Pressrelease 10.1.2008: DocPoint Apollo Award to Jörn Donner
DocPoint - Helsinki Documentary Film Festival awards Jörn Donner, the noted Finnish
talent of cinema and a documentary film maker, with Apollo Award at the upcoming
DocPoint Festival for his contributions to Finnish documentary cinema. To celebrate
the award the festival showcases a selection of Donner’s films. DocPoint - Helsinki
Documentary Film Festival is held 23rd-28th January 2008 and the Apollo Award will
be given to Donner at the festival opening in Bio Rex, Helsinki on January 23rd.
The DocPoint Apollo Award is a recognition of Jörn Donner’s (b. 1933) achievements
as a producer, director and a general force behind Finnish documentaries. An
eclectic talent of culture, Donner has moved swiftly from one media to another, but
cinema has always remained close to his heart. He has been active for five decades,
generating a long career not only as a film-maker but also as a cultural influence.
For example, Donner was involved in establishing the Finnish Film Archive in 1958.
Donner’s directorial career began with a documentary: he made his debut at the age
of 21 with Aamua kaupungissa (Morning in the City), which examines the city of
Helsinki. As a documentarist Donner is an exception among Finnish film-makers
because many of his works are essay films in form. As a film-maker Donner is a
strong auteur, whose presence and life-experience are seen and heard on screen.
Among others, Donner’s filmography includes the Finnish documentary classic Fuck
Off!, a ruthless and frank description of the state of the union in the beginning of
the 1970’s.
Jörn Donner is among the most successful international film-makers in Finland.
Ingmar Bergman’s Academy Award-winning Fanny and Alexander (1982) is the most famous
of Donner’s productions, but with his company Jörn Donner Productions he has
produced several documentaries by high-profile Finnish directors, including Marja
Pensala, Pirjo Honkasalo, Markku Lehmuskallio and Anastasia Lapsui.
To celebrate Jörn Donner’s Apollo Award the DocPoint Festival will include a
selection of Donner’s films. The selection comprises of Donner’s key works such as
Fuck Off!, a critique of the capital called Nine Ways to Approach Helsinki, and
Three Scenes with Ingmar Bergman, a profile of Bergman. It also includes Portraits
of Women, the most documentary-like of Donner’s fiction films, which was completed
in 1970 as a comedic commentary on society. The selection aims to paint an
all-around picture of Donner as a documentarist, from his debut Aamua kaupungissa
all the way to his latest direction, Isän jalanjäljillä (On My Father’s Footsteps),
which tells the story of Donner’s father, Kai Donner.
Apollo Award
Ever since the founding of DocPoint - Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, Finnish
documentarists have been awarded at the festival. Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement
Award is presented to an accomplished Finnish director of documentary films. Apollo
Award, launched in 2006, is a mark of recognition given in honour of a person or
community who has done remarkable work in the field of Finnish documentary film. The
award is named after the first documentary film production company in Finland,
Ateljee Apollo, founded in 1904.
The Awarded at DocPoint 2002-2008
- 2002: (Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement Award) director Markku Lehmuskallio
- 2003: (Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement Award) director Lasse Naukkarinen
- 2004: (Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement Award) director Pirjo Honkasalo
- 2005: (Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement Award) director Peter von Bagh
- 2006: (Apollo Award) director, producer, founder of YLE Dokumenttiprojekti Jarmo
Jääskeläinen
- 2007: (Apollo Award) researcher and archivist Ilkka Kippola
- 2008: (Apollo Award) director, producer, culture impresario Jörn Donner
Further information and press materials:
Liisa Lehmusto
Press Coordinator
mailto:liisa.lehmusto@docpoint.info
+358 50 358 5488
DocPoint - Helsinki Documentary Film Festival
Fredrikinkatu 23
FIN-00120 Helsinki
Finland
Tel: +358-9-672472
www.docpoint.info
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