Aki Kaurismäki facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aki Kaurismäki
Aki Kaurismäki at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival
Born	Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (1957-04-04) 4 April 1957 (age 68) Orimattila, Finland
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter

Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (born 4 April 1957) is a famous Finnish film director and screenwriter. He is well-known for his award-winning movies like Drifting Clouds (1996), The Man Without a Past (2002), Le Havre (2011), The Other Side of Hope (2017), and Fallen Leaves (2023). He also directed Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989). Many people consider him Finland's most famous film director.

Aki Kaurismäki's Film Career

Aki Kaurismäki studied media at the University of Tampere. Before becoming a filmmaker, he worked in different jobs like a bricklayer and a postman. He first became interested in movies as a critic, then as a writer and director.

He started his film journey by writing scripts and acting in movies made by his older brother, Mika Kaurismäki. He even played the main character in Mika's film The Liar (1981). The brothers also started a film company called Villealfa Filmproductions and the Midnight Sun Film Festival.

Aki Kaurismäki's first movie as an independent director was Crime and Punishment (1983). This film was based on a famous novel but set in modern Helsinki. He became known around the world with his movie Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989). A film critic from The New York Times called him a unique and important new artist in cinema.

Aki Kaurismäki's Personal Life

In 1989, Aki Kaurismäki moved to Portugal with his wife, Paula Oinonen. He said he couldn't find a good place to film in Helsinki anymore. As of 2023, he still lives in Portugal.

In Helsinki, he co-owns a place called Andorra. This complex includes a cinema, several bars, and a pool hall. It even has a giant poster from the movie L’Argent and a jukebox from his film Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses.

Aki Kaurismäki's Unique Film Style

Aki Kaurismäki is known for his very simple and direct filmmaking style. He often writes, directs, produces, and edits his own films. This means his personal touch, which is often described as dry humor and a serious, calm approach, is in every movie.

His camera usually stays still, and events are shown in a straightforward way. Characters in his films often face tough situations alone. However, even with problems and sadness, his characters usually don't give up and find a way to survive.

Many of Kaurismäki's films are set in Helsinki, Finland. Examples include Calamari Union and a group of films called the proletariat trilogy. This trilogy includes Shadows in Paradise, Ariel, and The Match Factory Girl. Another group, the Finland trilogy, features Drifting Clouds, The Man Without a Past, and Lights in the Dusk. His movies show a realistic, sometimes unromantic, view of Helsinki. His characters often talk about wanting to leave the city.

Kaurismäki also likes to use characters, items, and settings that remind viewers of the 1960s and 1970s. He has been influenced by famous directors like Jean-Pierre Melville and Yasujirō Ozu. The director Jim Jarmusch, who appeared in Kaurismäki's film Leningrad Cowboys Go America, also shares a similar sense of humor.

Aki Kaurismäki has been critical of digital filmmaking. He once called it "a devil's invention." However, in 2014, he changed his mind a bit. He said he would allow his films to be available digitally so more people could watch them. But he still prefers to use traditional 35mm film whenever possible.

Aki Kaurismäki's Political Views

Aki Kaurismäki's films often show his feelings about how Finland treats its working class. He believes that social differences and a lack of fair money make lower-class workers seem unimportant.

In December 2019, he joined many other cultural figures in supporting the UK Labour Party in an election. They believed the party's plans would help people and the planet more than private businesses.

Kaurismäki has also spoken out about Finland's immigration policy. When refugees from Iraq came to Finland, he felt that many Finns saw it as a threat. He was worried by this reaction. So, he made the film The Other Side of Hope to try and change people's attitudes. He admired German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her open policy towards refugees. In 2007, he said Finland's refugee policy was "shameful" compared to other Nordic countries.

In 2023, he stated that he was against Finland joining NATO. In December 2023, he signed a letter with other filmmakers asking for a ceasefire and an end to harm against civilians in Gaza. They also asked for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and for hostages to be released. In May 2025, he signed another letter criticizing the film industry for not doing enough during the ongoing situation in Gaza.

Aki Kaurismäki's Filmography

Feature films

Documentaries

Short films

Music Videos

As an actor

• The Liar (1981)
• The Worthless (1982)
• Huhtikuu on kuukausista julmin (1983)
• Apinan vuosi (1983)
• Viimeiset rotanrahat (1985)
• Calamari Union (1985)
• Ylösnousemus (1985)
• Shadows in Paradise (1986)
• Rocky VI (1986)
• I Hired a Contract Killer (1990)
• Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses (1994)
• Iron Horsemen (1994)
• Mustasilmä-Susanna ja lepakkoluolan aarre (1996)
• Aaltra (2004)
• Vandaleyne (2015)

Aki Kaurismäki's Awards and Protests

Aki Kaurismäki's film Ariel (1988) won an award at the 16th Moscow International Film Festival.

His most praised film is The Man Without a Past. It won the Grand Prix and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for an Academy Award (Oscar) in 2003 for Best Foreign Language Film. However, Kaurismäki chose not to go to the Oscar ceremony. He said he didn't feel like celebrating in a country that was at war.

His next film, Lights in the Dusk, was also chosen to be Finland's nominee for the Oscars. But again, Kaurismäki refused the nomination. He did this to protest the foreign policy of then-U.S. President George W. Bush. In 2002, he also boycotted the New York Film Festival. He did this to support Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, who couldn't get a U.S. visa in time for the festival.

Kaurismäki's 2017 film The Other Side of Hope won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. At that festival, he said it would be his last film. But he later started filming another movie, Fallen Leaves, in 2022. This film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. Kaurismäki became only the second director to win his third FIPRESCI Grand Prix award.

List of awards

Cannes Jury Prize
2023 Fallen Leaves
Silver Bear
2017 The Other Side of Hope
Cannes Grand Prix
2002 The Man Without a Past
Cannes Ecumenical Jury Special Mention
1996 Drifting Clouds
Cannes Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
2002 The Man Without a Past
FIPRESCI Award
2011 Le Havre
FIPRESCI Grand Prix
2002 The Man Without a Past
2017 The Other Side of Hope
2023 Fallen Leaves
Jussi for Best Film
2006 Lights in the Dusk
Jussi for Best Debut Film
1983 Crime and Punishment
Jussi for Best Script
1983 Crime and Punishment
1996 Drifting Clouds
2002 The Man Without a Past
2011 Le Havre
Jussi for Best Direction
1990 The Match Factory Girl
1992 La vie de bohème
1996 Drifting Clouds
2002 The Man Without a Past
São Paulo Audience Award for Best Feature
1996 Drifting Clouds

Images for kids

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  Aki Kaurismäki at the premiere of Calamari Union in 1985

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  Aki Kaurismäki in 1990

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  Aki Kaurismäki in 2012

See also

In Spanish: Aki Kaurismäki para niños

• Finnish cinema
• List of Finnish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Klaus Härö