After Us, the Flood nominated for the best screenplay of 2024

Screenwriter Ossi Hakala is nominated for the Sylvi Award for his feature film screenplay After Us, the Flood, along with competitors Miia Tervo (Ohjus) and Tuuli Kanervankallio & Hannele Lampela (Princess Pikkiriikki). The Sylvi Award is given annually by the Finnish Playwrights and Scriptwriters’ Association to the best domestic film and series script (Film Sylvi and TV Sylvi). With the Sylvi Award, the association wants to promote the visibility and professional recognition of domestic screenwriting. 

The 2025 nominees have been selected by expert juries from film works that premiered in 2024. The winner of 2025 will be announced on March 9, 2025 at the Tampere Film Festival by screenwriter-director Aleksi Salmenperä. This year's jury included film director-screenwriter Katja Gauriloff, and software engineer of Kino Regina and film critic Otto Kylmälä, together with the program manager of the Finnish Film Affair Alisha Hasan. The jury explains its choice regarding the After Us, the Flood screenplay as follows:

After Us, the Flood offers a rare example of Finnish science fiction writing. Ossi Hakala's script, which moves through different time periods, rushes forward at breakneck speed and creates a desire to know what happens next. The script is topical and surprising, and the entirety is built coherently. In the middle of limited resources of filmmaking, the strength of Finnish sci-fi cinema lies in scripts like After Us, The Flood, which contain social reflection and deepen the inner feelings of their characters."

After Us, the Flood had its world premiere at the distinguished Warsaw International Film Festival's Free Spirit competition in October 2024. After Us, the Flood was selected for the International competition at the Trieste Science+Fiction Film Festival in Italy, where it won the Silver Méliès award in November 2024. Thanks to the award, the film will compete for the Golden Méliès award for the best European fantasy film at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain October 2025, together with seven other nominees. The film, which is currently in domestic theatrical release, is directed by Arto Halonen and produced by Art Films Production Oy.

Ossi Hakala is a Finnish screenwriter. After Us, the Flood is his first feature film.

Hakala's previous short films have been screened both at the Tampere and Polish Cameraimage Film Festivals.