Anssi Mänttäri is a living legend of Finnish cinema. Having been involved in over a hundred industry projects as a producer, screenwriter, and actor, Mänttäri’s personal directing credits include 26 feature films, as well as TV movies, series, short films, and documentaries. The documentary directed by Tero Hiltunen and Sampsa Huttunen allows the title character himself to speak up, making this film a perfect fit for the Midnight Sun Film Festival programme, not least because Mänttäri is one of the festival’s founders.
The documentary chronicles Mänttäri’s career chronologically. His theatre aspirations led to his first role in Mikko Niskanen’s Commando Assault, getting established in the film industry, and finally, his debut as a director with The Holy Family. With plenty of footage of Mänttäri’s films over the years, this biographical documentary meticulously combs through his filmography, also touching on his thoughts about winning a Jussi Award and founding the organisation ELKE ry. Not to forget the story of Samuel Fuller persuading the local rural police chief in a bar in Sodankylä to grant permission to hold the film festival just hours before its first screening.
Joonatan Nikkinen