''Salaviinanpolttajat'' (''The Moonshiners'') ( sv, Lönnbrännare) is a
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
film made in
1907
Events
January
* January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000.
February
* February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...
. While only 20 minutes in length, it is generally considered the first
fictional film
Narrative film, fictional film or fiction film is a motion picture that tells a fictional or fictionalized story, event or narrative. Commercial narrative films with running times of over an hour are often referred to as feature films, or feature ...
made in the country and as such, the starting point of Finnish cinema industry.
Origin
The film's origins were in a screenplay writing contest commissioned by Atelier Apollo, owned by photographer and engineer
Karl Emil Ståhlberg
Karl Emil Ståhlberg (30 November 1862 – 27 June 1919) was a Finnish photographer and engineer. He founded and managed his own studio Atelier Apollo in Helsinki.
On 3 April 1904, K. E. Ståhlberg opened Finland's first film theater called ''Vä ...
, who is now regarded as the father of Finnish cinema. The contest was won by the pseudonym "J. V-s", who some speculated was actually Ståhlberg himself, but other sources say he was a local sheriff. The screenplay was adapted and the film was directed by a friend of Ståhlberg, the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
and artist
Louis Sparre
Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdeborg (3 August 1863 – 26 October 1964) was a Swedish painter, designer and draughtsman, most noted for his early work in the Finnish national romanticism and jugend styles. He also competed in the individual and ...
.
Plot
No prints of the film have been preserved so the film can be considered a
lost film
A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress.
Conditions
During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...
. The original screenplay has also been lost. However, some plot descriptions are still known based on contemporary newspaper advertisements of the film.
As the name would indicate, the film tells about two local men who are making
moonshine
Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...
in the woods. A customer comes to them, and while sampling the product they start a game of cards, which eventually leads to a fight. While the fight is going on, the local police shows up and arrests the makers while the customer manages to escape.
[Translated and paraphrased from an original advertisement for the film, as quoted by Hans Kutter in ''Uutisaitta'' magazine (1/43). The quote itself was included in the book by von Bagh, listed above.]
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
1907 films
Silent films
Finnish black-and-white films
Finnish short films
Lost Finnish films
1900s lost films
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