TAMPERE, Finland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AkunTehdas–The City of Tampere, Yleisradio, Akun Tehdas and the property company SBB Norden have signed a letter of intent on 27 January 2022, which will launch the planning and construction of a new studio in Tohloppi, Tampere. A new world-class studio is needed as the current studio facilities in Mediapolis have been fully booked for a long time.
“Tampere has become an attractive city for AV productions, and there is potential for strong growth in the industry in the future. By increasing capacity, we will be able to direct increasingly demanding and international productions to Tampere,” says Mayor Anna-Kaisa Ikonen.
There will be plenty of productions coming to work in the new studio. Future productions have been negotiated with a number of major production companies, including Warner Bros. International Television Production Finland, BBC Studios, XYZ Films, Fire Monkey Productions, Film Service Finland, Yellow Film & TV, Take Two Studios and It’s Alive Films.
For SBB Norden, the owner of the Mediapolis property, the letter of intent on the development of the Tohloppi area is significant and enables the long-term development of the area.
Coming up: Tohloppi 2.0
In addition to studios, expertise will also be raised to a new level. This work is being carried out in cooperation with the key education operators in the region (University of Tampere, Tampere University of Applied Sciences and Tampere Vocational College Tredu). AV productions require a lot of skilled labour at all stages.
In addition, financing issues will be solved, which means seeking the best way to combine both funding from private investors and public support for AV productions in Tampere. Among other things, preparations are being made to set up a regional fund investing in productions in the Tampere region.
Tohloppi 2.0 is therefore based on an equation that combines skills, operating methods, facilities and funding. Once the city, Yle, commercial operators, educational institutions and other operators in the ecosystem make the equation work, the network will have every opportunity to rise to the top of Europe in terms of reputation.
“The project is a natural continuation of the development of Mediapolis and Yle’s activities in Tampere. The vision recorded in the letter of intent of utilising people’s skills, technology and infrastructure in a new kind of way using the “Tohloppi model” is inspiring. This may open up a great opportunity for a partnership in which we can also utilise and develop Yle’s world-class expertise in the field of events, drama and international top productions,” says Merja Ylä-Anttila, CEO of Yle.
“The model is about increasing efficiency so that Tohloppi 2.0. can continue to provide producers with a cost-effective and competitive environment for making high-quality audiovisual content in the future,” says Ilkka Rahkonen, Director at Film Tampere.
Relocation of Akun Tehdas
Akun Tehdas, a major operator in the Tampere Region, is relocating to Mediapolis. The company is already outgrowing its current property. The relocation will enable the provision of a new service package that will complement Mediapolis’ existing services.
“We’ll put everything in order so that the customer can quickly get answers to their questions and be confident that they will receive all the services they need through Mediapolis. We firmly believe in this concept,” says Aku Syrjä, CEO of Akun Tehdas.
Development of the creative industry in Tampere
Tampere’s vision is to be a significant international cluster of companies, productions and expertise in the audiovisual sector.
The City of Tampere has launched an experience economy development programme, and business in the AV sector is an important part of it. The Tampere Region aims to remove bottlenecks to the growth of the ecosystem in the creative industry and to support growth, new business and the creation of creative content.
Film Tampere, on the other hand, is launching a project focusing on the internationalisation of the AV sector funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Its purpose is to make Finland easier to approach and purchase in terms of AV productions.
Contacts
Ilkka Rahkonen
Film Tampere
Director
telephone +358 40 860 3816
ilkka.rahkonen@businesstampere.com
Teppo Rantanen
City of Tampere
Executive Director of Growth, Innovation and Competitiveness Services
telephone +358 40 023 5442
Teppo.Rantanen@tampere.fi
Aku Syrjä
Akun Tehdas
CEO
telephone +358 44 782 2200
aku.syrja@akuntehdas.fi
