Actress Jenni Kokander has many irons in the fire. However, he always makes time for volunteer work with the homeless – otherwise the homesickness becomes unbearable.
Jenni Kokander plays Elvi Räppäää again. Kokander rejoices at how well the character is written. ATTE KAJOVA
Actress Jenni Kokander is happy that she can be the Elvi aunt of today’s children. Kokander see you Risto Räppääja and the wild machine – for the third time as Elvin in the movie.
– When the first one started to be made, I thought about how I would fill those boots, Kokander recalls Risto Räppääjaa and a bloke -film from 2019.
However, Kokander says that he was given free rein.
– No one said to take this from Riitta Havukainen and that from Ulla Tapanisen. I was able to do it on my own basis. Elvi is such a strong character that it gives the actor a great package. It is such a strongly written character, Kokander praises.
This is what the new Risto Räppääjä looks like. In the picture Nelli Nuudelipää (Meri Lahikainen), Risto Räppääjä (Otso Törmälä), Pakataja-Elvi (Jenni Kokander) and Rauha Räppääjä (Minka Kuustonen). Solar Films / Marko Oikarinen
Maria Sid has directed the most recent Räppääjä film, as well as the previous one.
– It’s wonderfully safe to do things with him and dare to be a little wild. It’s wonderful that he accepts that playing, Kokander describes.
Kokander says that improvisation is characteristic of him.
– I always offer it. I always do it until the director says that thanks is enough. Sometimes they remain and sometimes they are cut off. It will be interesting to see in the premiere, which of my own jokes and jokes have remained in the final version. In many enskars, I’ve been like, “yeah, here’s the tail I’ve done in so many scenes, it’s my own joke,” Kokander laughs.
The makers of the movie Risto Räppääjä gathered for a photo. ATTE KAJOVA
In addition to his work as an actor, Kokander is known as a writer. Kokander’s career as a writer has started rapidly: his first novel Planet of the Extinct (January) was published in autumn 2020. Now he is already working on his third book.
Whereas the process of the first book was uncomplicated for Kokander, the second was more challenging. Kokander describes it as a “painful birth”. Kokander’s second book One in a million published in February 2022.
– I told the publishing house that I will take a break now that two books have come out on such a tight schedule. I decided to let my thoughts run wild. Well, it didn’t go like that at all. When the previous book was published in February, in June I already sent a message to the publishing house about the third book, says Kokander.
The lack of a deadline causes Kokander stress.
– I’m like a small child and I need the boundaries of a sandbox where I can play and then I’m stress-free. Fortunately, I was smart enough that the next book won’t be published until the beginning of next year.
The third book is a continuation of the second novel. The main character, criminal psychologist Kaisa Halla, also has adventures in the upcoming work.
Important volunteer work
Volunteer work is an important part of Kokander’s everyday life. For a year, he has been doing volunteer work at the organization Vailla vakinaias asuntoa.
– It is as meaningful to me as becoming a mother on a life-long journey. Many things have fallen into completely new compartments. I could never repay what I have received from them with any volunteer work, says Kokander.
It is important for Kokander to belong to the community.
– If I haven’t been there for a couple of weeks, I’ll miss it. There are a lot of important relationships there for me. It’s a bit different to build a relationship with a person who doesn’t have a phone, for example. I can’t ask what’s up – I have to go there and meet them.
Kokander has a hard time dealing with pitiful comments.
– There have been many comments that “oh, how sad”. I don’t feel any pity or sadness. Sure, it’s a huge structural problem. I wouldn’t want to be part of a society where someone has to sleep in a green toilet because of our joint decisions.
– Many of them have become my friends. I feel more feelings of love and friendship and we talk about everything other than homelessness, says Kokander.
Titles are left in a drawer at the door of the center.
– I can be there. I’m not a TV person, Jenni Kokander. Rather, it will be a bit of foxing. Whenever someone asks what church I’m from, I think, “Wonderful, he doesn’t know who I am.” It’s always so liberating for me, says Kokander.
Jenni Kokander is involved in many things: she acts, writes and does speaking gigs. He still always makes time for volunteer work. ATTE KAJOVA
The film Risto Räppäääja ja villikone directed by Maria Sid is in cinemas on February 17, 2023.