Finnish Romantic Comedy ‘Aurora’ Acquired by LevelK (EXCLUSIVE)

By Elsa Keslassy

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Miia Tervo’s Finnish romantic comedy “Aurora” has been acquired by international sales company ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Goteborg Film Festival.

Set to open the fest, “Aurora” marks Tervo’s feature debut. The film, a comedy-drama set in the snowy Finnish region of Lapland, tells the story of a commitment-phobic, heavy-drinking party girl, Aurora, who meets Darian, an Iranian refugee seeking asylum for him and his daughter. The two of them agree to help each other in unconventional but vital ways that will shape their respective futures.

“I wanted to do a quality film with silly and warm humor…with some honest dark shades and romantic comedy…to show the inner reality of a young woman in the Arctic ghetto coping with inherited barriers against love and life,” said Tervo.

The director said she also aimed to show “Northern magic instead of superimposed exoticism” and to “salute the biggest force of nature: love.”

Starring Mimosa Willamo, Amir Escandari, Oona Airola and Hannu-Pekka Björkman, “Aurora” was produced by Max Malka for Dionysos Films. It was financially backed by the Finnish Film Foundation, Yle National Broadcasting Company and Nordisk Film.

This is the first collaboration between LevelK and Dionysos Films. LevelK will be selling the film at the Berlin Film Festival and the European Film Market where it will screen.

LevelK’s recent acquisitions include the Dutch thriller “Vicious” directed by Dennis Bots and written by Alexandra Penrhyn Lowe, based on Mel Wallis De Vries’ bestselling novel.