Juho Kuosmanen (b. 1979, Kokkola, Finland) graduated from the ELO Helsinki Film School of Aalto University in 2014. His short movies have won several awards at prominent festivals, including Cannes’ Cinéfondation and Locarno. While at school he was involved in acting and directing for the stage and he worked closely with the avant-garde opera ensemble West Coast Kokkola Opera. His feature debut The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki won the competitive Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes fest.

The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki

Finland 1962. Twenty-five-year-old Olli Mäki, European amateur boxing champion, is training for the match of a lifetime: the world championship title. As it’s the first time ever for his country, unassuming Olli is a sudden celebrity, and the entire country is living a dream of great victory through the young athlete. Olli is under pressure from the media and his ambitious coach Elis, but around this time he meets pretty Raija and something special blossoms. Displaying humility and a delicate sense of humor, director Kuosmanen relates the uncommon story of a man who left flashy gestures behind and boxed his way to the happiest moment of his life. Nostalgia is absent from the filmmaker’s vocabulary, and despite a setting that takes us back more than 50 years, his atypical contribution to the boxing film genre leaves a refreshing and modern impression. The real Olli Mäki was famous for his unwillingness to deliver his opponent a knockout blow if it was clear he had already won the match. With similar unforced nonchalance and appealing restraint, Kuosmanen, the teller of his tale, achieved Un Certain Regard’s highest honor. - written by Karel Och

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