Aki Kaurismäki
Directing
Born April 4, 1957 in Orimattila, Finland
Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (Finnish: [ˈɑki ˈkɑu̯rismæki]; born April 4,1957; 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. He is the younger brother of director and screenwriter 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).
Filmography
Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema
Fallen Leaves
Cinéma Laika
Self
The Dinosaur
Self
Aki and Peter
Himself
Plankton Salesmen
Self (archive footage)
The Other Side of Hope
John From
Temples of Dreams
Self
Dirty Hands
Il était une fois... Le Havre
himself
Bluesia Pieksämäen asemalla
Historic Centre
Tavern Man
A Special Day
Self
Le Havre
Bohemian Eyes
Self
Barzakh
Bad Family
Calamari Union
Helsinki, Forever
Critic
Self
To Each His Own Cinema
The Foundry
Lights in the Dusk
Whisky
Aaltra
Aaltra's Boss
Visions of Europe
Bico
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet
Dogs Have No Hell
The Man Without a Past
Léaud l'unique
Self - filmmaker
Aki Kaurismäki
Self
The Classic
Juha
A Stone Left Unturned
Vaiennut kylä
Drifting Clouds
I Am Curious, Film
Self
Iron Horsemen
Cadillac Man
Total Balalaika Show
Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses
Factory Worker Imitating Chaplin (uncredited)
Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatjana
Talking with Ozu
Self
Our Father…
Ripa Hits the Skids
The Prodigal Son
La Vie de Bohème
Where Is Musette?
Self
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: Aki Kaurismäki
Self
I Hired a Contract Killer
Sunglasses Seller (uncredited)
The Match Factory Girl
Leningrad Cowboys Go America
Ariel
Hamlet Goes Business
Tilinteko
Macbeth
Shadows in Paradise
Hotel Receptionist (uncredited)
Kuningas lähtee Ranskaan
Rocky VI
Magazine Photographer
Morena
Rosso
Ylösnousemus
Taksikuski
Calamari Union
Hearse Driver (uncredited)
Viimeiset rotannahat
The Clan: Tale of the Frogs
Crime and Punishment
Huhtikuu on kuukausista julmin
Ville Alfa
The Worthless
Ville Alfa
Jackpot 2
The Saimaa Gesture
Self - Interviewer (uncredited)
The Liar
Ville Alfa