Biography
Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (Finnish: [ˈɑki ˈkɑu̯rismæki]; born 4 April 1957; Orimattila) is a Finnish film director, screenwriter, producer, editor and actor. He is best known for the award-winning Drifting Clouds (1996), The Man Without a Past (2002), Le Havre (2011), The Other Side of Hope (2017) and Fallen Leaves (2023), as well as for the mockumentary Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989). He is described as Finland's best-known film director. His is an older brother to Mika Kaurismäki.
After graduating in media studies from the University of Tampere, Kaurismäki worked as a bricklayer, postman, and dish-washer, long before pursuing his interest in cinema, first as a critic, and later as a screenwriter & director. He started his career as a co-screenwriter and actor in films made by his older brother, Mika Kaurismäki. He played the main role in Mika's film The Liar (1981). Together they founded the production company Villealfa Filmproductions and later the Midnight Sun Film Festival. His debut as an independent director was Crime and Punishment (1983), an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novel set in modern Helsinki. He gained worldwide attention with Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989).
Kaurismäki's film Ariel (1988) was entered into the 16th Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Prix FIPRESCI. Kaurismäki's most acclaimed film has been The Man Without a Past, which won the Grand Prix and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2003. However, Kaurismäki refused to attend the Oscar ceremony, asserting that he did not feel like partying in a country that was in a state of war. Kaurismäki's next film Lights in the Dusk was also chosen to be Finland's nominee for best foreign-language film, but Kaurismäki again boycotted the awards and refused the nomination, as a protest against U.S. President George W. Bush's foreign policy. In 2002 Kaurismäki also boycotted the 40th New York Film Festival in a show of solidarity with the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, who was not given a US visa in time for the festival. Kaurismäki's 2017 film The Other Side of Hope won the Silver Bear for Best Director award at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. At the same festival he also announced that it would be his last film as a director, although the retirement was short-lived as he began filming another film, Fallen Leaves, in 2022, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
Filmography
all 81
Movies 81
Director 26
Producer 19
self 19
Writer 6
Fallen Leaves (2023)
Cinéma Laika (2023)
The Dinosaur (2021)
Aki and Peter (2018)
Plankton Salesmen (2017)
The Other Side of Hope (2017)
Peter von Bagh (2016)
John From (2016)
Valokeilassa Atte Blom (2015)
Temples of Dreams (2015)
Il était une fois... Le Havre (2014)
Midsummer Night's Tango (2013)
Bluesia Pieksämäen asemalla (2013)
Historic Centre (2012)
Tavern Man (2012)
A Special Day (2012)
60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero (2011)
Le Havre (2011)
Bohemian Eyes (2011)
Barzakh (2011)
Bad Family (2010)
Jeanne d'Arc (2009)
Calamari Union (2008)
Helsinki, Forever (2008)
Crítico (2008)
The Foundry (2007)
To Each His Own Cinema (2007)
The Foundry (2007)
Lights in the Dusk (2006)
Whisky (2004)
Aaltra (2004)
Visions of Europe (2004)
Bico (2004)
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002)
The Man Without a Past (2002)
Léaud l'unique (2001)
Aki Kaurismäki (2001)
The Classic (2001)
Belief, Hope and Blood (2000)
Juha (1999)
A Stone Left Unturned (1999)
Vaiennut kylä (1997)
Drifting Clouds (1996)
I Am Curious, Film (1995)
Iron Horsemen (1995)
Total Balalaika Show (1994)
Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses (1994)
Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatjana (1994)
Talking with Ozu (1993)
Our Father… (1993)
Kaksi vanhaa varasta (1993)
Ripa Hits the Skids (1993)
The Prodigal Son (1992)
Shit Happens (1992)
The Parrot Man (1992)
La Vie de Bohème (1992)
Where Is Musette? (1992)
I Hired a Contract Killer (1990)
The Match Factory Girl (1990)
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: Aki Kaurismaki (1990)
Dirty Hands (1989)
Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989)
Ariel (1988)
Hamlet Goes Business (1987)
Melrose: Rich Little Bitch (1987)
Tilinteko (1987)
Macbeth (1987)
Midnight Sun Film Festival (1987)
Shadows in Paradise (1986)
Rocky VI (1986)
Rosso (1985)
Ylösnousemus (1985)
Calamari Union (1985)
Viimeiset rotannahat (1985)
The Clan: Tale of the Frogs (1984)
Crime and Punishment (1983)
April Is the Cruellest Month (1983)
The Worthless (1982)
Jackpot 2 (1982)
The Saimaa Gesture (1981)
The Liar (1981)
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForDirecting
GenderMale
Birthday1957-04-04 (67 years old)
Birth NameAki Olavi Kaurismäki
Birth PlaceOrimattila, Finland
SiblingsMika Kaurismäki
CitizenshipsFinland
Also Known AsAki Olavi Kaurismäki, 아키 카우리스마키, Аки Каурисмяки, А́ки Ола́ви Ка́урисмяки, 아키 카우리스매키
AwardsBerliner Kunstpreis, Carrosse d'or, Louis Delluc Prize, Silver Bear for Best Director, Leopard of Honour, Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland, Nordic Council Film Prize, FIPRESCI Prize at Berlinale, Knight of the Legion of Honour, Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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