Mika Ronkainen

Mika Ronkainen
Born	(1970-08-06) 6 August 1970 Kuusamo, Finland
Nationality	Finnish
Occupation	film director, producer
Years active	1997-
Home town	Oulu, Finland
Website	http://www.mikaronkainen.com

Mika Ronkainen (born August 6, 1970 in Kuusamo, Finland) is a Finnish film director from Oulu, Northern Finland. His international breakthrough film was Screaming Men (2003), a documentary film about a Finnish screaming male choir called Mieskuoro Huutajat, followed by Freetime Machos (2009), a documentary film about a rugby team which is allegedly the most northern and the third lousiest in the world. Screaming Men had its US premiere at Sundance Film Festival in 2004, and Freetime Machos at Tribeca Film Festival in 2010.

Ronkainen's latest documentary film is a musical road movie called Finnish Blood Swedish Heart, also known as Ingen riktig finne in Swedish, and Laulu koti-ikävästä in Finnish. The film has been awarded with several awards including two Jussi Awards (Finnish Oscars) in 2014: Best Documentary and Best Music, and the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary at Göteborg Film Festival in 2013.

In June 2013 American magazine Variety selected Ronkainen as one of the ten up-and-coming European directors to watch.

Ronkainen is one of the founders of Air Guitar World Championships which is organized annually in his hometown Oulu, Finland.

Filmography

• Finnish Blood Swedish Heart (2013)
• Freetime Machos (2009)
• Our Summer (2004)
• Screaming Men (2003)
• Car Bonus (2001)
• Before the Flood (2000)
• The World Will Change Soon (2000)
• Oulu Burning – A Town That Disappeared (1998)
• Father's Day (1998)

Concert Film

• Sentenced – Buried Alive (concert film) (2006)

External links

• Mika Ronkainen at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website of the film Finnish Blood Swedish Heart
• Official website of the film Freetime Machos