Kirsikka Saari

Writing

Kirsikka Saari

Born 1973-12-06 · Helsinki, Finland

Kirsikka Saari is a screenwriter-director based in Helsinki. She was Oscar nominated for the short film Do I Have to Take Care of Everything? (2012). She wrote the script for Stupid Young Heart which won the Crystal Bear in Berlinale and Jussi Award for the Best Screenplay. Her works as a screenwriter-director include the collaborative film Force of Habit and awarded short films After the Reunion and Super Comfort. She has written a critically acclaimed novel and play for the Finnish National Theatre (Depression Comedy, co-written with Jenni Toivoniemi). She has graduated from the Helsinki University and ELO Film School Helsinki in Aalto University.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Fat poster
5.0

Sonja is tired of her body being a problem for others.

Fat

2019

Fat poster
5.0

Sonja is tired of her body being a problem for others.

Fat

2019

One-Off Incident poster
7.0

Teenage girls take their shirts off at their own party but get an audience. Emmi says no but does it really mean no? Sonja is tired of her body being a problem to others. Why has nearly every woman such experiences? One-Off Incident short films are part of a film sensation made by fifteen filmmakers, artists, researchers and social activists collectively. The films reveal the hidden way power is exercised on women in both private life and in society. The films are fiction but the stories come from the writers’ own real-life observations.

One-Off Incident

2019

Stupid Young Heart poster
5.6

When carefree, young Lenni and his girlfriend find themselves expecting a child, he ends up looking for a role model in all the wrong places as he becomes involved with local right-wing activists.

Stupid Young Heart

2018

Force of Habit poster
5.7

Force of Habit follows the lives of various women throughout one day. Hilla is having a romantic vacation, Emmi is throwing a house party, and Milja is on her way to school when they’re approached by a stranger and things take an unexpected turn. At the same time, Emppu, a young actress, is conflicted as she rehearses for the biggest role of her life. Elsewhere, Aleksi, an inexperienced prosecutor, is preparing for his first court case in haste; Niina, the victim of the crime, has been waiting years to see her case tried. Miia throws a company party, and the mood dramatically changes when her colleague Katja opens up about their boss coming on to her. Miia and a couple of her closest colleagues try to resolve the situation, but how do the others react?

Force of Habit

2019

Force of Habit poster
5.7

Force of Habit follows the lives of various women throughout one day. Hilla is having a romantic vacation, Emmi is throwing a house party, and Milja is on her way to school when they’re approached by a stranger and things take an unexpected turn. At the same time, Emppu, a young actress, is conflicted as she rehearses for the biggest role of her life. Elsewhere, Aleksi, an inexperienced prosecutor, is preparing for his first court case in haste; Niina, the victim of the crime, has been waiting years to see her case tried. Miia throws a company party, and the mood dramatically changes when her colleague Katja opens up about their boss coming on to her. Miia and a couple of her closest colleagues try to resolve the situation, but how do the others react?

Force of Habit

2019

Do I Have to Take Care of Everything? poster
6.1

A comedy about a chaotic morning in a family with kids, and a mother who is determined that it's best to take care of everything herself.

Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?

2012

Sihja - The Rebel Fairy poster
5.7

Sihja is a young, charming and a little outrageous fairy who leaves her home in the forest. On arrival in the city, she meets a sensitive new friend, a lonely human boy Alfred. Sihja loves the newly found organized urban shapes and orderly habits that the city people have. One day dead birds appear on the city streets. Alfred and Sihja must find out what is threatening the nature.

Sihja - The Rebel Fairy

2021

Gorilla poster
NR

Gorilla is a ten-minute children`s drama about a six-year-old Alli who tries to get into her big sister`s lovely princess room to play with her sister and her friend. The big girls won`t play with Alli but instead call her a gorilla because she is so scruffy. But Alli won`t give up and does everything to get into the big girls` game.

Gorilla

2009

Festive Spirit poster
8.0

The festive spirit of an office party is ruined, when a woman accidentally reveals that their colleague had harassed her at the previous office party.

Festive Spirit

2019

Korso poster
5.0

Stuck in the suburbs of Helsinki, 20-year-old Markus plans on moving to New York, his sights set on pursuing streetball fame. With little money behind him, he turns to the local loan shark - and when he discovers that Markus has no plans to repay him, things take a turn for the worse.

Korso

2014

Super Comfort poster
6.1

Taina is preparing a perfect weekend with the family, since her son Eetu is visiting with his girlfriend Noora. Nothing goes as planned. The more Taina tries to entertain everyone, the less comfortable they feel.

Super Comfort

2019

Super Comfort poster
6.1

Taina is preparing a perfect weekend with the family, since her son Eetu is visiting with his girlfriend Noora. Nothing goes as planned. The more Taina tries to entertain everyone, the less comfortable they feel.

Super Comfort

2019

Fat Dance poster
NR

Dancehall dancer Evaleena Vuorenmaa gains 40 kg and is forced to face the judging gaze of her employers, society and even herself. Fat Dance is a short documentary about a woman who decides to take the power into her own hands and build her image the way she wants it to be. Is it really true that sexiness is not about size?

Fat Dance

2023

Fat Dance poster
NR

Dancehall dancer Evaleena Vuorenmaa gains 40 kg and is forced to face the judging gaze of her employers, society and even herself. Fat Dance is a short documentary about a woman who decides to take the power into her own hands and build her image the way she wants it to be. Is it really true that sexiness is not about size?

Fat Dance

2023