Juha Wuolijoki is a Finnish director, writer and producer and the CEO-founder of the production and distribution company Snapper Films. [1] Founded in 1998, Snapper Films is based in Helsinki and Los Angeles and it's one of the leading production companies in Finland. Juha has a Master of Arts Degree (1995) from the University of Arts and Design (Aalto University). He's best known as the director, co-writer and producer of award-winning features Gourmet Club (2004), Christmas Story (2007) and Hella W (2011).
Juha Wuolijoki is a member of Producers Council in the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the European Film Academy (EFA). [2] [3]
Netflix and Amazon Prime in US have released feature films that Wuolijoki has directed and produced. One of the latest Snapper Films productions is Zarra's Law (2014), a crime drama set in New York starring Tony Sirico, Brendan Fehr, Erin Cummings and Burt Young. Finnish box office hits, family features Ella and Friends and Ella and Friends 2, produced by Juha Wuolijoki, opened theatrically in Finland during the holiday seasons 2012 and 2013. [4] [5] [6] Other recent projects include executive producing of French comedy feature Let My People Go! . The Finnish drama feature Hella W, directed and produced by Juha Wuolijoki, was premiered theatrically in Finland and Scandinavia in January 2011. [7] The film won two Jussi Awards in Finland. [8] In 2009, Snapper Films entered into co-operation with the production company Black Forest Films. [9] The co-operation started with Juha Wuolijoki co-producing the comedy feature Father, Son and a Holy Cow (2011). The Bollywood film Shamitabh (2015), starring Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush, was shot partly in Finland. [10] Snapper Films is a Finnish production company for the film.
Snapper Films’ family feature Christmas Story was the top-grossing Finnish film of 2007 and has spread wider than any other Finnish live-action feature. The film has sold to 120 countries with theatrical releases in several territories. [11] Christmas Story has been selected to several international festivals, including Film Festival Cine-Jeune de l'Aisne in France, Chicago Children's Film Festival and Zlin - 48th International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Czech Republic. At the 10th Sarasota Film Festival, Christmas Story won the Audience Award for Best in World Cinema in 2008 . [12] In Finland, the film won two Jussi Awards and was theatrically re-released in 2008 and 2009. [13] On DVD/Blu-ray, Christmas Story was the first-ever Finnish feature to sell Platinum (100.000 units). [14]
In 2004, Juha produced and directed the Finnish-language television film Gourmet Club. The film won the Venla award for best television movie of the year , as well as the Golden Nymph award for best screenplay at the 45th Monte Carlo Television Festival and Best Foreign Film at the Long Island International Film Expo in New York . [15] [16] [17] Juha has also directed, adapted and translated numerous radio plays.
Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri was a Finnish actor, musician and comedian, best known for his role as Uuno Turhapuro, whom he portrayed in a total of 20 movies between the years 1973 and 2004.
Hella Wuolijoki, also known by the pen name Juhani Tervapää, was an Estonian-born Finnish writer known for her Niskavuori series.
Thomas August George Dome Karukoski is a Finnish film director. He has won over 30 festival awards and having directed six feature films that became blockbusters in his home country and also received international recognition.
Aki Linnanahde is a Finnish television and radio personality.
Mr Puntila and His Man Matti is an epic comedy by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. It was written in 1940 and first performed in 1948.
The Tough Ones is a 1999 Finnish film directed by Aleksi Mäkelä. It was Finland's official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, but did not manage to receive a nomination.
Christmas Story is a 2007 Finnish Christmas drama film directed by Juha Wuolijoki. It is the story of how an orphan called Nikolas became Santa Claus.
Timo Parvela is a Finnish author of juvenile fiction.
Jani Kristian Volanen is a Finnish actor, writer and director. Born in Helsinki, he has appeared in more than fifty TV and movie productions and thirty professional theater productions since 1986. Volanen has also created and directed many comedy shows for Finnish television. Volanen often plays characters with personality disorders. He is a member of the comedy group Julmahuvi.
Zarra's Law is a 2014 American police procedural film that made its world premiere in the director's home country Finland on June 11, 2014. The film stars Tony Sirico as retired detective Tony Zarra, who gets pushed into the world of crime after the murder of his younger brother. The film was written by Joseph Scarpinito and Charles Kipps and directed by Juha Wuolijoki, produced by Scarpe Diem Productions. The ensemble cast features actors Brendan Fehr, Erin Cummings and Kathrine Narducci. In the film, Tony's love for his brother and family makes it harder for him to let go. Moreover, Tony is faced with the stress of his brother's convicted killer being released from prison early.
Eero Milonoff is a Finnish actor. He won a Guldbagge Award for his role in the film Border (2018), and he has been a nominee at the Jussi Awards for his roles in the films Ganes (2007) and The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (2016).
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki is a 2016 biographical drama film directed by Juho Kuosmanen and written by Mikko Myllylahti and Kuosmanen. An international co-production between Finland, Sweden, and Germany, the film stars Jarkko Lahti, Oona Airola, and Eero Milonoff. It tells the true story of Olli Mäki, the famous Finnish boxer who had a shot at the 1962 World Featherweight title.
Katja Marika Makaroff is a content creator, producer and creative director. She is the founder and CCO of Gutsy Animations. She was the creative director in Fremantle Media and Filmlance International and the CEO in Fremantle Media Finland and Friday TV.
Kyrsyä – Tuftland is a Finnish horror film, directed, produced and written by Roope Olenius that was released in 2017. The film stars Veera W. Vilo, Miikka J. Anttila, Saara Elina and Ria Kataja. It is based on a play Kyrsyä by Neea Viitamäki.
Ritva Leena Mari Rantasila is a Jussi Award-winning Finnish actress, director and singer.
Mimosa Helena Willamo is a Finnish actress. In 2015, she was awarded a Jussi Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Headfirst.
Juha Lehtola is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He has scripted three feature films, three television series and six TV movies and has directed two feature films.
Panu Aaltio is a Finnish film composer. He was educated at the Sibelius Academy and University of Southern California and established himself as a film composer with The Home of Dark Butterflies (2008). He has received the International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best Original Score for a Documentary three times, for Tale of a Forest (2012), Tale of a Lake (2016) and Tale of the Sleeping Giants (2021).
Finders of the Lost Yacht is a Finnish film written and directed by Taavi Vartia. The film draws inspiration from the Finnish children's book series Pertsa ja Kilu by Väinö Riikkilä and specifically from the novel Viimeiset kaanit. The film follows the adventures of two best friends, Pertsa and Kilu, as they embark on a search for a lost treasure while trying to evade a robber.