17.6.2025
After Us, the Flood was awarded in Norway and France
Double Win for After Us, the Flood in International Festival Competitions
After Us, the Flood, directed by Arto Halonen and written by Ossi Hakala, achieved significant international success at two genre film festivals last weekend. The film won the Best Feature Film award at Norway’s Ravenheart International Film Festival (RIFF) and the Best Director award at France’s The Fantasy Film Festival (FFF).
The Ravenheart International Film Festival took place in Oslo from June 11–15 for the seventh time. RIFF is Norway’s only film festival dedicated exclusively to fantasy and genre films. The Fantasy Film Festival was held in Paris from June 13–15 for the fifth time and also focuses on fantasy and genre cinema.
The jury from RIFFF commented on the win "We champion the idea of genre as a way to approach real issues in interesting and evocative ways, and our Best Feature this year does just that. The tale of a brilliant physicist whose memories are sent back in time to prevent a major climate crisis, After Us, The Flood approaches urgently relevant themes through a low-key sci-fi lens. Reminiscent both of cult favourite Donnie Darko and the works of Christopher Nolan, it delves into the ways our choices shape our lives in grand, sometimes unexpected ways."
After Us, the Flood has gained international acclaim at several prestigious film festivals. The film had its world premiere in October 2024 in the Free Spirit competition section of the Warsaw International Film Festival. It was also awarded the main prize of its competition section, the Silver Méliès, at the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival in Italy. In October, it will compete for the Best European Fantasy Film award against seven other nominees at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain. In spring 2025, the film impressed critics at Belgium’s BIFFF, one of the world’s most prominent genre film festivals. In June, it also won the Wild Goat – Best Feature Film award in the international competition of Croatia’s Avant-Garde Horror & Fantasy Film Festival.
After Us, the Flood has quickly become a favorite on the international festival circuit and will continue its tour at the end of June in the competition sections of Sci-Fi London and the Dances With Films festival in Los Angeles. The film will also be featured at the Social World Film Festival in Vico Equense, marking its third festival appearance in Italy.
After Us, the Flood is a bold and uncompromising sci-fi drama about human relationships, greed, and the reasons why humanity struggles to stop climate change. The film stars Elias Westerberg, Linnea Leino, Tuomas Nilsson, Kasperi Kola, Petteri Summanen, Antti Reini, Pihla Penttinen, Jari Salmi, Tobias Zilliacus, Jemina Sillanpää, Robert Enckell, Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Paavo Westerberg, Hugo Komaro, Vilma Sippola, and Andrei Alén.
The film’s creative team includes cinematographer Pini Hellstedt, editor Armands Zacs, production designer Teppo Järvinen, sound designer Jevgenijs Kobzevs, composer Jēkabs Nīmanis, costume designer Jaana Aro, and makeup designer Maija Gundare. The film was produced by Arto Halonen, with Latvian co-producer Aija Bērziņa.
The film was funded by the Finnish Film Foundation, Yle, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, the City of Tampere and Film Tampere, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, and the Riga Film Fund.
StoryHill is the film’s Finnish distributor, and REinvent Studios handles international sales.