Mika Ronkainen (born 6 August 1970) 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 Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' selected Ronkainen as one of ten up-and-coming European directors to watch.

Career

Documentaries

Ronkainen's international breakthrough film was '' Screaming Men (2003)'', a documentary film about a Finnish screaming male choir called

Mieskuoro Huutajat Mieskuoro Huutajat (Screaming Men) is an internationally famous shouting choir from Oulu, Finland. They were established in 1987 and originally comprised 20 shouting men, since expanded to 30. Led by conductor , the choir is best known for their ...

, followed by ''

Freetime Machos ''Freetime Machos'' is a Finnish documentary film about the bromance of two players in world's most northerly rugby club called OYUS Rugby based in Oulu, Finland. The film is directed by Mika Ronkainen and it had its world premiere at the Joris I ...

(2009)'', a documentary film about a rugby team which is allegedly the most northern and the third worst in the world. ''Screaming Men'' had its US premiere at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in 2004. ''Freetime Machos'' premiered at

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

in 2010. Ronkainen's latest documentary film is a musical road movie called '' Finnish Blood Swedish Heart'', also known as ''Ingen riktig finne'' in Swedish, and ''Laulu koti-ikävästä'' in Finnish. The film has won several awards including two

Jussi Award The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hel ...

s (Finnish Oscars) in 2014: Best Documentary and Best Music, and the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary at

Göteborg Film Festival Göteborg Film Festival (GFF), formerly Göteborg International Film Festival (GIFF), known in English as the Gothenburg Film Festival, formerly Gothenburg International Film Festival, is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden and the large ...

in 2013. Ronkainen adapted the documentary as a theatre play, which had its premiere at Oulu City Theatre in 2016.

Fiction

Ronkainen wrote and directed television series '' All the Sins'', a crime-drama set in northern Finland. Its three seasons were released between 2019–2023. In January 2019, '' All the Sins'' was awarded with Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize at

Gothenburg Film Festival Göteborg Film Festival (GFF), formerly Göteborg International Film Festival (GIFF), known in English as the Gothenburg Film Festival, formerly Gothenburg International Film Festival, is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden and the large ...

in Sweden for "outstanding writing of a Nordic drama series".

Other

Ronkainen is one of the founders of Air Guitar World Championships which is organized annually in his hometown

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

, Finland.

Filmography

TV series

* '' All the Sins:'' Seasons 1-3 (2019–2023)

Documentaries

* '' Finnish Blood Swedish Heart'' (2013) * ''

'' (2009) * ''Our Summer'' (2004) * '' Screaming Men'' (2003) * ''Car Bonus'' (2001) * ''Before the Flood'' (2000) * ''The World Will Change Soon'' (2000) * ''Oulu Burning – A Town That Disappeared'' (1998) * ''Father's Day'' (1998)

Concert Film

Sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. Lead guitarist Miika Tenkula was the band's vocalist for the first album, but du ...

– ''Buried Alive'' (concert film) (2006)

References

External links

* 1970 births Living people People from Kuusamo Finnish film directors {{Finland-film-director-stub Finnish male screenwriters Finnish documentary filmmakers Finnish television directors