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FESTIVALS / AWARDS Finland

Aurora leaves the competition in the dust at the Jussi Awards

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- Miia Tervo's film has won seven Jussis, including Best Film, Director and Script, with Dogs Don’t Wear Pants also getting some attention

Aurora leaves the competition in the dust at the Jussi Awards
The 2020 Jussi Awards ceremony (© Jussi-palkinto)

Written and directed by Miia Tervo, Aurora [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miia Tervo
film profile
]
was the big winner during the Jussi Awards Gala in Finland. The event, originally planned for March, was eventually held in Helsinki on 14 October, in adherence with strict safety measures, and was broadcast nationally on MTV3. Tervo's feature debut, originally nominated in a whopping 13 categories, was named Best Film, also scoring the helmer the Awards for Best Director and Best Script. Mimosa Willamo, cast in the title role of a girl who, to put it mildly, views commitment of any kid as a nuisance and then meets an Iranian man, was named Best Female Lead.

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“I woke up this morning and got all these messages. I felt like now, people are expecting something from me. Before, nobody knew me,” Tervo told Cineuropa the next day. “I think that the image of a woman is becoming more natural,” she added, referring to her not-quite-perfect protagonist. “We can be imperfect now. There is all this pressure, and it always revolves around a man's viewpoint. We are getting close to the age when women make films about women, and we know what we are like. I am sorry, but there is a difference when you do it from the inside or from the outside. When I am writing about a man, I feel I am not that good, even though I try my best.” And this also applies when writing about people of a different race. “I just need to listen to people, to hear them. If I keep my eyes and my ears open, and I write what I hear – suffering, pain – I can write it into the character. I just need to have empathy. Of course I don't know what it's like, but I can try to give them a voice. Which is why I need help. I can't imagine doing all this alone.”

J-P Valkeapää's Dogs Don’t Wear Pants [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: J-P Valkeapää
film profile
]
, which started its journey last year at Cannes, won in six categories, including Best Male Lead for Pekka Strang, Best Cinematography and Best Music. Gods of Molenbeek [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, directed by Reetta Huhtanen, was chosen as Best Documentary Film, while the Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award was given to producer Markus Selin, of Solar Films – the company also responsible for Olen suomalainen, Aleksi Mäkelä’s biopic of the singer Kari Tapio, which won the Audience Award. Finally, the Nordisk Film Foundation gave its nod (and €20,000) to the team behind the anthology film Force of Habit – which incidentally also counts Miia Tervo among its female creators.

“Half of the awards went to Dogs Don't Wear Pants, so it was kind of even!” she said, acknowledging her competitor and also mentioning Force of Habit, as well as Chike Ohanwe's win in the Best Male Supporting Actor category. “There is diversity in directing, and diversity in producing and acting. It was a triumph of diversity. It's coming – in Finland, we finally have different people doing things,” she stated, while also praising financier Erkki Astala, whom she thanked in her acceptance speech and who is about to retire. “He has supported so many good Finnish films. I don't know if they give Jussis to financiers, but I would have given it to him.”

Here is the full list of awarded films:

Best Film
Aurora [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miia Tervo
film profile
]
– Miia Tervo

Best Director
Miia Tervo – Aurora

Best Female Lead
Mimosa Willamo – Aurora

Best Male Lead
Pekka Strang – Dogs Don’t Wear Pants [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: J-P Valkeapää
film profile
]
(Finland/Latvia)

Best Female Supporting Actor
Miitta Sorvali – Aurora

Best Male Supporting Actor
Chike Ohanwe – Aurora

Best Script
Miia Tervo – Aurora

Best Cinematography
Pietari Peltola – Dogs Don’t Wear Pants

Best Music
Michal Nejtek – Dogs Don’t Wear Pants

Best Sound Design
Micke Nyström– Dogs Don’t Wear Pants

Best Editing
Mervi Junkkonen – Dogs Don’t Wear Pants

Best Set Design
Jaagup Roomet – Maria’s Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zaida Bergroth
film profile
]
(Finland/Estonia)

Best Costume Design
Jouni Mervas – Aurora

Best Make-up Design
Aija Beata Rjabovska – Dogs Don’t Wear Pants

Best Documentary Film
Gods of Molenbeek [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
– Reetta Huhtanen (Finland/Belgium/Germany)

Nordisk Film Foundation Award
Force of Habit - Reetta Aalto, Alli Haapasalo, Anna Paavilainen, Kirsikka Saari, Miia Tervo, Elli Toivoniemi, Jenni Toivoniemi

Audience Award
Olen suomalainen - Aleksi Mäkelä

Best Short Film
Two Bodies on a Beach – Anna Paavilainen

Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award
Markus Selin (producer, Solar Films)

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