Frozen Land

The chain of events linking the characters in the story begins with a counterfeit five hundred euro note. The central themes of the film are courage, the difficulty of forgiveness and overcoming adversity. Frozen Land was filmed in Helsinki in winter and spring of 2004.

Tolstoi's original subject

The film's theme, the evasion of bad feelings, comes from Leo Tolstoi, whose short story Väärennetty korkolippu was the inspiration for director Aku Louhimies. French master director Robert Bresson adapted and directed his film Raha from the same story in 1983. Paavo Westerberg is the actual screenwriter of Frozen Land, but Jari Rantala and the director also contributed to the work. Louhimies has borrowed from the classics of world literature before as well. His debut feature film, Restless, was inspired by Albert Camus' first novel, Sivullinen.

Agreement reached on the editing dispute

The post-production phase of Frozen Land received a lot of publicity after Louhimies and producer Markus Selin were on a collision course for the final cut. The dispute was settled and the film was finalized for theatrical release by mutual agreement. Frozen Land attracted 172 000 admissions in cinemas and was the highest-grossing domestic film of 2005.

ROLES INCLUDE:
Niko Smolander, teacher's son – JASPER PÄÄKKÖNEN
Tuomas Saraste, computer entrepreneur – MIKKO LEPPILAMPI
Elina Oravisto, student – PAMELA TOLA
Hannele Arhamo, police officer – MATLEENA KUUSNIEMI
Antti Arhamo, computer teacher – PETTERI SUMMANEN
Teuvo Hurskainen, sales representative – SULEVI PELTOLA
Isto Virtanen, former bartender – MIKKO KOUKI
Pertti Smolander, teacher – PERTTI SVEHOLM
Matikainen, car dealer – SAMULI EDELMANN

PREMIERE IN FINLAND
14.1.2005

DIRECTOR
Aku Louhimies

PRODUCER
Markus Selin

SCRIPT
Paavo Westerberg, Jari Rantala and Aku Louhimies

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Rauno Ronkainen

SET DESIGN
Sattva-Hanna Toiviainen

COSTUME DESIGN
Tiina Kaukanen

MAKE-UP DESIGN
Hannele Herttua

SOUND DESIGN
Janne Laine, Kirka Sainio and Samu Heikkilä

EDITOR
Samu Heikkilä

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Jukka Helle and Jussi Salonoja

MARKETING PRODUCER
Jussi Lepistö

HEAD OF PR
Rampe Toivonen

PRODUCTION SUPPORT
Finnish Film Foundation

IN COOPERATION
Yle TV2, Nordisk Film & TV Fund, EU Media Programme

DISTRIBUTION
Buena Vista International Finland

SHOOTING PERIOD
February and March 2004

COPIES
25

PRODUCTION COSTS
around 1,4 million €

SUPPORT FROM FINNISH FILM FOUNDATION
580 000 €

35 mm / colour / 1.85:1 / dolby / 130 min