Alma Poysti, William Spetz, Pekka Strang Join ‘The Bottom Line’

Actors Alma Pöysti, William Spetz and Pekka Strang are attached to Jon Blåhed‘s romantic comedy “The Bottom Line,” with Pöysti set to play the lead role of Iris. The project will be pitched at the Finnish Film Affair (Sept. 23-25), which is the industry program of the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival.

Pöysti is best known for Aki Kaurismäki’s Cannes Jury Prize winner “Fallen Leaves,” for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and a European Film Award.

The film centers on 45-year-old Iris, a musician performing aboard the ferry between Vaasa and Umeå, stuck in a life that never quite turned out the way she imagined. When a younger music producer suddenly sees her in a new light, a longing for something different awakens – but pursuing it draws her into a web of lies that threatens everything she already has.

At its heart, the film is a romantic comedy about self-deception, longing and the courage to accept who you are – before losing what matters most.

The film takes place in Vaasa, Umeå and aboard the four-hour ferry crossing the Kvarken between Finland and Sweden. The ferry connects two countries and three languages – Swedish, Finland-Swedish and Finnish – and becomes an emotional space in the film, with Iris caught between different versions of the life she could be living.

Blåhed describes the film as “a modern romcom with a tragicomic edge, combining warmth, humor and sexuality.”

For Blåhed, who grew up in northern Sweden close to the Finnish border and has roots in both countries, the Kvarken region is a very personal setting. His ambition is to create something distinctly rooted in this rarely depicted part of the Nordic region while telling a universal story about love, relationships, ageing and our obsession with self-fulfilment.

Music will play an important part in the film, with Iris’ performances reflecting her emotional journey. Markus Krunegård is attached to write the original songs performed by Iris in the film. Pöysti will perform the songs in the film.

The film is written by Blåhed and Helmi Tolonen, and is produced by Mia Welin for Anagram Sweden (part of Studio TF1), in co-production with Just Republic in Finland. Scanbox is attached as Nordic distributor. The project is in development and financing.

The film has been developed with support from the Swedish Film Institute and the Amos Anderson Fund.