Matti Pellonpää was a Finnish actor and a musician. He rose to international fame with his roles in both Aki Kaurismäki's and Mika Kaurismäki's films; particularly being a regular in Aki's films, appearing in 18 of them.
Aki Olavi Kaurismäki is a Finnish screenwriter and film director. He is best known for the award-winning Drifting Clouds (1996), The Man Without a Past (2002), Le Havre (2011) and The Other Side of Hope (2017), as well as for the mockumentary Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989). He is described as Finland's best-known film director.
The Members are a British punk band that originated in Camberley, Surrey, England. In the UK, they are best known for their single "The Sound of the Suburbs", reaching No. 12 in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" which reached No. 5 in 1982.
Sleepy Sleepers is a Finnish pop/rock/punk/comedy band founded in 1974 by its two front-men Sakke Järvenpää and Mato Valtonen in Lahti, Finland. Between 1975 and their break-up in 1990 they recorded and issued a total of 19 albums. Sakke and Mato eventually went on to form and front the internationally successful Leningrad Cowboys.
Leningrad Cowboys Go America is a 1989 road movie by Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki about the adventures of the Leningrad Cowboys, an eccentric band that travels to the United States to become successful, and combines their brand of polka music with various American styles as they make their way to Mexico.
Total Balalaika Show is a 1994 film by director Aki Kaurismäki featuring a concert by the Leningrad Cowboys and the Alexandrov Ensemble.
Calamari Union is a 1985 Finnish surreal comedy film, the second full-length film by the director Aki Kaurismäki. The film's cast includes well-known Finnish actors and rock musicians.
The Match Factory Girl is a 1990 Finnish-Swedish film edited, written, co-produced, and directed by Aki Kaurismäki, the final installment of his Proletariat Trilogy, after his Shadows in Paradise and Ariel. It follows Iris, a young, plain-looking factory worker living a lonely, impoverished and uneventful life in late 1980s Finland. Iris is played by Kati Outinen, who had appeared in a number of other Kaurismäki films.
Varre Vartiainen is a Finnish guitarist who has studied in Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory and Sibelius Academy of Music under supervision of Raoul Björkenheim, Jukkis Uotila and Wayne Krantz. He rose to fame and leading guitarist position in Finland playing in every possible connection; live concerts, studio sessions, movies, television shows and theatre musicals among them.
Ben Granfelt is a guitarist from Helsinki, Finland and best known from his work in Leningrad Cowboys, Wishbone Ash, Gringos Locos, Guitar Slingers and his solo band Ben Granfelt Band.
Leningrad Cowboys go America is a 1989 album by the Finnish band Leningrad Cowboys and also the soundtrack of the film of the same name directed by Aki Kaurismäki.
Markku Juhani ”Mato” Valtonen is a Finnish actor, musician and entrepreneur. Valtonen has been a member of the Finnish band Sleepy Sleepers since 1975 and the Leningrad Cowboys since 1989.
Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses is a 1994 film directed by Aki Kaurismäki. It is a sequel to the popular 1989 film Leningrad Cowboys Go America that introduced the fictional Russian rock band Leningrad Cowboys which, subsequently, became a notable real life rock band in Finland.
André Wilms was a French film and television actor who also appeared in German and Finnish films. Wilms was the winner of the Best Supporting European Actor award at the 1992 European Film Awards for his work in Aki Kaurismäki's La Vie de bohème. He died on 9 February 2022, at the age of 74.
Go Space is a 1996 studio album by the Leningrad Cowboys. It differed from all their previous live and studio releases in that it consisted of original songs, while previous albums were composed mostly of covers of hit songs by other artists.
Le Havre is a 2011 comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Aki Kaurismäki and starring André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Blondin Miguel. It tells the story of a shoeshiner who tries to save an immigrant child in the French port city Le Havre. The film was produced by Kaurismäki's Finnish company Sputnik with international co-producers in France and Germany. It is Kaurismäki's second French-language film, after La Vie de Bohème from 1992.
Buena Vodka Social Club is a 2011 studio album by the Leningrad Cowboys.
This is the discography of the Finnish rock band Leningrad Cowboys, which consists of nine studio albums, thirteen singles, four live albums, four extended plays, four compilation albums, and one soundtrack album in addition to a number of miscellaneous appearances on soundtracks and compilations featuring various artists.
The Other Side of Hope is a 2017 Finnish comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Aki Kaurismäki. The film was produced by Kaurismäki's Finnish company Sputnik. In December 2016, it was selected to play in competition at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. The story is about a Finnish businessman who meets a Syrian asylum-seeker looking for his missing sister. Kaurismäki has noted that this film will be his last as a director.
Minimalist cinema is related to the art and philosophy of minimalism.
