Clusterfuck
A group of friends start kidnapping each other – what could possibly go wrong?
Clusterfuck is a coming-of-age drama about loneliness and the lengths we're willing to go to in order to feel accepted.
The story follows 17-year-old John, who moves from a small Finnish town to a new school after years of severe bullying. Determined to leave his past behind, he reinvents himself as tough and reckless, and quickly falls in with a wild group of students. But the friendship is built on a cruel joke. What starts as a fun prank – kidnapping for a birthday surprise – soon becomes a game within the group. Each prank escalates further, until one of them goes horribly wrong.
Producers' note
Director Juho-Pekka Tanskanen has already shown a strong cinematic voice in his previous films Waiting for Barcelona and The Last Misfits by the Golden River. What stands out to me is the atmosphere he creates, the way he portrays people, and his visual storytelling. His background in documentary filmmaking brings authenticity and emotional sensitivity to his work, and I believe that is exactly what this story needs.
Clusterfuck is not a film about monsters. It is about ordinary teenagers desperately trying to belong. Although the story takes place in a specific environment, its themes are universal. Young people everywhere struggle with loneliness, identity, and the need to be accepted. The film also explores how easily the line between fun and bullying slowly disappears when group dynamics, loyalty, and peer pressure make harmful behaviour seem normal.
The project is currently in development with support from the Finnish Film Foundation. We have the script available in English. We are in discussions with Finnish broadcaster Yle and distributors, with decisions expected in October. We plan to apply for production funding later this year, with the aim of shooting in summer 2027.
We are looking for international co-producers, sales agents, distributors and broadcasters. The market offers a valuable opportunity to present the film to international industry professionals, gain feedback, and build partnerships that can help bring Clusterfuck to audiences beyond Finland.
By combining an authentic portrayal of youth culture with a strong visual approach, Clusterfuck aims to connect with audiences internationally while remaining deeply rooted in its local reality.
Director's note
Clusterfuck gives us the opportunity to dive into a sometimes tormenting world, which everyone who was once a teenager can understand. That period of life includes a feeling of immortality, outrageousness and, from an adult's perspective, completely insane actions. Many things that seemed like easy stuff as a teenager now seem pretty terrible when one looks back on them.
The car accident and the subsequent death of Antti are major turning points and the script leads organically towards this tragedy. It is clearly important for the screenwriter to be truthful in his text and I appreciate this very much. The kidnapping scenes, expressed in musical terms, form a kind of leitmotif that the film always returns to. This structure fascinates the music person in me. The story, which always returns to these driving scenes – filled with music – opens up really interesting cinematic narrative possibilities – youth, music, drugs and dark roads.
As thematic references for the film, I could mention Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados and Larry Clark's Kids, which are truthful descriptions of youth with many, even dark, nuances. Clusterfuck will also be a film containing many shades of life. Although the film follows teenagers – children – it will certainly appeal to other age groups as well. We need to remind adults from time to time that they too were once young and reckless. This will hopefully increase understanding of all young people and is really important for all of our futures, especially in these times when the news is filled with alarming information about the malaise of youth and violence between them.
Biography
An award-winning director, writer and producer whose works have been distributed on Netflix and Disney+ Europe-wide, shown at Sundance and other A list festivals, been Finnish National Film Award ‘Jussi’ nominees and critical successes. He is a Berlinale Talents alumni 2026 and holds MA degree from Aalto University's fiction directing department.
Screenwriter's note
Clusterfuck is a story about loneliness and what we’re prepared to do in order to be loved and accepted. We all long to be part of a group, a community or a family. In our movie, our protagonist John has just moved to the suburbs from the countryside and is given a chance to start over, leaving behind a troubled past as a victim of bullying. John is determined to create a new life for himself. A new life as one of the cool kids. For the first time in his life, he’s got a chance to become popular and make friends. Even if it means turning into a bully himself.
At his new school, John quickly finds himself part of a gang of cocky teenagers and is eager to prove himself. When he suggests kidnapping one of his new friends as part of a birthday surprise, he unwittingly creates an entirely new tradition and hobby for the group. At first it’s all fun and games, but with each kidnapping, things escalate further, going into darker, more dangerous and more violent territories. It’s only a matter of time until something that can’t be taken back happens and our lead characters are left to pick up the pieces.
Recent years in Finland have seen an uptick in youth loneliness and violence. And not only that. Young people are filming themselves robbing, beating up and humiliating each other and uploading it to social media in an effort to create some sort of image of themselves on these platforms. To belong somewhere. Which is what John does as well, and that is why I believe this movie will resonate among young viewers as well as adult audiences – we’ve all been young, we’ve all done stupid and reckless stuff to find our tribe. The technology evolves, but the human experience of finding somewhere to belong doesn’t.
Biography
A screenwriter based in Helsinki. In 2024 he finished his Master of Arts in screenwriting at Aalto university. As a filmmaker he dabbles in dark humor, absurd concepts and horror and has written several short films, including science fiction comedy Crazy Crabs From Outer Space (2022), Bad Hair Day (2023) and the youth horror short The Locker Room (2024), the last two also being directed by him. Sebastian's next project is an audio horror series for Yle and Munck Studios.
Biography
Paria Eskandari is a film producer with over a decade of experience. She has produced several short films and the award-winning documentary Portrait of Kaye. Before founding Mozhi Films in 2024, she worked at Endemol Shine Finland as a scripted producer and at Aamu Film Company as a producer and line producer. Her line-producing credits include internationally acclaimed films Compartment No. 6, The Woodcutter Story and Family Time. She holds an MFA in Film Producing from Aalto University.