A small country town is getting ready for a big celebration when two strangers, Kiuru and Moukari, drive through it. On the highway they meet young Alma, who leads them to an ancient forest. When night falls, the hunt begins...

Story: Nalle Mielonen
This is the synopsis of one of this year’s thesis films, Metsästysmaa aka The Hunting Ground. The Hunting Ground was shot during the last heat wave on August 2010. The locations were scattered around the countryside of Pirkanmaa, at Lempäälä and Valkeakoski.


Joanna Mäkelä produced the film and the crew was formed by a group of TTVO students from many different classes. The Hunting Ground is the thesis film of the director of photography Janne Keränen, the editor Anssi Rautio and writer/director Nalle Mielonen. It’s a horror film, genre, that is especially close to the cinematographer’s and director’s heart.

Actors Janne Hannula, Tiina Tanskanen and Tommi Raitolehto

The inspiration for the film came from the short stories of Peter Straub, alternative country music and such horror classics as The Wicker Man (Robyn Hardy, 1973) and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974).

The basic elements of the film are highway on summer time, nature and the encounter of three hunters. Gender and violence stayed as the themes and the story was build using traditions of several genres. It is a coming of age story, a fantasy and a revenge tale of a sort. Put in a social context, it's a dark utopia of a society where the night has been taken back with the help of the supernatural.

The Hunting Ground premiere will be on January 2011. Until then, check out the film’s website, made by Ruben Ginéstos. There you can find the trailer of the film and some more info.

Hunting Ground home
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