Cinema for me is…
Finland – Santeri Laasanen from Europa Cinemas on Vimeo.
Santeri in 23 Frames
1. Describe yourself in ten words.
Media student. Animator. Artist. Writer. Dreamer. Nature lover. Film enthusiast.
2. Your best quality? Your worst habit?
Best quality: My incredible imagination.
Worst habit: Getting overly excited about new projects, of which I have like three or four going on right now.
3. Your dream job?
Being a free writer. Were it for movies or tv or comics or books, everything goes.
4. What do you like most about your country?
The merciless Finnish winter is great in twofold ways: firstly, it enables several fun activities such as swimming in deathly freezing ice water, and secondly, it makes our summer seem a lot better than it actually is.
5. Your favorite dish in your country?
The traditional Karelian hot pot.
6. Which word or phrase in your native language do you like the most and what does it mean?
Routa is my favourite word in Finnish, and it means “frost”. Oh god, am I this stereotypical?
7. What European capital have you visited lately?
Tallinn, Estonia. I really like the old town. It’s so close to where I live that it doesn’t even really feel like going abroad.
8. Other than your own, which European country would you love to live in?
Czech Republic! Prague is a gorgeous city.
9. What does Europe mean to you? 3 values.
Equality. Peace. Diversity.
10. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999, US) I saw it when I was 13 and it probably changed the way I watch movies.
11. Your favorite film theatre? What do you like about it?
Művész Cinema in Budapest. I went there on a whim with a friend while I was visiting the city and fell quickly in love. It’s a pretty small theater with lots of personality!
12. Who is your movie hero?
Wes Anderson (Isle of Dogs, Grand Budapest Hotel). I’m convinced that man can do no wrong.
13. Which movie director would you like to be?
Robert Rodriguez. I feel like a director who can make both Planet Terror (2007, US) and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005, US) in 3D has to have a truly fascinating mind.
14. Briefly describe your favorite scene.
Of all time? The finale to Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz (2007, GB). A by-the-book cop from London arrives to a small village centre on horseback and has a shootout with murderous old people. It really has to be seen to be believed.
15. What are the 3 best European films you have seen in the last year?
Ikitie (Antti-Jussi Annila, 2017, FI)
Tom of Finland (Dome Karukoski, 2017, FI)
Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017, IT).
16. Which film character do you most identify with?
Charlie Kaufman in Adaptation. (Spike Jonze, 2002, US). Writing is hard!
17. Your favorite soundtrack or song?
As a whole, the score to Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001, FR) by Yann Tiersen is incredibly beautiful.
18. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
Cloud Atlas (2012, DE) by the Wachowskis. Even though it portrays a cruel world full of evil, the underlying message is that hope shines through.
19. Your life becomes a bio-pic. Who plays the role of you?
Hi, Matt Smith! I’ve been told we look a lot alike!
20. Which talent would you most like to have?
Just completely out of the blue, I would like to be better at climbing! And consequentially, less scared of heights.
21. What is your most treasured possession?
A beautiful wooden relief from the 70s that once belonged to my grandmother.
22. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Animating a short film of 8 minutes in just a little more than a month all by myself. All glory to the help a few of my friends gave me for voice work, nevertheless!
23. What is your motto?
“Half the failures in life result from pulling in one’s horse when it is leaping.”
Santeri Laasanen is the Ambassador of Kino Iiris. Find out more about the Cinema here.
