Alli Haapasalo (born 3 October 1977) is a Finnish director and writer.

Early life and education

Haapasalo was born in

Kerava Kerava (; sv, Kervo) is a town and municipality within the Uusimaa region of Finland. The municipalities of Vantaa, Sipoo and Tuusula are adjacent to Kerava, which is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. The town has a population of () an ...

, a town near

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, where she attended the Nikkari School. The daughter of lawyers, she was initially interested in journalism and documentaries and began her studies in information science at the University of Tampere in 1996. During her year studying abroad in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Haapasalo decided she wanted to pursue a more creative field. She applied to Aalto University, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Film Studies in 2003. She then went on to graduate with a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

from New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2009.

Career

Haapasalo first gained prominence through her thesis films, first the comedy short ''Ilona'' and later at Tisch the 60-minute long ''On Thin Ice'', which had screenings at the 2009

Helsinki International Film Festival The Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy ( fi, Rakkautta & Anarkiaa) is a non-competitive film festival held since 1988 in Helsinki, Finland, yearly in September. The festival promotes the artistry of filmmaking, the inventive, vi ...

as well as the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and Manhattan Film Festivals. In 2015, Haapasalo returned to Finland when she was invited to direct and write the feature ''Love and Fury'' (2016). She collaborated with six other Finnish director-writers on the 2019 anthology film ''Force of Habit''. The film was awarded Best Film in the International Competition at the 2020 Durban International Film Festival in South Africa and the Nordisk Film Award at the 2020

Jussi Awards The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

. She also directed the Jarowskij Finland series ''Nyrkki''. Haapasalo directed the coming of age film ''

Girl Picture ''Girl Picture'' ( fi, Tytöt tytöt tytöt, lit=girls girls girls) is a 2022 Finnish coming-of-age film directed by Alli Haapasalo from a screenplay by Ilona Ahti and Daniela Hakulinen. It premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival where it wo ...

'' from a screenplay by Ilona Ahti and Daniela Hakulinen. It premiered at the

2022 Sundance Film Festival The 2022 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20 to 30, 2022. Due to COVID-19 pandemic protocol it was to have been a hybrid festival, but on January 5, 2022 it was announced that the in-person components would be scrapped in favor o ...

in the United States where it received critical acclaim and won the Audience Award in the World Dramatic Competition. It has been chosen for the

72nd Berlin International Film Festival The 72nd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale took place from 10 to 20 February 2022 in person. On 15 December 2021 the first film of the festival was announced. The festival opened with François Ozon's drama ...

's Generation selection.

Personal life

Haapasalo lives in the

Töölö Töölö (; sv, Tölö, formerly spelled ''Thölö'') is the collective name for the neighbourhoods Etu-Töölö ( sv, Främre Tölö, lit=Front Töölö, links=no) and Taka-Töölö ( sv, Bortre Tölö, lit=Rear Töölö, links=no) in Helsinki ...

neighbourhood of Helsinki with her American husband Christian Giordano and their children. They married in 2009, and Haapasalo became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 2014 before returning to Finland in 2015 for the more affordable cost of living.

Bibliography

* ''Mondo matkaopas'' (''New York'') (2011)

Filmography

Film

}) , , , , , - , 2015 , ''Hurricane, Brooklyn'' , , , Producer, editor , Short film , - , 2016 , ''Love and Fury'' (french: Syysprinssiä) , , , , , - , 2019 , ''Force of Habit'' ( fi, Tottumiskysymys) , , , , Anthology , - , 2022 , ''

'' ( fi, Tytöt tytöt tytöt) , , , , , -

Television

}) , , , , 4 episodes , - , 2021 , ''At Home'' ( fi, Eristyksissä) , , , , Episode: "Doing the right thing" , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haapasalo, Alli Living people 1977 births 21st-century Finnish women writers Aalto University alumni Finnish women film directors Naturalized citizens of the United States People from Kerava Tisch School of the Arts alumni