Sami Hedberg, Aku Hirviniemi and Jaajo Linnonmaa will star in the upcoming Reunion movie, scheduled to open in early 2015. The film is based on the Danish movie Klassefesten (2011) and will be shot in July-August in Helsinki, Turku and Naantali. The movie will be produced by Solar Films and distributed by Nordisk Film. The director is Taneli Mustonen and the producers are Jesse Fryckman and Oskari Huttu.

The movie tells a story about three friends, getting older, changes, expectations, hopes and dissappointments. But but most of all, it is an ode to friendship and the meaning of camaraderie.

The director Taneli Mustonen is known from his work “Ella and Friends”. Taneli says he fell in love with the theme of friendship and heartful, well-meaning humor in the original Klassefesten text. “The screenplay of Reunion managed to move me and amuse me. It was very frank and spot-on”, continues Mustonen. “I’ve always thought that movie-making is a therapeutic, almost pastoral job. In my childhood I witnessed with my own eyes that people came out of the movie theater changed; not the same people who went in. This experience has guided my onwards, in my career choices.”

The producer of the movie, Jesse Fryckman, praises the actors: “Getting a trio like this to a same movie is magnificent! The rehearsals are chaotic. The dudes are just out of this world, all the time!”

About the story

Reunion is a story of three men, who travel back to their home town to take part in the class reunion of their high school. They embark on the journey with high spirits; to get a break, away from their problems, families, spouses. The childhood friends see a weekend of freedom and partying in front of them. But all the things that used to be easy, are now – in the brink of the middle age – anything but.
Niklas is a journalist; a man who quite doesn’t have the guts to live. The world around him doesn’t feel like his own, hasn’t for years. It has passed him by. Or over him. Are the future years just about giving up? Tuomas is a singer; he has accomplished everything he was aiming at. He believes in his own abilities more than in sheer luck. The whole world seems to eat out of his hand. Antti is a working man; for him there are two times. The one before and the one after the divorce. He couldn’t think he could reach anything higher than his highschool sweetheart Hanne – so after the divorce there’s nothing but the emptiness. But even emptiness can be a great catalyst, as Antti will soon find out. All it takes is a class reunion.

Director Taneli Mustonen
The first movie of Taneli Mustonen, Ella and Friends, was a multi-awarded critical and commercial hit, both domestic and abroad. It was screened in numerous festivals around the world and the all-audiences film was widely released theatrically in Germany. Mustonen, a graduate from the Aalto Universtity Film Director Faculty, has directed numerous short films and music videos.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Director
TANELI MUSTONEN

Producers
JESSE FRYCKMAN, OSKARI HUTTU

Executive producers
MARKUS SELIN, JUKKA HELLE

Original screenplay
CLAUDIA BODERKE, LARS MERING

Adapted screenplay
TANELI MUSTONEN

In the role of Antti
SAMI HEDBERG

One of the most popular stand-up comedians in Finland, the “whole body man” guarantees a good laughter to the audience. Almost 10 years of performances behind him; this man knows all the stages and dance halls in Finland. A TV comedian, a speaker, a radio personality, a director, an event producer, an entrepreneur, a managing director – and now he has the guts to take over a movie role!

In the role of Niklas
AKU HIRVINIEMI

An actor who feels at home in any role. Hirviniemi has entertained the TV audiences with his unforgettable, colorful characters. His previous movie apprearance was 21 Ways to Spoil a Marriage. He also has a role in Summertime, scheduled to hit the screens in August 2014.

In the role of Tuomas
JAAJO LINNONMAA

A radio personality, who doesn’t think before he speaks. The rough looking man is not afraid to talk tough. Behind all this; a genius, who has won the prize of The Radio Host of the Year four times. Linnonmaa’s adventures have crossed paths with the cinema world before – the movie Smiling Boy (2003) was based on his idea.