 |
Interview with Aku Louhimies (Director) Tears of April is based on a novel by Finnish writer Leena Lander. How did this project come to you? What attracted you most about the novel when you first read it? Leena is an old friend of mine and when she told me what book she was going to write next, I said right away that I want to make a film about it. So I knew early on that this a film I want to make. It is about love in strange circumstances. The whole story felt universal and still unique to me. We made the first version of the script with Leena to be sure that I understood the story (the structure of the novel is very different). Then I asked Jari, whom I have known since the army, to write the script from the novel. It is not a pure adaptation, but more as a story of its own. It is more cinematic yet still faithful to the novel. What was the biggest challenge for you in directing and making Tears of April? Finance is always a challenge. Finland is a small country ant the language is difficult. We don't have a large film business. I think that the hardest thing to do is still by far, to make a good film. Why did you want to make a movie on this particular historical event? Is the Finnish Civil War particularly important to your country? It did shape our society a lot and the marks are still seen. The film has some beautiful landscapes. Was it all filmed in Finland? Yes, in the southern Finland and n the archipelago. The cabin in the film is the most southern building in Finland. In your previous film Frozen Land as well as Tears of April you worked with the acclaimed and genius Finnish cinematographer Rauno Ronkainen. This collaboration brings us a very contemplative atmosphere in this film. What was it like to work with Mr. Ronkainen and how was the process of creating this atmosphere? Rauno and I have a special approach to all projects. He as a cinematographer is really involved in the whole process of film making from the developing the script, through casting, editing and the final color correction. I like that kind of collaboration in films as a whole. We were very delighted to have the short-film Late Fragments, written, produced and directed by you, representing Finland in the selection of our 2nd Edition of the Eurochannel Short Film Tour last year. Do you plan to keep doing shorts? What is next for you? Sure. Why not? My next film will be ready in January. It is a collection of cruel love stories in present day Finland. Late Fragments used to be a part of that story before I decided to make a short film out of it. I am also looking forward of directing something in some other language than Finnish. There is still quite many of my films you have not shown at the Eurochanel, so maybe some of those would be coming up next? |
