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Filming in Finland

Finland is an increasingly popular but often misunderstood international filming location. The country’s northerly position means that during the winter it offers a snow guarantee and frozen lakes with ice thick enough to drive on. Summer in Finland is warm and daylight continues 24 hours in some parts of the country.

Some of the biggest shoots to date in Finland include Hindi action thriller War. Game of Thrones and Batman stunt coordinator Paul Jennings directed the risky car chase on river ice and forest roads in the Rovaniemi region of Finnish Lapland.

Finland is open for international productions and filming also during COVID-19 with a safe environment to shoot in, have clear health and safety guidelines in place, and our highly skilled professionals are able to smoothly adapt international guidelines with Finnish guidelines.  In late 2020 sci-fi thriller Dual starring Karen Gillan and Aaron Paul shot in Tampere, marking the first time a Hollywood production has shot entirely in Finland.

Finland has a fast-growing and world-class post-production and visual effects industry, as well as high-quality production service companies and a small but efficient crew base. Finland’s technical crew is highly skilled and standout for that.  Many neighbouring countries hire Finnish professionals as crew on bigger productions, and English is widely spoken in addition to Finnish or Swedish.

Finland operates a 25% cash rebate incentive programme with an annual fund of EUR10.6 million. In addition, there are also local incentives available based on filming location area.

The country should really be on the shortlist of every producer looking for wintry scenes in Europe, especially given the proximity to major cities like Hamburg and London. Direct flights from the big European, Asian and North American cites make Finland and its capital Helsinki an easy location to reach from all over the world.

Sustainability is a respected value in Finland and companies are encouraged to execute productions in a sustainable way, taking care of environment, economy and people equally.

 

Finland is right at the top of the list of shooting locations. It has a terrific combination of film incentives, locations, and skilled crews, and a great sense of safety - especially during the covid pandemic. It has been an absolute dream to work in Finland, and it is definitely a place where will shoot again and again

Aram Tertzakian, Partner - XYZ Films

Climate

Finland has four distinct seasons. The climate is marked by cold winters and warm summers. The temperatures vary greatly, with extremes of 25C in the summer to -25C in the winter. Snow cover usually lasts from December to April in the north of Finland. Summer is from June to August.

From June to July the sun does not set at all in the north and does not rise at all in the darkest months of December and January. Finland's north offers particularly colourful autumn foliage as well as the magical Northern Lights of winter.

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