Pirjo Honkasalo

Pirjo Irene Honkasalo (born 22 February 1947) is a Finnish film director who has also worked as a cinematographer, film editor, producer, screenwriter and actress. In the 1990s she focused on feature documentaries such as "The Trilogy of the Sacred and the Satanic" (Mysterion, Tanjuska and the 7 Devils and Atman). Honkasalo returned to fiction with Fire-Eater and Concrete Night (2013), both of which were written by Pirkko Saisio. Its world premiere was at the Toronto International Film Festival in Masters series.

Pirjo Honkasalo worked as provincial artist laureate in Central Finland 1974–1975. At that time she drove around the area with one-armed scholar who made research of traditional handcrafts. Honkasalo photographed all the interviewees voluntarily. On that journey she met the main characters of her documentary Their Age. She is the first honorary member of Women in Film & Television Finland. The organisation says that "Honkasalo has [...] made touching films of universal topics" and also spoken out about the gender inequality in film industry.

Pirjo Honkasalo and her partner Pirkko Saisio live in Kruununhaka, Both of them enjoy travelling and they together have written a travel book Exit (1987). They've raised Saisio's daughter, actress Elsa Saisio, and are one of the best-known lesbian couples in Finland. She started there at the age of 17 and was only 21 years old when she graduated in 1969. The school had great connections to FAMU and Honkasalo was very active and interested in the international projects.

Her most recent film Concrete Night is shot in black and white. She claims that in black and white it's possible to make the environment and story more simple and clear. Honkasalo's films are known for their lack of talk. "Picture can reach the unspoken part of a human. The part indescribable with language". Honkasalo thinks that this silence makes the filming itself almost sacred. Honkasalo insists on making the final cut of her films, which is why for an example the BBC won't buy her work.

Awards

Many of Honkasalo's films have been nominated in several international film festivals. She has received four life-work awards: BAT Prize at Sodankylä 1993, Suomi-Finland Award 1998, Laterna Magica for director 1999 and Aho & Soldan award at the DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival 2004. Their previous co-direction Two Forces won the Jussi for the Best Team in 1980. Amanda award for the best documentary, Norwegian International Film Festival 1993 Kettu prize (Best Finnish documentary film) 1993 State of Finland Film Award, 1993 Kettu prize (Best Finnish documentary film) 1996 State of Finland Film Award 1996

Fire-Eater (1998)

Grand Prix of American Film Institute, Los Angeles Film Festival 1998 Youth Jury Award, Locarno Film Festival 1998 State of Finland Film Award 1998 Don Quixote Award – Young cinema, Locarno Film Festival 1998 Rouen Audience Award, Rouen Nordic Film Festival 1999

Concrete Night (2013)

Grand Prix, Warsaw International Film Festival 2013 (Nominated) Jussi for the Best Direction 2014 Jussi for the Best Film 2014 Dragon Award, Göteborg Film Festival 2014 (Nominated)