Primal Therapy

A middle-aged man on the verge of a burnout seeks new energy through a very special form of self help therapy.

  • Santtu Salminen
    Director
  • Santtu Salminen
    Writer
  • Elisabeth Maria Keinänen
    Producer
  • Eppu Salminen
    Key Cast
    "Jussi"
  • Emil Kihlström
    Key Cast
    "Aleksi"
  • Hannes Suominen
    Key Cast
    "Lintubongaaja"
  • Elis Lindfors
    Cinematographer
  • Riina Saltiola
    Editor
  • Jaanis Hållman
    Sound Design
  • Emil Sana
    Music
  • Jaakko Juutela
    Set Designer
  • Nani Auvinen
    MUAH
  • Mira Korhonen
    Costume Designer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Suoterapia
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Dark Comedy, Absurd, Action
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    7,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Finland
  • Country of Filming:
    Finland
  • Language:
    Finnish
  • Shooting Format:
    Blackmagic Raw
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
  • Tampere Film Festival
    Tampere
    Finland
    March 10, 2022
    Generation XYZ - Audience Award
  • Cottbus Film Festival
    Cottbus
    Germany
    October 20, 2022
    Special Prize For a Short Film
  • Helsinki International Film Festival
    Helsinki
    Finland
    September 23, 2021
    R&A Shorts - National Competition
  • Aesthetica Short Film Festival
    York
    United Kingdom
    October 14, 2022
    Best Comedy nominee
  • Encounters Short Film Festival
    Bristol
    United Kingdom
    September 24, 2022
  • Manchester Film Festival
    Manchester
    United Kingdom
    March 13, 2022
    Best Student Film
  • Budapest Independent Film Festival
    Budapest
    Hungary
    May 20, 2022
    Best Comedy
  • Sydney Short Film Festival
    Sydney
    Australia
    February 25, 2022
    Australian Premiere
    Best Short Comedy
  • Santorini Film Festival
    Santorini
    Greece
    July 15, 2022
    Best Comedy Short
Director Biography - Santtu Salminen

Santtu Salminen is a Finnish screenwriter and director based in Helsinki. He grew up around theatre and acting, and gravitated towards filmmaking through photography. Santtu studied filmmaking in Metropolia UAS, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2021. During his studies he wrote multiple screenplays and directed them, while simultaneously working in the camera department in various short films, tv-series, and commercials. His award winning graduation film PRIMAL THERAPY (2021) marks his directorial debut. Santtu deals with topics such as masculinity, neoliberalism, and human-nature relationship through comedy, as he feels that laughing upwards to people in power positions offers unique angles in dealing with societal problems.

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Director Statement

Primal Therapy is a film about basic human needs, our society's disconnection from those needs, and toxic masculinity’s role in the equation. Our society's development is fixated on economic growth, which pushes individuals towards heightened productivity and creates an ideal for economic success. The film comments on self-help culture, which usually seeks ways to find balance, efficiency and strength, in order to become more successful. Can we find fulfilment through capitalist society's ideals of success, or do we have to look beyond those ideals - take the methods back to the roots?