Letters to Father Jacob | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Klaus Härö |
Produced by |
Risto Salomaa Lasse Saarinen |
Screenplay by | Klaus Härö |
Story by | Jaana Makkonen |
Starring |
Kaarina Hazard Heikki Nousiainen |
Music by | Dani Strömbäck |
Cinematography | Tuomo Hutri |
Edited by | Samu Heikkilä |
Distributed by | FilmSharks International |
Release date
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Running time
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76 minutes |
Country | Finland |
Language | Finnish |
Budget | 525 402 € |
Letters to Father Jacob (Finnish: Postia pappi Jaakobille) is a 2009 Finnish drama film written and directed by Klaus Härö. Set in the early 1970s and based on a story by Jaana Makkonen, the film tells the story of Leila, a pardoned convict, who becomes an assistant to a blind priest, Jacob. The film depicts her transformation from a sceptic who grudgingly reads letters aloud to her benefactor into a caring savior of the pastor from his despair after the letters stop coming.
Exteriors were filmed at St. Olaf's Church in Tyrvää, Finland (Pyhän Olavin kirkko). The interiors were filmed at Holy Cross Church in Hattula (Pyhän Ristin kirkko).
Nordic Film Days, Lübeck, Germany, 4.–8.11.2009
Interfilm Church Prize
Audience Award
58th International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Germany, 5.–15.11.2009
Main Award
33rd Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt, 10.–20.11.2009
The Golden Pyramid for the Best Film
The Prize for the Best Screenwriter (Klaus Härö)
Black Nights Film Festival, Tallinn, Estonia, 27.11.-6.12.2009
Jury Prize for the Best Director
28th Fajr International Film Festival, Iran, 1.–11.2.2010
Crystal Simorgh Prize for the Best Film in the Competition of Quest for Truth & Justice
33rd Göteborg International Film Festival, Sweden, 29.1.–8.2.2010
Nordic Film Music Prize (composer Dan Strömbäck)
Santa Barbara International Film Festival, USA, 4.–14.2.2010
The Best International Film Award