Salaviinanpolttajat Explained

Salaviinanpolttajat
Country:Finland (Russian Empire)
Starring:Eero Kilpi
Teppo Raikas
Teuvo Puro
Jussi Snellman
Axel Rautio
Runtime:20 minutes
Language:Silent film

Salaviinanpolttajat (The Moonshiners) (Swedish: Lönnbrännare) is a 1907 Finnish film. It is generally considered to be the first fictional film made in Finland and as such, the starting point of Finnish cinema industry.[1] In 2017, a remake of the film was made based on the synopsis of the original film.

Origin

The film's origins were in a screenplay writing contest commissioned by Atelier Apollo, owned by photographer and engineer Karl Emil Ståhlberg, who is now regarded as the father of Finnish cinema.[2] The contest was won by the pseudonym "J. V-s", who some speculated was actually Ståhlberg himself, but other sources say he was a local sheriff.[3] The screenplay was adapted and the film was directed by a friend of Ståhlberg, the Swedish count and artist Louis Sparre.

Plot

No prints of the film have survived so the film is considered lost. The original screenplay has also been lost. However, some plot descriptions are still known based on contemporary newspaper advertisements of the film.

As the name would indicate, the film tells about two local men who are making moonshine in the woods. A customer comes to them, and while sampling the product they start a game of cards, which eventually leads to a fight. While the fight is going on, the local police shows up and arrests the makers while the customer manages to escape.[4]

References

  1. Book: Bagh, Peter von . Peter von Bagh. Suomalaisen elokuvan uusi kultainen kirja. Otava. 2005. fi. 8.
  2. Web site: Ikimuistoinen / YLE Viihdeohjelmat 2004 . 2006-12-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070607173956/http://www.yle.fi/ikimuistoinen/historia.html . 2007-06-07 . fi.
  3. von Bagh, op. cit., p. 18
  4. Translated and paraphrased from an original advertisement for the film, as quoted by Hans Kutter in Uutisaitta magazine (1/43). The quote itself was included in the book by von Bagh, listed above.

Further reading