Feature: Rabbit Films DAY 1
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Today at Content London, Helsinki indie Rabbit Films showcases one of its first forays into scripted, Mobile 101, which details the trials and tribulations of Finnish mobile pioneer Nokia. Rabbit’s Olli Suominen, Minna Haapkylä and Jonthan Tuovinen talk to Ruth Lawes.
Mobile 101
Burrowing into drama
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aunching at Content London today is producer and distributor Rabbit Films’ drama Mobile 101, one of the Finnish indie’s first projects to emerge out of its push into scripted programming. The Helsinki-based firm is certainly adept at evolving, having been founded by Jarno Laasala, Jukka Hildén and Jarppi Leppälä, otherwise known as prank and stunt group The Dudesons, to produce commercial projects and content starring the trio. Recognising the company’s wider potential as an unscripted prodco, former Nelonen head of programming Olli Suominen and Tuomas Summanen were hired in 2014 as CEO and creative director respectively, to drive Rabbit’s ambitions. This June, the duo became major shareholders after leading a partial management buy-out from The Dudesons. After making Rabbit’s name in original formats, such as The Most Endangered Species with WWF, sold recently to TVNZ in New Zealand, and producing local versions of hit shows such as Saturday Night Live, Suominen and Summanen decided to capitalise on their success by branching out into scripted in 2017. Suominen describes Rabbit’s approach to growing the drama department as “conservative,” taking the time to develop and invest in series and to make the right appointments. The Covid-19 pandemic, which led to productions being shuttered across the world, also impacted business, he says. Nonetheless, the firm scored its first commission, a sitcom titled Kiosk, which was greenlit by Finnish streamer Elisa Viihde Viaplay. The 8x30’ comedy series follows the
Rabbit Films’ Olli Suominen and Minna Haapkylä
misadventures of two employees working in a kiosk, who are each other’s polar opposites. It was soon joined by crime drama Summer of Sorrow, also produced for Elisa, which explores the disappearance of a young child. Rabbit’s latest green light was for drama Mobile 101, which charts the rise of Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia. Unveiled today at Content London, the six-part series, for MTV3 and sister streamer CMore, is told from three different perspectives and focuses on the years 1988 to 1990, when mobile phones were first introduced to the mass market. Suominen says Mobile 101 is envisaged as a three-season drama, with the later seasons to detail Nokia’s downfall after it failed to invest in the burgeoning smartphone market. The global demand for Finnish content is undoubtedly growing, which Rabbit’s head of international, Jonathan Tuovinen, puts down to the proliferation of streamers and changing financing models in the region. The dominance of global players, he says, means that audiences are exposed to foreignlanguage programming. “It gives non-Englishlanguage producers, particularly in smaller countries, opportunities,” he explains.
As for financing, there has been a shift away from projects solely funded by one broadcaster towards content that involves international coproduction partners and distributors, according to Tuovinen. “That makes the quality of shows better because there is a higher budget and, therefore, they are more attractive to international buyers,” he says. “It also means there is an international approach from the get-go, with international partners bringing their knowledge on what works for global audiences.” Tuovinen believes unusual characters are Finnish content’s biggest draw. “We share a lot of our culture with Sweden, Norway and Denmark, but we have also been isolated historically and are a little bit different. Typical Finnish people are introverted, preferring to be by themselves and not extremely social. I don’t think those types of characters have been portrayed on screen much,” he adds. As shown by the three commissions, Rabbit wants to avoid pigeonholing itself and is taking a story-first approach to content, according to Suominen. But the company does want to steer clear of one genre: Nordic noir. “Shows have got to stand out and be different, more than ever, and that’s one reason we’re not looking at Nordic noir. We want to produce shows that no one else is producing,” says Minna Haapkylä, Rabbit’s head of scripted. Catch up with Minna Haapkylä and Maarit Lalli, writer and director of Mobile 101, at the Hot Properties: Drama session today at 3pm in Hall 3.
