Good News from Finland: The future is more inclusive for Finnish film
Dance Brothers has set the bar high for other Finnish productions: it was the first Netflix series to be launched globally in Finnish language and it was one of the first Finnish productions to do the albert sustainability reporting. The series has a fresh, diverse cast and was directed by Taito Kawata, created by Max Malka and written by Reeta Ruotsalainen.
Photo: Arsen Sarkisiants / Endemolshine Finland
The film industry is paying more attention to gender equality as it faces scrutiny for its historical lack of inclusivity and recognition of women’s contributions. Inclusivity means creating authentic stories that connect with audiences worldwide, and one way to do this is through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) combined with art to promote diverse casting and stories.
Finland’s Women in Film and Television (WIFT) organization developed a pioneering equality tool for the film industry which is launched this weekend at WIFTI Summit held in Helsinki. The tool allows teams to create project-specific equality and inclusivity plans, which enhances resilience, risk awareness, and overall sustainability goals in production planning.
The tool, developed in collaboration with industry stakeholders like Finland’s national public broadcasting company YLE, and Finnish Film Foundation, has a goal of providing practical guidance for promoting equality and inclusivity in film productions.
Gradually, the industry is making headway in promoting equality to ensure all voices are heard and represented on the silver screen.
