Ville Hermanni Valo is a Finnish singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the gothic rock band HIM.
HIM was a Finnish gothic rock band from Helsinki. First formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo and bassist Mikko "Mige" Paananen under the name His Infernal Majesty, the band broke up after only a few years, only to be reformed in 1995 by Valo and guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström. After being rejoined by Mige, as well as keyboardist Antto Melasniemi and drummer Juhana "Pätkä" Rantala, the band, now called HIM, released its debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 in 1997. In 2000, now with drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen and keyboardist Juska Salminen, the band released Razorblade Romance, which reached the number one spot in Finland, Austria and Germany. The first single "Join Me in Death" also charted at number one in Finland and Germany, eventually going platinum and gold, respectively. Following the addition of Janne "Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards, HIM released Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights (2001) and Love Metal (2003). Both cracked the top ten in several countries and allowed the band to tour in the United Kingdom and the United States for the first time.
Tiina-Rakel Liekki is a Finnish artist, freelance journalist, writer, director and producer, and former pornographic actress.
Paula Julia Vesala is a Finnish singer-songwriter, actress, and playwright. She was one of two singers and main lyricist in the pop rock duo PMMP along with Mira Luoti. Her solo career began in 2015 under the stage name "Vesala". She has composed songs for other well-known Finnish artists such as Vesa-Matti Loiri, Jenni Vartiainen, and Antti Tuisku.
Sofi Oksanen is a Finnish writer and playwright. Oksanen has published six novels, of which Purge has gained the widest recognition. She has received several international and domestic awards for her literary work. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than two million copies. Oksanen has been called Finnish-Estonian Charles Dickens and her work is often compared to Margaret Atwood's novels. She was born in Finland, to a Finnish father and Estonian mother.
Pirjo Irene Honkasalo is a Finnish film director who has also worked as a cinematographer, film editor, producer, screenwriter and actress. In 1980 she co-directed Flame Top with Pekka Lehto, with whom she worked earlier and later as well. The film was chosen for the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. In the 1990s she focused on feature documentaries such as "The Trilogy of the Sacred and the Satanic". Honkasalo returned to fiction with Fire-Eater (1998) and Concrete Night (2013), both of which were written by Pirkko Saisio. Concrete Night won six Jussi Awards in 2014, among them the Jussi for the Best Direction and the Jussi for the Best Film. Its world premiere was at the Toronto International Film Festival in Masters series.
Johanna Vuoksenmaa is a Finnish television and film director and screenwriter who has also worked as a photographer, installation artist and a teacher. Her films have been shown at numerous film festivals around the world and she has won many Finnish film and television awards for directing and screenwriting. As a director and screenwriter, Vuoksenmaa prefers the comedy genre because to her comedy means relief, forgiveness and defense. She does not use casting agencies but prefers to cast actors to her films herself, since she thinks that it creates a level of trust between the actor and the director.
Timo Parvela is a Finnish author of juvenile fiction.
Anna Sofia Eriksson is a Finnish artist, filmmaker, composer, and singer. In September 2018, avantgarde film M directed and produced by Eriksson was having the world premiere at the Venice International Film Critics Week, 75th Venice International Film Festival. Eriksson is one of the most successful singers in Finnish chart history.
Armi Elina Annikki Pohjanpää was a Finnish actress. Her theatrical career lasted for 40 years, and in addition, she appeared in several Finnish films by directors such as Ilmari Unho, Aarne Tarkas and Matti Kassila.
Matti Ijäs is a Finnish television and film director and screenwriter. His works for television and cinema are characterised by eccentric characters, awkward situations, warm deadpan humour and witty dialogue. His recurrent themes include birth and death and other beginnings and ends. Often writing, co-writing, or adapting his own screenplays, he is considered one of the few true auteurs in Finnish cinema alongside Aki Kaurismäki.
Juha Wuolijoki is a Finnish director, writer and producer and the CEO-founder of the production and distribution company Snapper Films. 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. 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).
Ville Akseli Juurikkala is a Finnish photographer and music video director. He is best known as a "rock photographer", having had a long working relationship with bands such as HIM, Nightwish and Apocalyptica. Other notable figures Juurikkala has worked with include Mika Häkkinen, Andrea Bocelli and Ban Ki-moon. He has also illustrated several books.
Maria Turtschaninoff is a Finnish author. She is best known for writing fantasy books including Maresi, the first book in the Red Abbey Chronicles and winner of the 2014 Finlandia Junior Prize.
Ritva Leena Mari Rantasila is a Jussi Award-winning Finnish actress, director and singer.
Maria Mikaela Markuntytär Ylipää is a Finnish singer and actress, who has become especially known for her role in the musical Kristina från Duvemåla and acted in the films Keisarikunta (2004) and Pietà (2007). She has also appeared in the television series Rikospoliisi Maria Kallio (2003), Tappajan näköinen mies (2011) and Luottomies (2016) as well as musical theatres Helsinki City Theatre, Tampere Workers' Theatre, Swedish Theatre, Gothenburg opera house and the Stockholm Cirkus.
Katja Gauriloff is a Finnish-Skolt filmmaker, director, and one of the owners of the Finnish production company Oktober.
Rakel Liehu is a Finnish poet, dramatist and novelist.
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.
Sara Melleri is a Finnish actress and singer.
