Alli Haapasalo

Alli Haapasalo (born 3 October 1977) is a Finnish director and writer.

Alli Haapasalo
Haapasalo in a 2022 interview
Born (1977-10-03) 3 October 1977
Kerava, Finland
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Director, writer
Spouse
Christian Giordano
​
(m. 2009)​

Early life and education

Haapasalo was born in Kerava, a town near Helsinki, where she attended the Nikkari School. The daughter of lawyers,[1] she was initially interested in journalism and documentaries and began her studies in information science at the University of Tampere in 1996. During her year studying abroad in Stockholm, Haapasalo decided she wanted to pursue a more creative field. She applied to Aalto University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies in 2003.[2] She then went on to graduate with a Master of Fine Arts from New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2009.[3]

Career

Haapasalo first gained prominence through her thesis films, first the comedy short Ilona and later at Tisch the 60-minute long On Thin Ice, which had screenings at the 2009 Helsinki International Film Festival as well as the Brooklyn and Manhattan Film Festivals.[4][5]

In 2015, Haapasalo returned to Finland when she was invited to direct and write the feature Love and Fury (2016).[3] She collaborated with six other Finnish director-writers on the 2019 anthology film Force of Habit. The film was awarded Best Film in the International Competition at the 2020 Durban International Film Festival in South Africa and the Nordisk Film Award at the 2020 Jussi Awards.[6] She also directed the Jarowskij Finland series Nyrkki.[2][7]

Haapasalo directed the coming of age film Girl Picture from a screenplay by Ilona Ahti and Daniela Hakulinen.[8] It premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the United States where it received critical acclaim and won the Audience Award in the World Dramatic Competition.[9] It has been chosen for the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival's Generation selection.[10]

Personal life

Haapasalo lives in the Töölö neighbourhood of Helsinki with her American husband Christian Giordano and their children.[2] They married in 2009, and Haapasalo became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 2014 before returning to Finland in 2015 for the more affordable cost of living.[11]

Bibliography
  • Mondo matkaopas (New York) (2011)

Filmography

Film
Year Title Director Writer Other Notes
2001 Rakastaja Yes Yes Short film
2011 Pääsykoe Yes Yes Documentary
2003 Ilona Yes Yes Short film
2005 Dear Mom, Love James Yes Yes Producer, editor, cinematographer, sound Documentary
2005 Breath Yes Co-writer Producer, editor, sound Short film
2006 The Appointment Yes Yes Editor, sound Short film
2009 On Thin Ice (Finnish: Kukkulan kuningas) Yes Yes
2015 Hurricane, Brooklyn Yes Co-writer Producer, editor Short film
2016 Love and Fury (French: Syysprinssiä) Yes Yes
2019 Force of Habit (Finnish: Tottumiskysymys) Co-director Co-writer Anthology
2022 Girl Picture (Finnish: Tytöt tytöt tytöt) Yes

Television
Year Title Director Writer Other Notes
2003 Tuntematon kaupunki II Yes Episode: "Kultalusikan kääntöpuoli"
2014 We Want More Cinematographer 1 episode
2017 Presidentti Helena 3 episodes
2019 Shadow Lines (Finnish: Nyrkki) Yes 4 episodes
2021 At Home (Finnish: Eristyksissä) Yes Yes Episode: "Doing the right thing"

References
  1. Friman, Laura (24 November 2016). "Alli Haapasalo: Halusin työn, jolla on merkitystä". Pirkka (in Finnish). Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  2. Parkkinen, Pia (16 January 2022). "Tyttöjen juttuja". YLE (in Finnish). Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  3. Sarenius, Sanna (10 October 2016). "Suomeen New Yorkista palannut Alli Haapasalo: "Löysin oman syysprinssini yli kymmenen vuotta sitten"". Helsingin Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  4. "Women Directors Sydney 2020: Alli Haapasalo, Finland". European Film Promotion. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  5. "Alli Haapasalo". Circolo Scandinavo. 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  6. Greenleaf, Sarah (19 January 2022). "Sundance 2022 Women Directors: Meet Alli Haapasalo – "Girl Picture"". Women and Hollywood. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  7. Kanter, Jake (9 January 2020). "AMC's Sundance Now Picks Up Zodiak Finland's Period Cold War Drama 'Shadow Lines'". Deadline. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  8. Bousfiha, Jihane (28 January 2022). "Sundance 2022: Alli Haapasalo on Girl Picture & the coming-of-age story". The Spool. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  9. "2022 Sundance Film Festival Awards announced". Sundance. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  10. Grater, Tom (10 January 2022). "LevelK Boards Sundance & Berlin-Selected Coming Of Age Drama 'Girl Picture'". Deadline. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  11. Rantanen, Kimmo (2 July 2020). "Useille suomalaisjulkkiksille jaettiin Trumpin korona-avustus – postilaatikosta kolahti mojova sekki presidentin allekirjoituksella". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 July 2020.
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