It was announced in December that Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki would be embarking on production for his next picture, which would be the second chapter in his "port city trilogy" that was kicked off with 2011’s charming "Le Havre." The working title for the flick had been "Refugee," which as you might guess is informed by the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe.
READ MORE: Cannes Review: ‘Le Havre,’ Another Hilarious, Humane & Moving Film From Aki Kaurismäki
The Finnish Film Foundation has announced that it’s granting production funding to Kaurismaki’s new project, which now is now evidently called "The Other Side Of Hope." No official details have been released, but last year it was said that Kaurismäki regular Sakari Kuosmanen ("The Man Without A Past," "Drifting Clouds," "Leningrad Cowboys Go America," "Shadows In Paradise") would play the role of a poker playing restauranteur and former traveling salesman, with an Iraqi or Syrian actor taking the lead in the story of about refugees coming to Finland.
Granted, this could be an entirely different project, but given that Kaurismaki usually spends a good deal of time between pictures developing what he’s working on next, I doubt it. The plan is for the film to be released in 2017, and I would presume a Cannes debut is in the cards. [Cineuropa]