Untold Arctic Wars Wins “Screen Achievement of the Year 2025”

We had the honor of receiving the Screen Achievement of the Year award at the Screen Helsinki event. The award recognized the international success of our documentary series Untold Arctic Wars. We are deeply grateful for the recognition. Thank you!

Untold Arctic Wars is the most widely sold and internationally distributed documentary series in the history of Finland.

We are delighted that APFI (Audiovisual Producers Finland) has acknowledged the series’ distribution by TVF to over one hundred countries – across broadcasters and streamers from BBC to NatGeo, Disney+ to RTL, and Al Jazeera.

The series has recently premiered in the United States and Canada on Smithsonian Channel (Paramount & Blue Ant). The latest sales include Germany, Mexico, China, and Australia. 

Today, the series is seen across five continents and in well over a hundred countries – often airing simultaneously on multiple channels within the same territory.

Recognition for accomplishment is always meaningful. It makes our determined team truly grateful. Yet we don’t see this award as merely an accolade.

And as stubborn optimists, we see it as a signal that the Finnish audiovisual industry has the capacity – and the will – to evolve towards greater internationalization. 

In Finland, documentary series deserve more recognition

Despite its international success, Untold Arctic Wars has never qualified for support or funding within the structures of the Finnish audiovisual industry.

The series was financed through Nordic public broadcasters, private risk capital, as well as international presales and financing instruments.

In Finland, documentary series are excluded from the national production incentive; only feature-length documentaries are accepted. Historical documentaries, meanwhile, are not eligible genres for the Finnish Film Foundation, which prioritizes cinematic storytelling.

Yet when we pick up the remote control and browse international streaming platforms, it becomes clear: domestic funding structures may not be keeping up with the times.

The statistics tell the same story: Finland’s all-time most internationally successful series have been non-scripted content – in this case, documentaries. And still, they remain the underdog compared to other genres.

It is time for the Finnish audiovisual sector to elevate documentary series to the same level of appreciation as drama and mainstream entertainment.

When we talk about preserving Finnish culture, we must also discuss its export: bringing our culture and historical understanding to the world. In today’s geopolitical climate, this mission is more important than ever.

If we fail to defend our own culture, what then are we defending?

For us Finns, as a small nation between East and West, survival depends on ensuring that the world understands our history – especially when facing potential conflict or international propaganda.

By then it will be too late to explain who we are, what happened during World War II, or how Finland preserved its independence throughout the Cold War.

The stories must be told now, in our own voice, before someone else tells them for us.

For us, the driving force behind Untold Arctic Wars was never just international sales or broken records. Beyond cultural policy, the series has also been motivated by national security. We count it as a success that the series has been used as orientation material in NATO training exercises.

Northern stories will be colonized – unless we tell them ourselves

We are a northern production company and creative house. Our daily work spans Helsinki, Lapland, the Arctic fjords, and Norway’s mountain ranges.

For us, this is everyday life. For others, it is an exotic stage.

The North has long been treated as a resource. It hosts Europe’s largest mines, clear-cut forests, and planned quarries. The economic benefit left in the region is minimal; most profits flow south – and too often abroad.

Now, the next raw material is already at stake: Northern stories and content.

Production companies from around the world are coming north to create content. Often based on local IP.

In the worst case, both the stories and the profits will be taken away – leaving northern professionals chasing unpaid dues for years. It is no wonder that film crews are not always welcomed here with open arms.

As a northern production company, we feel responsible for telling our region’s stories in its own voice. Otherwise, once again, someone else will tell them for us.

To prevent the colonization of our stories, we need international ambition and perspective. 

Young Finland lacks significant capital. This creates challenges not only in exploiting our natural resources, but also in cultural production.

If we produce content only for Finnish audiences, there are simply not enough resources in this country to reach international quality standards.

If Finnish broadcasters want to compete for audiences with global streamers, we must recognize the importance of international financing, in genres beyond drama as well.

Documentary series are among the most popular genres on streaming platforms. Compared to the production budgets, their efficiency in audience engagement is excellent. Globally, this is already understood.

To succeed, we must create content that captivates Finnish viewers but also resonates globally. Broadcasters and streamers, in turn, must dare to commission content for which Finland is just one target market.

What is supported, on whose terms – and with what goals?

One of the main recent industry discussions has been the cuts to the Finnish Film Foundation.

For those of us unsupported by these structures to begin with, we will continue along our proven path: forging our own way, through deep snow, out to the world.

But despite carving our own trails, we share the wider concern over the systematic dismantling of Finland’s cultural sector and its financing instruments.

International appreciation for Finnish creators is growing. Soon, we may only see the taillights of our very best talents. Preventing this should be of interest to us all.

We are immensely proud and grateful for the Screen Achievement of the Year recognition. We thank our entire production crew and team, Yle, all of our partners, and all those who have made and continue to make the series possible.

Our hope is that this award will not remain a one-off acknowledgment of a single successful documentary series, but rather mark the beginning of a broader shift.

It is time to ask: what kinds of content do we want to support in Finland, on whose terms, and with what goals?

Teemu Hostikka
NTRNZ Creative