“Fallen Leaves” (Kuolleet lehdet) is Finland’s candidate for the 2024 Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. It s a romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki, 66.
Aki Kaurismäki
Kaurismäki was born in Orimattila, Finland. He co-owns a complex in Helsinki, Finland called Andorra, which incorporates bars, a pool and a cinema.
Much of Kaurismäki’s work as a filmmaker is centered on Helsinki. His characters often speak about how they wish to get away from the capital city of Finland.
In 1989, Kaurismäki and his wife Paula Oinonen moved from Helsinki to Portugal. He produced, wrote and directed “The Man Without a Past“, which became the first Finnish film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards in 2002.
“The Other Side of Hope” is another film produced, wrote and directed by Kaurismäki. With the film, he won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.
“Fallen Leaves“
Starring Finnish actors Alma Pöysti, 42, and Jussi Vatanen, 45, “Fallen Leaves” is distributed by B-Plan Distribution in Finland and Pandora Film in Germany. On May 22, 2023, the film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
Pöysti plays Ansa, a single woman living in Helsinki and working on a zeo-hour contract in a supermarket while Vatanen plays an alcoholic named Holappa. The two characters are equally lonely.
One night, Ansa accidentally meets Holappa. They try to build a relationship against all odds and misunderstandings and he eventually gets his alcohol addiction in control.
“We use few words in Finland and this script was the shortest I’ve ever read but it was so beautiful and crystal clear,” Pöysti said of Kaurismäki’s “Fallen Leaves” script in an interview with Vogue. “In one sentence, he could describe a universe or a long period of time and in a really funny way. I was laughing aloud when I read it and was also really touched.”
2024 Academy Awards
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, 56, the 2024 Academy Awards will be aired by ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA on March 10, 2024. Directed by Hamish Hamilton, the ceremony will be produced by Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan.
This is the 96th edition of the awards ceremony also known as the Oscars and the fourth time Kimmel is hosting it. The ceremony is annually presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is based in Beverly Hills, California.
On December 21, 2023, it was announced that “Fallen Leaves” is one of the 15 shortlisted films for the 2024 Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. On January 23, 2024, the official nominees will be revealed.
CONAN Daily 