Berlin: Film Republic Boards Coming-of-Age Film ‘Eden’ (EXCLUSIVE)
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London-based sales agency Film Republic has boarded Finnish film “Eden” as it prepares for the European Film Market in Berlin. The company has released a teaser for the film.
“Eden,” the debut feature film by Ulla Heikkilä, is produced by Miia Haavisto from Tekele Productions. It will be released in Finland in the summer by Nordisk Film.
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A coming-of-age film about a religious summer camp, Eden tells the story through the eyes of three youths who are torn between ideology, independence and falling in love.
Heikkilä said: “It’s been a wonderful experience to be making a coming-of-age film. For me, youth is condensed humanity: it’s almost like being an adult but not having had the time to get used to all the drama that life consists of. The bliss and the pain of growing up move me, maybe because I’m still feeling both all the time. I’m sometimes kind of a teenager myself.”
“Eden” was fully financed from Finland by the Finnish Film Foundation, the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE, Nordisk Film Finland and the Church Media Fund.
Heikkilä developed the script at the Cine Qua Non Lab in 2018, and pitched the project at Haugesund, the Finnish Film Affair, and the Baltic Event in 2019.
Viktorija Cook, the head of acquisitions at Film Republic, said: “’Eden is an honest and fun story about growing up, set against the holiday camp culture, which is very common in many countries. We loved the first clips we saw during the Finnish Film Affair and again at Baltic Event and are very happy to complete another Finnish collaboration.”
Eden is produced by Miia Haavisto, whose credits as former CEO and producer at Helsinki-filmi and Elokuvaosakeyhtiö Suomi include some of Finland’s largest box-office hits including “Unknown Soldier.”
Film Republic previously worked on Finnish auteurs Pirjo Honkasalo’s Oscar candidate “Concrete Night,” and Juha Lehtola’s “The Human Part.”
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