Finnish Filmmaker Alli Haapsalo’s Feminist Period Drama ‘Tell Everyone’ Takes Top Prize at Emotionally Charged Finnish Film Affair

Finnish filmmaker Alli Haapsalo’s “Tell Everyone,” a timely period drama that follows a woman’s quest for freedom at a remote island sanitarium, took home the top prize at Finnish Film Affair, winning the award for best fiction project at the industry event that runs alongside the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival – Love & Anarchy.

The award capped an emotional week in Helsinki, where members of the Finnish film community have railed against proposed government cuts to cultural spending that could decimate the vibrant Nordic industry.

Accepting her award on Thursday, Haapsalo praised the “solidarity” among her compatriots attending the event, stressing the urgency to “fight the power” and to continue defending an art form that is increasingly under threat in Finland.

“It really felt like a family sitting there together, which is especially important right now because we have a hostile government against culture and against film funding, and I…