Antti J. Jokinen promises less violence and more male emotions in the upcoming Kalevala film

Supervisor Antti J. Jokinen wants to reduce in the future Kalevala: The story of Kullervo -in his film, the violence that occurs in the stories of the original work.

American VarietyIn an interview with the film magazine, Jokinen speaks Kalevala based on the themes of the film. According to him, there are fight scenes in the film, but it is more interesting to think about the effect violence has on people.

“Anyone can interpret Kalevala in the way they want. The characters in the stories are not one-dimensional, but men with feelings. They don’t just rape and rob,” says Jokinen.

He compares the world of folktale characters and the relationship with nature to the culture of the indigenous peoples of North America.

“The idea is that nature monitors man, and if nature doesn’t like man’s behavior, it punishes.”

Kalevala: The story of Kullervo -film has been shot this year in Lapland and North Karelia, far away from the population. Kullervona is in the main role Elias Salonenand the film is scheduled to premiere in early 2026. The film’s budget is around five million euros.

A river admits in an interview with Variety that his career in Hollywood did not go quite as expected. In 2011, Jokinen directed a horror film The Resident, which starred Hillary Swank. It was poorly received and, according to Jokinen, was a disappointment for him as well.

Since then, Jokinen returned to Finland and directed, among other things Sofi Oksanen based on a novel Cleaning and a painter Helene from Schjerfbeck telling Helen. The Kalevala film was not originally in his plans.

“It’s not like I sit at home and think I’m an ambassador of Finnish culture,” says Jokinen.

“The BOOK is indeed very famous here, but people don’t know what it’s about. Kalevala is like Mannerheimsomeone will always say that you shouldn’t touch it. You just don’t have to be afraid of it.”

Something is planned to be done Kalevala more movies about the stories later.

Kalevala: The story of Kullervo is Jokinen’s first directing job after he left due to burnout Omerta 6/12 – as the director of the film in 2021.