Finland is an increasingly popular but often misunderstood international filming location. The country’s northerly position means that during the winter it offers a snow guarantee and frozen lakes with ice thick enough to drive on. However, it also has warm summers.
It has a fast-growing and world-class post-production and visual effects industry, as well as high-quality production service companies and a small but efficient crew base.
As of January 2017, Finland now operates a 25% cash rebate incentive programme with an annual fund of EUR10 million. The incentive is expected to drive more international projects to the country than ever before.
The country is already a popular filming location for commercials and TV projects, and it should really be on the shortlist of every producer looking for wintry scenes in Europe, especially given the proximity to major cities like Hamburg and London.
Direct flights connect many of the main European cities with the capital Helsinki.
Helsinki would make a good double for a Russian city and the country as a whole is on a par with the UK in terms of expenses. It would also be very good for projects looking for a fantasy setting, especially for second unit work. There aren’t any incentives, but incentives aren’t everything.
Nicholas Daubeny, Location Manager
Finland has four distinct seasons. The climate is marked by cold winters and warm summers. The temperatures vary greatly, with extremes of 25C in the summer to -25C in the winter. Snow cover usually lasts from December to April in the north of Finland. Summer is from June to August.
From June to July the sun does not set at all in the north and does not rise at all in the darkest months of December and January. Finland's north offers particularly colourful autumn foliage as well as the magical Northern Lights of winter.
