Unelmatehdas Kulosaaressa

Overview & Synopsis

The Dream Factory in Kulosaari traces the history of Fennada-Filmi, one of the three major film production companies of Finland’s studio era. Drawing on extensive archival sources and interviews, the book provides a vivid account of post-war Finnish cinema and film culture, the filmmakers themselves, and their work at the Kulosaari studios as well as on location. Former employees recall Fennada as a more flexible, democratic, and humane workplace than the other major studios. The book argues that from the early 1950s onwards, Fennada-Filmi transformed the appearance of Finnish cinema, challenging the status quo dominated by the two traditional major studios, Suomi-Filmi and Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Fennada’s output was youthful, fast-paced and urban in spirit: its crime films were briskier in pace and more American in style than what Finnish audiences were accustomed to, while its literary adaptations, such as The Harvest Month and The Golden Calf, embraced modernist cinema with striking boldness. The epic film Here, Beneath the North Star marked the end of the studio era and the beginning of collaborative production between film companies and television.