13. Producer-led Mode of Film Production

This chapter analyses the ongoing debates over film policy in Finland. As film production in Finland continues to be heavily subsidized, debates on the role of institutional influence over cultural production are conducted in a very similar vein as in previous decades. Yet the emphasis on business language—enterprise, the customer—indicates a sense of readjustment in policy debates. State subsidies are needed to maintain a small nation film culture, but producer-led incentives and private sources of investment have played an increasing role in developing Finnish cinema. In order to explore these dynamics between art and commerce, national relevance and market-led competition, this chapter chronicles some of these key changes from the perspective of film producer Marko Röhr, a central force in realizing some of the transformations of the period. Röhr provides an intriguing case study, as his role in the negotiations between commercial and artistic interests reflects many of the key debates of the era.