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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Finland

In Bad Apples, the “good old days” are not necessarily that good

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- The new 1970s-set series, helmed by Marja Pyykkö and Pamela Tola, has begun its July shoot

In Bad Apples, the “good old days” are not necessarily that good
A promo image for Bad Apples

With its tagline alone, claiming that “there’s a method for your madness”, the upcoming new series Bad Apples promises a peek into the twisted reality of a 1970s sanatorium, where student activist Onerva (played by Satu Tuuli Karhu, a Jussi winner for Happier Times, Grump [+see also:
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) ends up being committed and forced to take part in an experimental psychiatric programme for women – predictably, against her will. Deemed “aggressive” and “hysterical”, even by the ones closest to her, she soon starts to question the prescribed treatments, as well as the methods of one Doctor Lundsten (Santeri Kinnunen). Directed by Marja Pyykkö and Pamela Tola, the latter fresh off the success of her comedy Ladies of Steel [+see also:
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, it started shooting in Finland on 2 July and will be available to view on the country’s leading streaming service, Elisa Viihde (and Elisa Entertainment Viaplay), sometime next year.

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Although inspired by a certain island in the Baltic Sea, or rather its biggest secret – also the subject of Lotta Petronella’s recent documentary Själö - Island of Souls [+see also:
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– the series will put its own spin on some of the shady practices that took place in its leper hospital-turned-closed institution until 1962. “We thought that a remote island location would allow the privacy that this mental institution needs in order to completely isolate the patients from the rest of society,” co-creator and executive producer Mikko Pöllä tells Cineuropa, right before the shoot. “Also, the beautiful nature around it implies that this might be a place where people can actually relax and feel good. It provides an interesting contrast with the darker things that might be going on in our protagonists’ minds.” A contrast that, it seems, has attracted some of its main players, too – as has the female-centred story. “When pitching the idea, we were delighted to notice that the series attracted and inspired many key creative people, both men and women, and ended up having female directors and a female head writer, plus one of the producers is a woman,” he says.

With the first season composed of eight episodes, each clocking in at 45 minutes, and with an investigation anchoring the plot, there will still be enough time to explore some of the contemporary struggles as well – albeit dressed up in the period setting. “People sometimes talk about the ‘good old days’, and we thought that it might be good to remember that the old days were not necessarily good. At least not for all of us,” adds Pöllä. “For example, if you were a woman, and one labelled with hysteria or paranoia. While Bad Apples is set in a fictional mental institution, where Doctor Lundsten has created his own programme to treat the patients, similar methods have been used in order to manipulate human minds.” In other words, enter at your own risk.

Bad Apples, developed by Mia Ylönen, Mikko Pöllä and Roope Lehtinen, is being produced for Elisa Viihde by Fire Monkey Productions Oy, with Estonia’s Stellar Film also on board as a service producer. The series is being supported by the Film Estonia cash rebate. It is being made in collaboration with the Finnish Film Foundation and Nelonen Media. Its international distribution will be handled by Lagardère Studios Distribution.

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