Toivo Jalmari Särkkä (20 November 1890,

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34, ...

– 9 February 1975,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

), born Toivo Hjalmar Silén, was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

film producer and director. He was CEO of the production company

Suomen Filmiteollisuus Suomen Filmiteollisuus (SF), lit. ''Finland's Film Industry'', is a Finnish film production company founded by Erkki Karu in 1933 after financial problems with Suomi-Filmi. The CEO, director, producer and writer T.J. Särkkä was a central fig ...

. Before his career in filmmaking, Särkkä worked as a bank manager and chairman in Kotimainen Työ, an organization promoting Finnish work and products. After the death of

Erkki Karu Erkki Karu (born Erland Fredrik Kumlander) (10 April 1887 Helsinki – 8 December 1935 Helsinki) was a Finnish film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema. Career Karu started his career as a memb ...

, founder and owner of Suomen Filmiteollisuus, Särkkä became the CEO thus producing 233 and directing 49 feature films. In 1965, when Finnish film industry was in difficulties due to the coming of

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, Särkkä initiated

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

of Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Films directed by Särkkä are e.g. ''Suomisen perhe'', ''Helmikuun manifesti'', ''Kulkurin valssi'' and ''Vaivaisukon morsian''. Särkkä married

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n Margariitta Beljavsky in 1914. They had one daughter.

Selected filmography

* '' Radio tekee murron'' (1951) * ''

Kvinnan bakom allt ''Four Times Love'' ( sv, Kvinnan bakom allt n Sweden sv, Fyra gånger kärlek n Finland fi, Neljä rakkautta; da, Alt dette og Island med; no, Alt dette – og Island også) is a 1951 co-Nordic film directed by Hampe Faustman and Johan J ...

'' (1951) * '' Pekka Puupää'' (1953) * '' The Milkmaid'' (1953) * '' The Unknown Soldier'' (1955) * ''

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

'' (1957) * ''

Miriam Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The ...

'' (1957) * '' Sven Tuuva the Hero'' (1958) * '' Skandaali tyttökoulussa'' (1960) * '' Komisario Palmun erehdys'' (1960) * '' Kaks' tavallista Lahtista'' (1960) * '' The Scarlet Dove'' (1961)

External links

* 1890 births 1975 deaths People from Mikkeli People from Mikkeli Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish film directors {{Finland-film-director-stub