Jörn Donner’s life in film to be honoured at PÖFF

At 84 years of age, Jörn Donner has produced nearly 60 films, the most famous of which is Ingar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander that went on to win four Oscars in 1984.

Donner has himself directed approximately 20 films, which  have received several awards over the years. In 1963, his debut film A Sunday in September (Syyskuinen Sunnuntai) won the Best First Work award at the Venice Film Festival and in 2014, Donner received a Betoni-Jussi lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Finnish film.

Donner is also one of the founders of the Finnish Film Archive and he managed the Swedish Film Institute between 1978 and 1982. Donner’s remarkable career as an author of more than 50 books also saw him awarded with Finland’s most prestigious literary honour, the Finlandia Prize.

Donner will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award on 24 November in Tallinn’s Kinomaja, where the festivities will kick-off a 48 hour-marathon of Finnish film, part of Finland’s centenary celebrations.

“Equipped with a strong personal style as a director, producer, film critic and theorist, and also as an author, politician and diplomat, he has affected life on the screen and behind the scenes – both literally and figuratively,” praises PÖFF director Tiina Lokk, in a release.

The Black Nights Film Festival is the only Category A film festival in Northern Europe and the biggest cultural event in Estonia. The gala opened on 17 November and will continue until 3 December.