismo is the only character who has never left the series.
Mika Ronkainen is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. Ronkainen is the co-creator and director of successful television crime-drama All the Sins and he has also worked with documentary films and theatre. In June 2013, American magazine Variety selected Ronkainen as one of ten up-and-coming European directors to watch.
Lauri Porra is a Finnish bass guitarist and composer who has written scores for films and other media, as well as commissions from orchestras such as the Lahti Symphony and the Finnish Radio Symphony. He is also known for his work as the bass guitarist in the Finnish power metal band Stratovarius. Porra is a fourth generation musician, and the great-grandson of famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Tanssii tähtien kanssa is a Finnish version of the British BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing. The show has run on MTV3 since 3 March 2006, on Sunday evenings. The twelfth season was aired in the autumn 2019.
Bordertown is a Finnish crime drama and Nordic noir television series created by Miikko Oikkonen and starring Ville Virtanen as detective inspector Kari Sorjonen. The first season, which consisted of eleven episodes, premiered in Finland on 16 October 2016 on Yle TV1. Season two, containing ten episodes, premiered on 7 October 2018, and season three, containing another ten episodes, premiered in December 2019.
Laura Pauliina Malmivaara is a Finnish actress. Her acting career began in 1993 and includes dozens of roles in film and television productions, as well as stage appearances. In addition to acting, she has also worked as a singer, photographer, television host, blogger and model.
Deadwind is a Finnish crime drama and Nordic noir television series directed and created by Rike Jokela, starring Pihla Viitala, Lauri Tilkanen, Jani Volanen, and Tommi Korpela. It premiered in Finland in March 2018 on Yle TV2 and in August 2018 on Netflix. The show follows Sofia Karppi, a detective of the Finnish police who is recently widowed in her 30s with a young son and teenage stepdaughter living with her. She returns to police work in Helsinki, and her first case is the murder of Anna Bergdahl, a social affairs consultant.
Arctic Circle is a Finnish-German crime drama television series that premiered on Finnish streaming service Elisa Viihde at Christmas 2018 and later on Yle. The series stars Iina Kuustonen, Maximilian Brückner, Pihla Viitala, Clemens Schick and Susanna Haavisto.
Department Q is a series of ten Danish Nordic noir crime novels by author Jussi Adler-Olsen which have been adapted in an ongoing series of highly successful Danish films and a forthcoming English language TV adaptation for Netflix which changes the setting from Denmark to Scotland.
Cold Courage is an international crime-drama television series based on Vilpittömästi sinun, which is the first instalment of the Studio book series by Finnish writer Pekka Hiltunen. The book's English translation, Cold Courage, was published in 2013. All eight episodes of the TV series were available on Viaplay from 3 May 2020. It was co-written by David Joss Buckley and Brendan Foley while the directors were Agneta Fagerström Olsson and Kadir Ferati Balci. Most of the series is set in London, with additional scenes in Finland. The main protagonists are two Finnish women living in London: Pihla Viitala as Mari, who leads a clandestine group, The Studio and Sofia Pekkari as Lia, a graphic designer who is recruited by Mari to infiltrate a right wing political party. As well as United Kingdom and Finland, scenes were also shot in Belgium and Ireland.
Elisa Viihde is a Finnish entertainment service produced by Elisa. Elisa Viihde offers video-on-demand services, pay-TV packages, recording space, and application for smartphones, tablets and laptops as well as broadband. Elisa Viihde offers original series, movies, tv programmes and sport.
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.
Alli Haapasalo is a Finnish director and writer.
Thin Blue Line is a Swedish police procedural drama television series created by Anagram Sweden which premiered in Sweden on 17 January 2021. A second season was aired in 2022, with a third season announced for 2024.
Miia Tervo is a Finnish film director and screenwriter, whose debut feature film Aurora was released in 2019.
