Internationally successful Finnish foley artist Heikki Kossi is the recipient of this year’s Nordic Flair Award. The award is given annually by the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy (HIFF) and its industry event Finnish Film Affair to a distinguished Nordic film professional. High-quality Nordic drama takes centre stage in the programme of Finland’s biggest film festival. The 33rd edition of Love & Anarchy will take place on September 17–27, 2020.
This year’s Nordic Flair Award of the HIFF and its industry event the Finnish Film Affair goes to the foley artist Heikki Kossi. The award, now granted for the fourth time, is presented to a unique Nordic talent who is helping to spotlight the region’s film industry excellence on an international level. Previous recipients include actors Pilou Asbæk and Laura Birn and director Lone Scherfig.
Internationally acclaimed Kossi is Finland’s leading foley artist. His work has been heard in Ad Astra (2019, dir. James Gray), The Beguiled (2017, dir. Sofia Coppola) and The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (2016, dir. Juho Kuosmanen).
– I am flattered and thankful for the distinction that I have received. HIFF is a festival to reckon with, and the award speaks of deep understanding for the various levels of film. Most of all, I am glad about the attention paid to film sound. Sound is part and parcel of emotion and narration, and understanding this opens up wonderful possibilities, Kossi says.
Kossi will talk about his work and perform live in the festival’s Masterclass event supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond. During the festival, his talent can also be heard in his own favourite work THE LITTLE PRINCE (Le Petit Prince, 2015) and SIGHT AND SOUND: EKSTRÖM & KOSSI, a series of short films showcasing his collaboration with the visual artist Saara Ekström.
This year’s HIFF programme includes the top contenders of Nordic cinema’s most recent releases. Among the Scandinavian favourites are the Norwegian drama BEWARE OF CHILDREN (Barn, 2019) that won the Dragon Award at the Gothenburg Film Festival, MILK COUNTY (Héraðið, 2019) and the new film by Grímur Hákonarson who helmed the festival favourite Rams (Hrútar, HIFF 2015). In the Danish director Jeanette Nordahl’s debut feature film WILDLAND (Kød & blod, 2020) Sidse Babett Knudsen, the star of the Borgen series, shines as the matriarch of a mob family.
ABOUT ENDLESSNESS (Om det oändliga, 2019), the imagination-bending Silver Lion winner from the Venice Film Festival by the Swedish cinema maestro Roy Andersson, will be screened at the festival before its release in Finnish cinemas by Cinema Mondo on October 9.
As usual, HIFF will present every film nominated for the Nordic Council Film Prize. The nominees will be announced on August 18 at the Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund.
The programme of the 33rd Love & Anarchy festival will be published on August 27, whilst the Cut to the Chase – R&A Shorts short film programme will be revealed on August 20. The ticket sales begin on September 10.
More programme announcements will be rolled out on the HIFF website and in social media.
For press accreditations, please go to: hiff.fi/press.
