Suomi-Filmi
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Suomi-Filmi, lit. ''Finland-Film'', is a Finnish
film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
and
distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...
company established in 1919 by
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 membe ...
. Suomi-Filmi produced around 160 feature-length films and for most of its history was one of the two most important film companies in the country, along with Suomen Filmiteollisuus. The company was home for several noted Finnish film directors, mainly its founder Erkki Karu, and the later two main directors Risto Orko and Valentin Vaala. After the 'Golden Age' of
Finnish cinema The Finnish cinema has a long history, with the first public screenings starting almost as early as modern motion picture technology was invented (the first screening in the world was in 1895, in Finland in 1896). It took over a decade before the ...
ended, the company's film production rate slowed down, and eventually ended with the 1980 film '' Tulitikkuja lainaamassa''. The company still exists, but is mainly only active in the home video distribution of their catalogue of titles.


Early years

The company was founded as Suomen Filmikuvaamo on December 20, 1919, by
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 membe ...
, but took its present name soon after, in 1921. Suomi-Filmi had a rocky start and took until May 1920 to complete its first short film, ''Vapaussodan päättymisen muistopäivä''. Later on in the same year, the company released their first feature-length production, ''Ollin Oppivuodet'', an adaptation of an Anni Swan novel directed by
Teuvo Puro Kaarlo Teuvo Puro (9 November 1884 Helsinki – 24 July 1956 Helsinki) was a Finnish actor, writer and director. Puro co-directed the first Finnish fiction film, '' Salaviinanpolttajat'', with Louis Sparre Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdeborg ...
. During his stay with the company, Karu worked not only as the
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...
, but also as the head director of the company. While most of the other directors the company hired during the 1920s only worked on a few films and didn't enjoy significant success, Karu could create well-received films such as ''Koskenlaskijan morsian'' (1923) and the
Aleksis Kivi Aleksis Kivi (; born Alexis Stenvall; 10 October 1834 – 31 December 1872) was a Finnish author who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, '' Seitsemän veljestä'' ("Seven Brothers") in 1870. He is also known for his 1864 ...
adaptation '' The Village Shoemakers'' (''Nummisuutarit'', 1923). By the end of the
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
era, Suomi-Filmi was unquestionably the largest film production company in Finland, achieving almost a monopoly status. In the early 1930s Suomi-Filmi ran into financial difficulties stemming from the global depression started by the
Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...
. While the 1920s had been largely successful for the company, yearly attendance figures dwindled countrywide, falling from over 12 million in 1928 to just over 6 million five years later. In 1933, after a falling out with the rest of the company's shareholders due to perceived financial irresponsibilities, Karu had to resign and was replaced as the CEO by Aarne Wuorenheimo. Only months later, however, Karu had founded another film company, Suomen Filmiteollisuus, which throughout much of its existence competed head-to-head as one of the two leading film companies in Finland along with Suomi-Filmi,von Bagh, p. 12 although Karu himself died in 1935.


After Karu

After the departure of Karu, Suomi-Filmi's future looked bleak. With their financial difficulties and lack of directing talent many expected the company to declare bankruptcy. However, Suomi-Filmi managed to avoid disaster by hiring promising young filmmaker Risto Orko as their chief director and head of production. Orko had previously worked as an assistant director for the company, but was expected to leave with Karu after aiding him in founding Suomen Filmiteollisuus. In the end, the confident Orko couldn't resist the chance of being the top man in the company, when leaving could've meant being always overshadowed by Karu. Orko ended up staying in the company for more than six decades, transitioning from directing to acting as the CEO from 1945 to 1976. From the 1970s to the early 1990s Orko was still the majority stockholder in the company (with the rest of the stocks being held by the rest of his family). After his appointment Orko had to work hard and fast to re-invigorate the finances of Suomi-Filmi. During the 1930s and the early half of the 1940s Orko directed 13 films – a stark contrast with his later career, when he only directed three. The third film Orko directed, ''Siltalan pehtoori'' (1934), became a huge success, and the first Finnish film to reach a million viewers – in a country with a population of around three and a half million at the time. The film has been credited as saving Suomi-Filmi and returning it to a sound financial base. In 1935, Suomi-Filmi hired another promising young director, Valentin Vaala, as their second main director. Vaala started his career with the company with ''Kaikki rakastavat'' (1935), a
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...
which brought Ansa Ikonen and
Tauno Palo Tauno Valdemar Palo (born Tauno Brännäs; 25 October 1908 – 24 May 1982) was a Finnish actor and singer in what some consider the golden age of Finnish cinema. In ''Guide to the Cinema of Sweden and Finland'' Peter von Bagh names Palo as the ...
together on the screen for the first time. During his career with the company Vaala directed 39 films, among the most popular were ''Juurakon Hulda'' (1937), ''Niskavuoren naiset'' (1938), the two
Mika Waltari Mika Toimi Waltari (; 19 September 1908 – 26 August 1979) was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel ''The Egyptian'' ( fi, Sinuhe egyptiläinen). He was extremely productive. Besides his novels he also wrote poetry, short stori ...
adaptations ''Gabriel, tule takaisin'' (1951) and ''Omena putoaa...'' (1952), and ''Nummisuutarit'' (1957). Other directors who worked for Suomi-Filmi during this period included
Teuvo Tulio Theodor Antonius Tugai (23 August 1912 – 8 June 2000), better known as Teuvo Tulio, was a Finnish film director and actor. Beginning his career as an actor at the end of the silent era, Tulio turned to directing and producing in the 1930s. His ...
, who directed for example '' The Song of the Scarlet Flower'' (1938) based on the famous novel by
Johannes Linnankoski Johannes Linnankoski (originally Vihtori Johan Peltonen, 18 October 1869 – 10 August 1913) was a Finnish author and playwright, which mainly influenced writing in the Golden Age of Finnish Art. His most famous work is the romance novel, ''The S ...
, and Orvo Saarikivi, who directed among others ''Miehen Kylkiluu'' (1937) and ''Tottisalmen perillinen'' (1940). Saarikivi later on moved to Suomen Filmiteollisuus.


1940s-1950s

During the
Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
Suomi-Filmi's feature film production halted, while the company concentrated on mostly documentary short films. After the war the company's film production again proceeded rapidly, and when the
Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrie ...
started, it only managed to slow down production a little, after an initial break. During the years 1940-1944 Suomi-Filmi produced 28 feature-length films. The latter half of the 1940s were largely successful for Suomi-Filmi. Vaala remained active as the head director while Orko concentrated on the financial side of the company. During the 1950s, Suomi-Filmi's production rate started to slow down, but the company still remained one of the three largest film studios of the country, along with Suomen Filmiteollisuus and the upstart Fennada-Filmi. The other main directors working for the company during the time were
Ilmari Unho Ilmari Unho (22 October 1906 − 3 April 1961) was a Finnish actor, film director, and screenwriter. Unho was employed by Suomi-Filmi for most of his filmmaking career. Unho was born in Uusikaupunki in 1906. He started his film career as an actor ...
, who finished among others ''Kalle-Kustaan Korkin seikkailut'' (1949) and ''Härmästä poikia kymmenen'' (1950).
Hannu Leminen Hannu Päiviö Leminen (originally Hanno Leminen; 5 January 1910 in Helsinki – 6 June 1997 in Turku) was a Finnish film director, set designer, screenwriter and later an executive at the Finnish Broadcasting Company. During his career, Lemine ...
was hired away from Suomen Filmiteollisuus and he directed several films during the 1950s, such as ''Kesäillan valssi'' (1951) and ''Riihalan valtias'' (1956).


Decline

While Suomi-Filmi remained somewhat active in producing films, by the 1960s the popularity of their pictures had started to wane. During the 1970s the company only produced two films of their own, but still remained active in film distribution for both domestic and foreign films until the early 1980s. Suomi-Filmi's final production was the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
co-production, ''Tulitikkuja lainaamassa'' (''Za spichkami'') in 1980. Later on, the company has still remained visible in the home video distribution of its extensive film catalogue.von Bagh, p. 9


Influence

During its heyday, Suomi-Filmi had, at one time or another, employed most of the major Finnish actors and creative filmmaking personnel of the time. It was therefore largely responsible for shaping the 'Golden Age' of Finnish cinema, along with their major competitor Suomen Filmiteollisuus, and that influence has reached even past the end of Suomi-Filmi's own production activities. Many of the films produced by the company are still regarded as classics of contemporary Finnish cinema.Uusitalo 1994, p. 352


Notes


References

* * * * * *{{cite book, author1=Kari Uusitalo , author2=Gunnar Nylander , author3=Liisa Orko , title=Risto Orko, year=1969, language=Finnish Mass media companies established in 1919 Film production companies of Finland 1919 establishments in Finland