Erkko Kivikoski
Directing
Biography
Erkko Kivikoski was a Finnish film director and screenwriter, recognized for his impactful contributions to Finnish cinema. He directed nine films between 1962 and 1981, often exploring social and psychological themes. His 1963 film Kesällä kello 5 (This Summer at Five) was entered into the 14th Berlin International Film Festival. Kivikoski's 1981 film Yö meren rannalla (Night by the Seashore) received a Special Diploma at the 12th Moscow International Film Festival. His films are noted for their introspective narratives and have left a lasting impact on Finnish cinema.
Known For

Middle-aged municipal architect Mikko is frustrated with his job and his marriage, so for years he has directed his energy into renovating a turn-of-the-century wooden villa on the seaside. One beautiful summer evening Mikko and his wife Liisa invite old friends to a party in the villa: divorced intellectual Erik who gets along a little too well with Liisa; and noisy building contractor Hessu with his young and sexy new wife Pirre. Their increasingly drunken discussions are interrupted by a surprise visit from Mikko's and Liisa's daughter Jonna and her husband Pete. A conflict between the father and the daughter ensues in front of the guests.
Yö meren rannalla

The events surrounding a factory in a small town are gone through in documentary style.
Laukaus tehtaalla

This love story finds a lonely teacher resisting the advances of an interested co-worker. She is fearful of affection and relationships due to a previous romance that did not work out. The small-town school marm tries to help a male student who has been suspended for drunkenness. She tutors the young man, and soon the two engage in a tender and passionate love affair in which both people reach out and touch each other physically and emotionally.
Kuuma kissa?

Two brothers, two different lifestyles collide. Eero is a young married man who opens up a print shop and struggles to get it going. Eki is a student with Marxist ideas, although he dates the daughter of a wealthy shipowner.
The Brothers

This Finnish romance tells of a young couple who vacation by the ocean. While there, the unsatisfied man decides he wants to end their relationship. Upon their return home, he has an overnight fling with another woman while his recently dumped girlfriend calmly waits outside his home. When the jilted woman begins to walk alone to her own apartment, she is struck by a passing car, and only then does the young man realize that he truly loves her.
Kesällä kello 5

A kind-hearted chancellor dreams of love with a beauty he meets at dinner.
Käyntikorttini…

A rich widow is found dead in her apartment in Helsinki due to gas poisoning. The incident is initially thought to be an accident, but inspector Palmu notices that the murderer made a mistake, and so Palmu, Kokki and Virta begin the investigation: who had come to the apartment through the balcony door and opened the gas tap while Mrs. Skrof was asleep?
Gas, Inspector Palmu!

A Silver Bear winning documentary following the daily bustle of working class merchants in Finland of the early 1960s.
The Market Place
Documentary about Finnish workers.