DocPoint - Helsinki Documentary Film Festival awards Jörn Donner, the noted Finnish talent of cinema and a documentary film maker, with Apollo Award at the upcoming DocPoint Festival for his contributions to Finnish documentary cinema. To celebrate the award the festival showcases a selection of Donner’s films. DocPoint - Helsinki Documentary Film Festival is held 23rd-28th January 2008 and the Apollo Award will be given to Donner at the festival opening in Bio Rex, Helsinki on January 23rd.

The DocPoint Apollo Award is a recognition of Jörn Donner’s (b. 1933) achievements as a producer, director and a general force behind Finnish documentaries. An eclectic talent of culture, Donner has moved swiftly from one media to another, but cinema has always remained close to his heart. He has been active for five decades, generating a long career not only as a film-maker but also as a cultural influence. For example, Donner was involved in establishing the Finnish Film Archive in 1958.

Donner’s directorial career began with a documentary: he made his debut at the age of 21 with Aamua kaupungissa (Morning in the City), which examines the city of Helsinki. As a documentarist Donner is an exception among Finnish film-makers because many of his works are essay films in form. As a film-maker Donner is a strong auteur, whose presence and life-experience are seen and heard on screen. Among others, Donner’s filmography includes the Finnish documentary classic Fuck Off!, a ruthless and frank description of the state of the union in the beginning of the 1970’s.

Jörn Donner is among the most successful international film-makers in Finland. Ingmar Bergman’s Academy Award-winning Fanny and Alexander (1982) is the most famous of Donner’s productions, but with his company Jörn Donner Productions he has produced several documentaries by high-profile Finnish directors, including Marja Pensala, Pirjo Honkasalo, Markku Lehmuskallio and Anastasia Lapsui.

To celebrate Jörn Donner’s Apollo Award the DocPoint Festival will include a selection of Donner’s films. The selection comprises of Donner’s key works such as Fuck Off!, a critique of the capital called Nine Ways to Approach Helsinki, and Three Scenes with Ingmar Bergman, a profile of Bergman. It also includes Portraits of Women, the most documentary-like of Donner’s fiction films, which was completed in 1970 as a comedic commentary on society. The selection aims to paint an all-around picture of Donner as a documentarist, from his debut Aamua kaupungissa all the way to his latest direction, Isän jalanjäljillä (On My Father’s Footsteps), which tells the story of Donner’s father, Kai Donner.



APOLLO AWARD

Ever since the founding of DocPoint - Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, Finnish documentarists have been awarded at the festival. Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an accomplished Finnish director of documentary films. Apollo Award, launched in 2006, is a mark of recognition given in honour of a person or community who has done remarkable work in the field of Finnish documentary film. The award is named after the first documentary film production company in Finland, Ateljee Apollo, founded in 1904.

THE AWARDED AT DOCPOINT 2002-2008

2002: (Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement Award) director Markku Lehmuskallio
2003: (Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement Award) director Lasse Naukkarinen
2004: (Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement Award) director Pirjo Honkasalo
2005: (Aho & Soldan Lifetime Achievement Award) director Peter von Bagh
2006: (Apollo Award) director, producer, founder of YLE Dokumenttiprojekti Jarmo Jääskeläinen
2007: (Apollo Award) researcher and archivist Ilkka Kippola
2008: (Apollo Award) director, producer, culture impresario Jörn Donner