| Reindeerspotting: Escape from Santaland | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joonas Neuvonen |
| Produced by | Jesse Fryckman Oskari Huttu |
| Written by | Joonas Neuvonen Sadri Cetinkaya |
| Screenplay by | Joonas Neuvonen |
| Narrated by | Jani Raappana |
| Starring | Jani Raappana |
| Music by | Various artists |
| Editing by | Sadri Cetinkaya |
| Distributed by | Bronson Club |
| Release date(s) | April 9, 2010 |
| Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | Finland |
| Language | Finnish |
| Budget | €149,979 |
| Box office | $654,990 (Finland)[1] |
Reindeerspotting: Escape from Santaland (Finnish: Reindeerspotting: pako Joulumaasta) is a Finnish documentary film about drug abusers in Rovaniemi.[2] It was directed by Joonas Neuvonen and produced by Jesse Fryckman and Oskari Huttu. The first screening of the film was in Tampere, April 2010, Finland.[3]
The documentary follows several young drug abusers, but focuses on Jani Raappana. Jani is a drug addict, whose drug of choice is Subutex taken intravenously. He is unemployed and he finances his addiction through thefts, burglaries, and welfare payments. [4]
The name of the movie is a direct allusion to the 1996 British drama film Trainspotting that treated the same theme from a Scottish point of view.
The film was shown outside of Finland for the first time in Locarno International Film Festival in Italy.
The main character in the movie, Jani Raappana, travelled in May 2010 with the director of the movie Neuvonen to Cambodia. Raappana died in Phnom Penh July 7th, 2010.[5] According to the local media, Raappana hanged himself.