Aki Kaurismaki

WHY SHOULD WE CARE?
Because no other film-maker is quite able to celebrate the lives of such uniquely inarticulate, alienated, unglamorous or misunderstood characters with such style and dry wit. Because despite his success he still shoots cheap to retain his artistic independence. Because his films have a cult following among style gurus, alienated youths and of course Finns, yet are still championed in the pages of cahiers du cinema and 'retrospectives' the world over.

WHAT SORT OF FILMS IS HE FAMOUS FOR?
His tale of a Russian rock band touring the US, Leningrad Cowboys Go America has probably been his most visible. It's not his best. Drifting Clouds and Take Care Of Your Scarf, Tatjana are the two taken most seriously internationally. Aki's latest Cannes winner, The Man Without A Past, might prove to be his best yet.

WHEN WAS HE WORKING?
Aki made his debut with a modernisation of Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment (Rikos Ja Rangaistus) in 1983 and is still working.

WHO HAVE THEY WORKED WITH?
Aki wrote older brother Mika's first two films, The Liar and Worthless. Drifting Clouds is dedicated to the extraordinary comic actor Matti Pellonpaa, a regular fixture in Kaurismäki's films before his untimely death in 1995. Poker-faced Kati Outinen, a familiar visage in the director's pool of regular collaborators, won best actress at Cannes for The Man Without A Past.

WHAT DO THEY TELL YOU AT FILM SCHOOL?
In American and European cinema, passive characters (especially if they are the lead characters) are rare indeed. In Kaurismäkiland they abound, proving that an empty face and a blank expression are just as cinematic as page upon page of hip dialogue.