TV Beats Co-Financing Market
The Women I Think about at Night
A life change of a friend throws a 40-year-old art teacher into a crisis. She then embarks on an adventure to find her own path in life. Along the way, she is guided by fascinating historical women.
Childless art teacher Alina (39) goes on an autumn holiday to Florence with her best friend Leila. Their friendship is tested when Leila announces her pregnancy, leaving Alina feeling lonely as the only one in her circle who chose to be childless. The situation escalates into an argument, and Leila returns home early. In Florence, Alina encounters forgotten female artists who come to life and encourage her to find her own path. In emotional turmoil, Alina decides not to use her return ticket to Finland but irrationally escapes from her life, and the emotions she can’t handle, and flies to Kyoto instead. In Japan, Alina, accompanied by these inspiring women, experiences a new sense of freedom. She becomes entangled in lies as she explains her whereabouts back home. Her adventure continues to Tibet and Africa, with real women explorers from past centuries at her side. Alina gradually realizes what she wants from life, but her old life and responsibilities won't let her go. "The Women I Think About at Night" is a travel/adventure series blending humour and magic.
Keywords: adventures
Director's note:
The idea that women of previous decades and centuries can serve as empowering guides for the loss of this age is captivating. It is no wonder that Kankimäki's book is loved by readers of all ages around the world.
In our TV series, we want to capture the same feeling as the book: that it is possible to have an adventure - and that women throughout history have been able to overcome incredible obstacles!
Screenwriter's note:
For me, the thematic core of the project is strongly encapsulated in the word wanderlust, a passionate desire to travel, and a compelling hunger to explore the world. Working on the project and exploring the women from the past both generate and satisfy my wanderlust at the same time. This is also the experience I hope the viewer will have, the creation and satisfaction of wanderlust. Alina and the historical women offer the magic of stepping beyond the everyday, and the joy of discovery as women from different eras reveal more things that unite than divide. I believe what this project has to offer for viewers is something really special!
Anna Ruohonen is a Finnish freelance writer and story editor specialising in comedy. She graduated from Aalto University/ELO Film School Helsinki in 2015 and has written and directed several short films. Anna’s first feature film Laughing matters (Naurun varjolla by Reetta Aalto, Shanghai FF, Haugesund FF, B3 Biennial) premiered in 2021. Since 2009, Anna has written extensively for Finnish TV and recently also for HBO Max. She has worked for acclaimed independent production companies (Tuffi Films, napafilms, Tekele etc.) and also for international heavyweights such as Warner Bros. Her favourites among the multiple TV-series she has written for are Venla prize nominee Losers (Luuserit, 2020), and third season of popular Downshifters (Downshiftaajat, 2020).
Liisa Karpo is a Helsinki-based producer and founder of the production company napafilms. napafilms' previous productions include festival hits such as the Thessaloniki newcomers competition winner Golden Land (dir. Inka Achté) and EFA shortlisted Karaoke Paradise (dir. Einari Paakkanen). Liisa has extensive experience producing varied formats; feature, short, web-series, interactive, fiction and non-fiction. The majority of her works are international co-productions as her love for the {endless} work comes from working on international projects, topics and productions. Additionally, Liisa has worked as a professional coach and tutor at workshops such as DokIncubator and DocPoint Impact.
Marianne Mäkelä is a producer specializing in creative documentaries. Mäkelä has been working with documentary film for several years in different roles of production in many successful documentaries. She has gained experience of international Co-Productions and of the national financing, distribution and the European Union’s slate funding.
Saara Cantell is a Finnish director and screenwriter with a career spanning over 30 years. She is engaged in topics such as gender equality, representation of gender in film, visibility of short films and the treatment of film workers – questions that are highly relevant for the industry today, in Finland as well as internationally. With nine feature films in her resumé, as well as numerous shorts and television series, Cantell is one of Finland’s most productive directors.
Anu Kuivalainen has had a long career in the field of Finnish documentary cinema, and she is known for her visually and emotionally powerful films. With her work, she has won the National Competition of the Tampere Film Festival twice and received a Special Jussi for her film Christmas in the Distance (1994).
About: napafilms is an award-winning Finnish film production company owned by producers Liisa Karpo and Marianne Mäkelä. Since it was founded in 2009, the company has focused on high end fiction and documentary films for international audiences. Filmography: [Every Tom, Dick and Urpo (2023)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29708150/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) [Fat Dance (2023)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29706629/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) [The Gamer (2023)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27172713/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) [Jasmin's Two Homes (2022)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27009853/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) [Karaoke Paradise (2022)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21086528/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk)