Industry Awards
Kultainen Venla -finalist: Punkaharjun Pojat (YLE, 2021)
Eight international film industry awards: BIG vs SMALL (2021-22)
Kultainen Venla: Yle Marja Hintikka Live (YLE, 2017)
Antti -patsas: Yle TV2 Paluumuuttajat (YLE, 2021)
SONY UK Best Documentary: Face Your Fear (1999)
CPD Certified Trauma Aware Professional in Journalism and Media
My Story
I’m a repatriate, based in Helsinki, Finland. I returned to Finland from the UK in 2009 after 13 years. At home I am a mother to a teenage daughter and at work I am a director, screenwriter and entrepreneur. My production company Raggari Films produces documentaries and documentary series for global distribution.
I have a Higher National Diploma in Media Production / Journalism pathway from The University of Lincolnshire and Humberside. I directed my first ever documentary at university in 1999. It was called Face Your Fear and it was about the fear of flying. The film went onto be broadcast on a local cable tv channel in the UK and helped me gain a work placement at BBC Close Up North documentaries. Those weeks spent following BBC documentary filmmakers really fuelled my interest in documentary filmmaking.
In my first proper tv job, at the ITN International Desk in London in 2001, I had the opportunity to follow world events as they happened and take part in the broadcast and planning of various royal weddings. At BBC News I was lucky enough to work in a team where we were encouraged to take risks and learn from our mistakes. So it’s hardly a surprise that I’m now an independent filmmaker.
I believe that us humans can learn almost anything by watching tv programmes and documentaries. Through my own filmmaking methods, I want to drive forward a more respectful way to make content. I want us to learn to be kinder to each other both in front and behind the cameras. Because the way we behave when we produce content, turns into material that the audience watches and learns from.
What means most to me in life is: family, integrity, holistic wellness, intuition, imagination, laughter, intimacy, nature, music, writing and creating – often with a large cup of tea in hand. I’ve always felt that my main career mission is to make content that I’d like to see, hear or read myself. I get most excited about working on meaningful projects as giving my passion to what I feel is really important, gives me energy. I chill out by watching anything beautiful – mostly lights – and when I really want to clear my head, I go for a walk in the forest.