The magic of pan-Nordic collaboration

Norwegian producer Einar Loftesnes was already drawn to Finnish landscapes – but working on Finnish thriller Evilside, he discovered just why Norwegians and Finns make for ideal filmmaking partners.

Landscapes are an integral part of upcoming Finnish thriller “Evilside”, which focuses on a tight-knit community in a remote region and was shot in and around Oulu, an isolated city in northern Finland. 

Nature also first drew Norwegian producer Einar Loftesnes to the project, assisting Finnish Whatevergroup with music and post-production from his Bergen studio.

“Given that I run a production company called Handmade Films in Norwegian Woods, I can safely say that the natural setting of Finland - a country of woods and lakes - was a very important ingredient for me.”

Once the project began, Loftesnes discovered that his Nordic neighbour offered even more ingredients for making movie magic – from accessible funding, supportive crews, and snow expertise - to the strong sense of community between Norwegian and Finnish collaborators.


Mika Nuojua (Pietilä) and Olivia Ainali (Johanna). Johanna becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her only friend in small village in Northern Finland. As the killer threatens to strike again, Johanna must fight to clear her name and stay alive. Photo: Maiju Pohjanheimo. 

A shared feeling of snow

Working across borders unfolded seamlessly, even when the shoot clashed with the 2021-2022 pandemic restrictions. Loftesnes chalks this up to similar working styles and cultural parallels between Norwegians and Finns.

And for a film set in the depths of winter, it was invaluable that both teams shared a deep understanding of the intense Nordic climate.

“From our side in post-production, it was critical to authentically capture the sounds of winter when carrying out field recordings - snow crunching underfoot, heavy jackets rustling - the sound of it being very, very cold,” says the producer.

“Both Finns and Norwegians know what a truly cold winter means. It was easy to collaborate on creating a winter feel in the colour grading. And my team could prep sound in pre-production by going to the coldest places in Norway to capture the sounds of footsteps in snow and create that really cold feeling of winter in Finland.”

While the Finns served mainly as tactical crew, they also supported post-production by contributing visual effects related to snow, adds Loftesnes.

“It just really helped that both teams are deeply familiar with this climate and could both step in to capture winter in an authentic way.”

Verneri Eronen (Tuomas) and Amira Khalifa (Ulla). Photographer Maiju Pohjanheimo

Finnish funding is made for creativity

The production of Evilside also came together with support from Business Finland, Business Oulu and the Finnish Film Foundation. Applying was easy, says Loftesnes – and tailored to creative work.

“I really like the way Finland organises its incentives - first you make the production, then you apply for funding. There’s no deadlines, no submission date. It’s much better suited to the nature of the creative industry, which doesn’t always work according to schedule,” says the producer.

“I found it a much better funding system than Norway or Sweden, where funding windows open and the grants disappear in seconds.”

A community feeling on set

Loftesnes already has plans for another film collaboration with Finland - and a big part of the appeal is the magic that comes from working in smaller teams, as the Finns do.

“Many good movies have come out of Finland in the last decade. Like Norwegians, they work with smaller crews which gives you a community feel on set and in production, where everybody helps everybody.”

He says it’s different to other countries he’s worked in, which can involve very big crews.

“The film then loses some of that magic because you don’t collaborate as well to get the best possible result. There isn’t that same feeling of being really involved in something.”

Looking ahead, Loftesnes says he hopes to see more pan Nordic collaboration for film and TV.

“We may have smaller budgets in the Nordics, but we have big visions. Working with small budgets is an important way of filmmaking - everybody pitches in to get the best possible film made.”

And the shared humour between Finns and Norwegians doesn’t hurt when it comes to creating a great on-set atmosphere, either. “We work well together because we’re both a bit cheeky. And all Norwegian and Finnish jokes are about Sweden.”