Finns get a prize for special effects at Sweden’s most important film festival – This is what the group’s leader commented

Finns filmmakers were awarded on Monday evening in Stockholm at the country’s most important film festival. Won the prestigious Guldbagge award for best visual effects (VFX). Sami Haartemo, Mikko Löppönen, Teemu Pitkänen and Ville Pätsi and Swedish Jacob Danell in the movie The Swedish torpedo.

Visual effects refer to digital effects added to the film afterwards.

Frida Kempffin guided by The Swedish torpedo is about a Swedish champion swimmer Sally Baueristawho in 1939 became the first Nordic to swim across the English Channel.

They competed with the Finns for the win in the same category Stockholm Bloodbath, which tells about a centuries-old massacre in Sweden, and XXLwhere the Swedish siblings leave for a weekend trip to Helsinki.

Prize is the first for Finns in Sweden – and also a small surprise.

“I kept thinking that there are so many big movies in Sweden that I didn’t believe in the possibilities of success. I also thought that maybe this isn’t that kind of film after all”, says the VFX Supervisor, the leader of the award-winning team Sami Haartemo.

According to Haartemo, a very ordinary-looking Swedish film may have a considerable amount of effects.

“However, we are talking about a film country many times bigger than Finland. There are a little more of these films here,” says Haartemo on the phone in Stockholm.

The previous bridge the party has lasted a long time. Haartemo, who participated in the Guldbagge gala for the first time, says that the celebrations there are bigger than the domestic Jussi gala. There are a lot of people, and so is the media.

According to Haartemo, just on the red carpet, along which you walk to the gala, there were a dozen shooting points where you had to stop.

“I don’t understand why I’ve been photographed so much. Maybe it’s the Swedish way to pay equal attention to both Actors and regular actors. It seems really confusing, at least for a Finn.”

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Even a very ordinary-looking Swedish film may have a considerable amount of effects.

Haartemon the team ended up in a Swedish film through its Finnish sub-producer Inland production company. According to Haartemo, it is usual that some activities are always done in the home country of the film’s subproducer.

Effects have been made especially for beach scenes, some of which were filmed on a sandy beach in Estonia.

“The famous white cliffs of Dover in England had to be built into those scenes, because in Estonia there was really only forest behind,” says Haartemo.

“Some of the swimming scenes in the film were filmed in a small swimming pool, after which we built it around the sea.”

For example, the storm scene seen in the film was filmed in a swimming pool in Gothenburg. According to Haartemon, it was not possible to film it in a real water tank in Belgium. In the pool scenes, the jumping tower and everything else extra have been removed from the picture and replaced with more water and waves.

Nowadays, according to Haartemo, almost all big movies use cgi, i.e. a computer-generated visual effect, for water scenes. Haartemon’s team did it differently.

“For us, they are mainly built from different real elements, so the end result is more natural looking.”

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“The famous white cliffs of Dover in England had to be built into the scenes, because in Estonia there was really only forest behind.”

Effects making it quite difficult was the fact that The Swedish torpedo has been shot on film.

“Making effects on film is a little more difficult than digitally, because there is less resolution. In addition, the film has its own characteristics, such as graininess and flame, i.e. a certain color.”

In the film, Haartamo has had the main responsibility for decisions regarding big visual effects. He has led a group of Finns together as a VFX producer Katariina Liukkonen with.

Although the nomination and award at the Guldbagge gala was Haartemo’s first, he has worked with the Swedes many times before.

He has worked, for example Thin blue line – series as VFX Supervisor for all three seasons of the series.

“I’ve actually made the initials of that series as well.”

The Swedish torpedo won a total of four Guldbagges (visual effects, costuming, production design, masquerading).

It was chosen as the best film of the year Passagewhose director Levan Me also won its own category.

A Swedish-Finnish was awarded for the best leading roles Bianca Kronlöf from the movie As long as the heart beats mixed Herbert Nordrum from the movie The hypnosis.

You can see the list of all awardees from here.