About us

Art Films Production

Art Films Production AFP Ltd is a Helsinki-based production company, founded in 1997 by Arto Halonen. It develops and produces creative, quality films ranging from fiction to documentaries.

Over the years, Art Films has released numerous international projects and films that have been distributed to 70 countries. The company has received several awards at film festivals worldwide and has increasingly focused on international co-productions.

Many of Art Films Production's films address socially significant and timely themes. In connection with these films, impact campaigns have also been created to raise awareness of social issues and promote their resolution.

Arto Halonen Biography

Arto Halonen is an internationally acclaimed fiction and documentary film director, producer, and screenwriter who is known for his socially relevant topics. Throughout his career, he has received numerous prestigious accolades for his work, including the Finlandia Prize, the City of Helsinki Culture Prize, the Humanitarian Award of the European Union, the Finnish National Mental Health Prize, and the Civil Action Prize, reinforcing his influence in both cultural and social sectors.

Several of his fiction feature films have been featured in major international film festivals. Halonen’s first fiction feature film for cinematic distribution, Princess, opened in 2010. The film reached an audience of more than 300 000 viewers in Finnish cinemas and became one of the most watched Finnish films of the last decade in cinema distribution, and it also won multiple international awards. The Guardian Angel premiered in 2018 at the Warsaw Film Festival, and its distribution rights have been sold in 70 countries. Halonen's versatility spans across genres, including drama, family film, thriller, and sci-fi.

He has gained a reputation as a leading voice in documentary filmmaking, with his films addressing important global and social issues. In 2008, Halonen received the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The festival’s official statement described Halonen as one of the most important documentary filmmakers of his time, saying his work contributes to the development of documentaries on an international scale. His documentary Shadow of the Holy Book was nominated for the European Film Academy (EFA) Award, and in 2009 he was invited to join as a member. Five of his documentaries have been selected for the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), with three of them competing in the main Feature Length Documentary Competition, making him one of the most-screened directors at the festival’s main competition.

Halonen also founded the Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, DocPoint and the children's film event DOKKINO, and served as the first festival director of both events in 2001-2004. DOKKINO has been awarded the state award for children's culture and DocPoint by the state award of film art.

Filmography of Arto Halonen →

Responsibility at Art Films Production

Art Films Production is committed to promoting social change and responsibility within the film industry. We produce films that address important and timely topics, and our goal is to encourage viewers to reflect on society's challenges as well as to inspire them to become active agents of change. We believe that films have the power to change the world, and we see responsibility as a core principle in our production process.

The company's commitment to responsibility has played a central role in several of our productions - Our films tackle critical issues such as human rights, mental health, environmental protection, and social inequality, striving to give a voice to those whose stories are often unheard.

We are one of the first Finnish film production companies to create impactful campaigns around our films. These campaigns have been successful and have led to political changes on an international level.

Here’s a few examples:

Freedom For Sale / Shadow of The Holy Book Campaign – Made to bring attention to human rights and free speech violations worldwide. The campaign seeks to raise awareness of the moral implications of international companies supporting authoritarian regimes, focusing specifically on Turkmenistan and similar authoritarian regimes. As a result of the film, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs conducted a study on the ethical responsibilities of Finnish companies abroad. The film toured 120 film festivals and other film events around the world, spreading awareness and sparking conversations that involved the local community. This included panels, tailored content for the local press, and examining the local situation through the theme of the film, highlighting the complex role of local businesses and politicians in the context of Turkmenistan's dictatorship.
Princess Campaign – Focused on promoting the empowerment of diversity, reducing existing prejudices, highlighting the importance of mental health work and encouraging broader use of art as a tool for media and social education.
White Rage Campaign – Designed to educate on the dangers of school bullying and how it connects to people's thoughts of mass destruction and radicalization, the importance of early and rapid intervention, and the crucial role of mental health and social welfare work. The film and campaign also led to a legislative proposal in the Finnish Parliament, and has spread to Arab countries, where the film is being screened in schools, prisons, and other special screenings as part of awareness efforts.
Back Towards Light Campaign - Launched to help a victim of abduction settle her debt and rebuild her life anew after the traumatic experience. The campaign also aims to educate the public about the harsh realities of human trafficking and how vulnerable individuals can fall victim to exploitation, both physically and financially.
After Us, the Flood Campaign – The aim was to bring the film's themes; environment, climate change, empathy, and self-improvement into discussions with students, since they play a crucial role in shaping the future.

Many of our campaigns have had the support of several important partners for example: the UN Association, The Mental Health Central Association, The School Cinema Association, The Finnish Association for Mental Health and The Victim Support Finland (RIKU).

Other mention worthy campaigns:

The Guardian Angel that partnered with the Scientific Hypnosis Association as well as with some of the best hypnosis professionals to raise awareness about the dangers of manipulation and how to build resilience against becoming susceptible to it, since manipulation is constantly increasing in the world, both at the individual and state level.
The Patriotic Man and When Heroes Lie delve into the history of doping, addressing the issue on a global scale. While the films primarily focus on Finland's doping history, they also explore the broader doping landscape in countries like Norway, Sweden, and Italy. The films shed light on social injustices and spark important discussions about societal and individual responsibilities. With the information brought to light by When Heroes Lie, the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health clarified the reporting responsibilities and obligations of the police forces, the Finnish Medicines Agency, and pharmaceutical companies.

Curious to read more of our campaigns?