Ritva Helinä Arvelo (11 March 1921 – 26 October 2013) was a Finnish actress, director, screenwriter and a pioneer in modern dance. She was one of the first four Finnish women film directors.

Life and career

Arvelo was born in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. Arvelo attended the first course of the

Helsinki Theatre Academy The Theatre Academy ( fi, Teatterikorkeakoulu, sv, Teaterhögskolan) is one of the three academies of the University of the Arts Helsinki and offers education in theatre and dance. It is Finland's largest education provider in its field and, wit ...

in 1943 and also graduated with a master's degree in novel philology from the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

. In the 1940s, she worked as a dancer in Maggie Gripenberg's internationally acclaimed champion group and worked as a model for fashion salons in Helsinki. During her career, Arvelo worked for the

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre ( fi, Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish ...

and appeared in such films as ''

Radio tekee murron ''The Radio Burglary'' ( fi, Radio tekee murron) is a 1951 Finnish crime comedy directed by Matti Kassila and starring Hannes Häyrinen. The idea for the movie came from an actual radio program done by sensationalist reporter Usko Santavuori, in ...

'' (1951), ''Kilroy sen teki'' (1957), ''Nothing but Love'' (1984) and ''Burning Angel'' (1984). She also worked as a director at the Helsinki Folk Theater-Workers' Theater and the Intimate Theater, co-founded the Praesens dance group in 1961 with Raija Riikkala and led it. In 1968, Arvelo published the pamphlet ''The Closed Bath of Our Theater'' (Folk Culture 1968). Her directorial work at the National Theater included modern European drama and Finnish versions of American musicals. In addition, she translated French plays into Finnish. In 1961, she became only the fourth Finnish female film director when she directed a film ''Kultainen vasikka'', based on a play by Maria Jotuni. The film received the state film award and a

Jussi Award 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 ...

for actor Helge Herala. This remains her only directorial effort. As a screenwriter, Arvelo worked with

Matti Kassila Matti Kassila (12 January 1924 – 13 December 2018) was a Finnish film director who achieved fame as one of the most prominent Finnish filmmakers in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for the series of four Inspector Palmu movies, based on ...

on his films ''Syntipukki'' (1957) and ''Kuriton sukupolvi'' (1957). She also wrote the screenplay for ''Kultainen vasikka''. In 1961, Arvelo was one of the founding members of the modern dance group Praesens. In the 1980s, Arvelo continued to star in Anssi Mänttäri's films ''Nothing but Love'' (1984) and ''Farewell, Goodbye'' (1986). She also played a small role in

Lauri Törhönen Lauri Törhönen (born 16 August 1947 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish film director. He has directed 13 feature films including '' Tropic of Ice''. He worked in Warren Beatty's ''Reds'' as the second assistant director: Finland (as Lauri Torhon ...

's film ''Burning Angel'' (1984). For personal reasons, she withdrew entirely from the entertainment industry and the public in the mid-1980s.

Personal life

Arvelo was married twice: in 1948–1953 with actor Matti Oravisto and in 1955–1965 with actor Heikki Savolainen. She had the children Meri (1949–1980) and Hannu (b. 1951) and Satu (b. 1958) with Savavainen. Meri Oravisto starred in the film ''Pilvilinna'' in 1970 and Hannu in the film ''Kesäkapina''. Ritva Arvelo's father was Deputy Judge Armas Peter Arvelo (formerly Achrén; 1886–1966), who served as general manager of the prison from 1920 to 1945. Mother Lempi Arvelo was a patron of the theater.

Selected filmography

*''Valkoisen neilikan velho'' (1945) *''Suopursu kukkii'' (1947) *''Kultamitalivaimo'' (1947) *''Kesäkapina'' (1970) *''Näkemiin, hyvästi'' (1986)

References

External links

* Finnish female dancers Finnish stage actresses Finnish film actresses Finnish women film directors 1921 births 2013 deaths Writers from Helsinki Finnish film directors Place of death missing Actresses from Helsinki {{Finland-actor-stub