Scriptwriting

I was an ardent reader and writer from an early age, passions that led me to study journalism and communication at the University of Helsinki. In the mid-1990s, I got an opportunity to write (together with Marina Meinander) a script for an 8-episode fictional drama series, that became Vägsjälar (YLE, 1997). This changed my life, as I understood that fiction has the potential to speak deep truths in ways that journalism seldom can. I and Marina worked closely together with acclaimed scriptwriter Tove Idström as our mentor. Her expertise and dedication to the craft was my introduction to scriptwriting. I could not have asked for a better education, and her example led me to become a teacher of scriptwriting as well. I am currently affiliated with Arcada UAS where I work as a senior lecturer in scriptwriting and directing.

Since my introduction to the film industry, I have acted as a scriptwriter for short films and series, working together with directors such as Klaus Härö and PV Lehtinen. I am also an active script consultant and dramaturg. Recently I worked as a consultant for Bathroom Stories (Moilo, 2019), Vakuum2 (Söder films, 2022), and The Year in the Fairytale Forest (Söder films, 2022). I am currently busy developing and writing a historical drama series with Kajsa Törnroth as co-author. The series is a political thriller called Kosmos, set in the 1970s in the occupied Baltic states.

A boy and a girl laughing from the film dancing on thin ice

A fantastic connection: Robin Wegelius as Felix and Tolue Tahiri as Fakira Victoria Felfot in the film "A Dance on Thin Ice". Photograph: Cineparadiso.

Books

My writing has also taken other forms. I have worked in the theater and I am an author of factual books on differing topics. In 1999 I wrote (together with journalist Antti Kuronen and professional sports bettor Jorma Vuoksenmaa) a popular book on sports betting, that has been translated into three languages, with the latest edition published in 2016. I have also written books on modern theatre; Viirusboken and Skärisboken and a book on set design with Erik Salvesen, called Skenographia. I have also written a fictional autobiography of legendary Finnish bootlegger Algoth Niska, called Gränsfall. I am part of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, and therefore I work mainly in Swedish and English. I am also fluent in Finnish.

Vägsjälar

1998 | YLE

In 1996 I and fellow scriptwriter Marina Meinander got together and wrote the script for Vägsjälar, an 8-part drama series set in Helsinki in the summer of 1997. The theme of the series is the random nature of our existence. It presents an episodic tale that centers on six characters whose lives are upended by a tragic accident. The series was nominated for a Venla-prize for best original series.

Dance on Thin Ice

Dans på tunn is | 2017 | Cineparadiso.

In the mid-2010s, during the worst European refugee crisis in modern times, I wrote a story that became Dance on Thin Ice, a 30-minute fiction film directed by PV Lehtinen. It is a dreamlike story in which two young strangers - a lonely boy and a refugee girl - meet under unusual circumstances. Together, they make the impossible possible.

Bathroom Stories

Badrumsliv | 2019 | Moilo

In 2018 I worked as a script consultant for Bathroom stories, a web drama-series in 20 episodes. The series was written and directed by Kaya Pakaslahti, who used crowd-sourcing to create the main characters, two best friends in their 20s. All events take place in their shared bathroom, a safe space for young women. It is a genuine look on the youth of today. The series was commissioned for a remake by VRT, the national public-service broadcaster for the Flemish Community of Belgium.

Skärisboken

2018 | Skärgårdsteaterns väl r.f.

Skärisboken is an oral history of Skärgårdsteatern, a traveling theatre company that sets up plays every summer on islands in the Finnish archipelago. The book – and the theatre company itself – combines three things that make life truly worth living: the Finnish summer, the Finnish archipelago, and vibrant storytelling.

Det mörka rummet

2016 | Svenska kulturfonden

In 2016 I wrote an essay called Det mörka rummet (The Dark Room), a personal and cultural history of the disappearing spaces of cinema. It mapped my life journey through cinema, told through its physical spaces. The essay got an honorary mention in the Hans Ruin essay competition of 2016.

Skenographia

2015 | Schildts & Söderströms

Skenographia presents set design as a unique form of art, through the works of Finnish set designer Erik Salvesen. The book also contains essays on the relationship between space, story, and stage.

Gränsfall

2014 | SFV
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Gränsfall is my take on the life and times of Algoth Niska, a legendary Finnish smuggler that became a national celebrity during prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s. The book is a fictional biography told through scenes from Niska's stormy existence.

Viirusboken

2007 | Söderströms

In 2007 I worked as writer and editor of Viirusboken, an oral history of a creative group of artists in and around the Finnish theatre company Viirus. It was a wonderful crazy project which resulted in a book full of passion and drama, told through interviews, photographs, and essays.

Spelhandboken

1999 | ESBC

In 1999 I and my friend Antti Kuronen became fascinated by the emerging trend of sports betting. We got in touch with well known Finnish sports bettor and analyst Jorma Vuoksenmaa, and our collaboration resulted in the first book on sports betting published in Finland, called Urheiluvedonlyönti – Voittajan opas. The book has been translated into Swedish (picture above), English, and German, with a new edition published in 2016.