Tale of the Sleeping Giants
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Short description|2021 film by Marko Röhr}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Tale of the Sleeping Giants
| image = Tunturin tarina poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Film poster
| director = {{ill|Marko Röhr|fi}}
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Hanna Kauppi
- Marko Röhr
}}
| writer = {{Plainlist|
- Antti Tuuri
- Marko Röhr
}}
| narrator = Peter Franzén
| music = Panu Aaltio
| cinematography = Teemu Liakka
| editing = Ben Mercer
| studio = {{ill|MRP Matila Röhr Productions|fi}}
| distributor = Nordisk Film
| released = {{film date|df=y|2021|12|3}}
| runtime = 77 minutes
| country = Finland
| language = Finnish
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Tale of the Sleeping Giants ({{langx|fi|Tunturin tarina}}) is a 2021 Finnish nature film directed by {{ill|Marko Röhr|fi}}. It is about the fells of Sápmi and is the standalone third entry in a series of nature films, after Tale of a Forest (2012) and Tale of a Lake (2016).
Originally set for release in 2020, Tale of the Sleeping Giants was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. Without officially being premiered, it topped Finland's box-office solely from preview screenings. The official release date was eventually on December 3 2021.
Synopsis
Production
File:Antti Tuuri Turku 2013 C IMG 3869.JPG
Tale of the Sleeping Giants is based on an idea by Antti Tuuri and the screenplay was written by Tuuri and {{ill|Marko Röhr|fi}}.{{cite web |last=Hapuli |first=Noora |date=23 September 2020 |url=https://www.is.fi/tv-ja-elokuvat/art-2000006646001.html |title=Rakastetut luontoelokuvat saavat jatkoa – Tunturin tarinan henkeäsalpaava traileri nyt ensinäytössä IS:llä! |work=Ilta-Sanomat |language=Finnish |accessdate=10 April 2021 }} The film was produced by Hanna Kauppi and Röhr for {{ill|MRP Matila Röhr Productions|fi}} with support from the Finnish Film Foundation.{{cite web |url=https://www.ses.fi/en/story/production-support-to-21-projects-in-the-first-decision-meeting-of-2019-2/ |title=Production support to 21 projects in the first decision meeting of 2019 |date=12 March 2019 |work=ses.fi |publisher=Finnish Film Foundation |access-date=10 April 2021 }} It is the standalone third film in a trilogy about nature and mythology produced by MRP Matila Röhr Productions. By having an element of dramatic storytelling, it differs from the previous films, Tale of a Forest (2012) and Tale of a Lake (2016), which are straight nature documentaries, and it received funding from the Finnish Film Foundation's drama department, not its documentary department.
Filming took place over three years in northern Finland, Norway and Sweden.{{cite web |last=Pham |first=Annika |date=8 February 2021 |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/global/earth-sophisticated-films-tale-of-the-sleeping-giants-1234903076/ |title='Earth' Producer Sophisticated Films Takes 'Tale of the Sleeping Giants' to the World (Exclusive) |work=Variety |access-date=10 April 2021 }}{{cite news |last=Parkko |first=Laura |date=13 February 2021 |url=https://valkealansanomat.fi/tarujen-jattilaiset/ |title=Tarujen jättiläiset |work=Valkealan Sanomat |language=fi |access-date=11 May 2021 }} Production included sustained filming in temperatures as low as minus 42 degrees Celsius. The team recorded 850 hours of footage, which were edited into the 77 minutes of the finished film.
Release
Distribution in Finland is handled by Nordisk Film. The Finnish theatrical release was initially set to 25 December 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland.{{cite web |last1=Pirttijärvi |first1=Ida |last2=Wesslin |first2=Sara |author2-link=Sara Wesslin |date=15 January 2021 |url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11735226 |title=Tunturin tarina on Suomen ensimmäinen elokuvateattereissa nähtävä pitkä elokuva, joka on tekstitetty pohjoissaameksi |work=yle.fi |language=Finnish |publisher=Yle |access-date=10 April 2021 }} The premiere took eventually place on December 3 2021.{{cite web |url=https://nordiskfilm.fi/tunturin-tarina/ |title=Tunturin tarina |work=nordiskfilm.fi |language=fi |publisher=Nordisk Film |access-date=11 May 2021 }}
Because of the delay, there was time to create a subtitled translation in Northern Sami, which was used during some screenings. A 53 minutes long documentary about the making of Tale of the Sleeping Giants was broadcast on Yle TV1 on 5 April 2021.{{cite web |url=https://areena.yle.fi/1-4585817 |title=Näin tehtiin Tunturin tarina |work=yle.fi |language=fi |publisher=Yle |access-date=2 May 2021 }} Without officially being premiered and due to the restrictions imposed on cinema operators, Tale of the Sleeping Giants was able to top the Finnish box-office in February 2021 only through preview screenings.{{cite web |last=Pham |first=Annika |date=18 February 2021 |url=https://www.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/finnish-tale-of-the-sleeping-giants-sells-nearly-12-000-tickets-in-previews |title=Finnish Tale of the Sleeping Giants sells nearly 12,000 tickets in previews |work=nordiskfilmogtvfond.com |publisher=Nordisk Film & TV Fond |access-date=12 April 2021 }} As of December 1 2021, it had sold 18,119 tickets in Finland.{{cite web |url=https://www.ses.fi/tietoa-elokuva-alasta/tilastointi-ja-tutkimus/kotimaisten-elokuvien-katsojaluvut-2021/ |title=Kotimaisten elokuvien katsojaluvut 2021 |work=ses.fi |language=fi |publisher=Finnish Film Foundation |date=1 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203091850/https://www.ses.fi/tietoa-elokuva-alasta/tilastointi-ja-tutkimus/kotimaisten-elokuvien-katsojaluvut-2021/ |archive-date=3 December 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=3 December 2021 }}
The film won the main prize of the 2025 European Wildlife Film Awards, worth €15,000, in the "Wildlife" category. The award is presented annually in Hamburg by the German Wildlife Foundation. {{Cite news |title=Naturfilm über das mystische Lappland gewinnt Preis |url=https://www.zeit.de/news/2025-02/16/naturfilm-ueber-das-mystische-lappland-gewinnt-preis |archive-date= |access-date= |work=ZEIT-Online}}
Reception
{{ill|Leena Virtanen|fi|Leena Virtanen (toimittaja)}} of Helsingin Sanomat wrote that Tale of the Sleeping Giants follows the formula from the two previous films and it shows that the filmmakers have developed a shared vision, where Virtanen especially complimented the cinematography. She compared the narrative element where fells are portrayed as sleeping giants to {{ill|Ailo's Journey|fi|Ailo – pienen poron suuri seikkailu}}, which used editing to create a dramatic story from nature footage. Virtanen described Panu Aaltio's soundtrack as powerful and effective in some scenes, but thought other scenes could have gained from not using music.{{cite news |last=Virtanen |first=Leena |date=2 December 2021 |url=https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000008438408.html |title=Tunturin tarina on Marko Röhrin luontodokumenteista ehyin kokonaisuus, mutta faktat jäävät mainitsematta |work=Helsingin Sanomat |language=fi |access-date=3 December 2021 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://nordiskfilm.fi/tunturin-tarina/ Distributor's website] {{in lang|fi}}
- [https://matilarohr.com/tuotanto/tunturin-tarina/ Production company's website] {{in lang|fi}}
- {{IMDb title|11460832}}
Category:Finnish documentary films
Category:2020s Finnish-language films
Category:Films based on Finno-Ugric mythology
Category:Documentary films about animals
Category:Works set in mountains
Category:Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Category:Films shot in Finland