The film about President Urho Kekkones is progressing.
The film about Urho Kekkones has received international partners. Leif Weckström
The film about President Urho Kekkones has found its first collaborators. Film producer Ilkka Matila has signed a contract with the Estonian company Taska Film. The film has also received advance support from the Finnish Film Foundation and the MTV3 channel.
A Finnish film, in English Between the Hammer and the Sickle the progress was reported by the US magazine Variety.
The film is directed by Heikki Kujanpääand is responsible for its manuscript Hannamaja Matila. The script is based on Kekkonen’s close friend, a journalist Maarit Tyrkön to the memoirs.
We are looking for more partners for the film in Haugesund, Norway on August 24.
– The film begins with the European Security and Cooperation Conference in Helsinki in 1975, which practically meant the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, and it ends in 1981, when Kekkonen retired from politics, Matila has said.
According to Matila, the film is also a story about Tyrkö and his relationship with Kekko.
– He was the only one Kekkonen trusted. Not an enemy or a spy but an ordinary journalist.
The project has been in the works since 2016. Originally, a drama series was planned about Kekkonen’s life. In 2020, the Finnish Film Foundation granted Couragedevelopment support of 35,000 euros for the project.
In June 2020, it was reported that the shooting of the film will begin in 2022.