Grant Recipient: Finland, Minnesota

Finland, Minnesota: an ethnographic documentary by Ville Besonen and Isaac (Arvo) Hanson

The documentary Finland, Minnesota—created by filmmakers Ville Besonen and Isaac (Arvo) Hanson with support from a Finlandia Foundation National grant—captures the spirit of a small northern town as it celebrates the 50th Anniversary of St. Urho’s Day, complete with grapes, grasshoppers, and the crowning of Miss Helmi. The film explores the community’s deep Finnish roots, its historic landmarks, and the enduring connections that define life in this uniquely named place. The film drew wide attention when it was featured in one of our most popular Finnposium events on October 23, 2025, where viewers joined from across the country to experience this heartfelt portrait of Finnish-American life and hear from the filmmakers themselves.

An article and video by Daniel “Markus” Huisentruit, a friend and collaborator of the filmmakers, tells the story of how the film came together—and you can also watch his short behind-the-scenes documentary below.

This video was produced and edited for Finlandia Foundation by Daniel Huisentruit.

When filmmaker Ville Besonen first stepped foot in Finland, Minnesota, he only had his phone as a camera, a jar of peanut butter as sustenance, and a final project that was due in a couple of days. He and his friend Isaac Hanson didn’t know a single soul in the small Northern Minnesota town, and they had just driven four hours from the Twin Cities to get here. The five minute presentation for their Finnish class at the University of Minnesota depended on what they could learn from the Finlanders here, and the barren Northern Minnesotan landscape only made them wonder why anyone would want to live here in the first place. By the end of their short visit, however, they were driving home absolutely amazed by how strong of a community existed in a town with a population that lay just barely in the triple digits. The duo both knew that what they had experienced in the chilly spring of Northern Minnesota was worth turning their five minute presentation into a full-fledged documentary.

Ville and Isaac met back in the summer of 2017 at Salolampi, the Finnish Concordia Language Village in Bemidji, Minnesota, and they returned as campers there up until 2020. Ville hails from just outside the Twin Cities and Isaac grew up in Maryland, but like so many Salolampi friends they stayed close despite the distance. When the both of them got accepted to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, they were excited to room together and relive Salolampi life, with the exception of any counselors yelling “HERÄTYS!”

Along with giving Ville a great friend, Salolampi inspired him to study abroad in Finland for his entire junior year of high school. “After the first week of Salolampi I knew I wanted to study abroad in high school”, said Ville as he explained the impact Salolampi had on such a tough decision. He was only 17 and would be apart from his family and friends for ten whole months, but his mission to research his family heritage filled him with determination. He lived with a host family in Äänekoski, and when he wasn’t interviewing historians on his last name or dressing up as a banana for an AFS Halloween party, Ville found himself making films. The main highlight for him was “Moomin Crackers”, a three episode quest through Finland for boxes of the titular snack, a project he views as the point “where the passion of doing [film] more seriously stemmed from.”

After Ville returned to the States and finished high school, he and Isaac both picked up a Minor in Finnish at the University of Minnesota under a program led by educator and former Salolampi counselor Lily “Linnea” Obeda. Ville and Isaac would use class projects as an excuse to hone their filmmaking skills by creating sketches, short films, and even a music video for Dingo’s hit song “Nahkatakkinen Tyttö”. The class’s final project for the 2024 Spring semester became another excuse for them to create something, only this time the project would snowball beyond something much more than an unlisted video on YouTube. The prompt was a five minute presentation completely in Finnish on anything relating to Finland, and with their strong ambition they decided it would be best to drive up to Finland, Minnesota during finals week to see what they could learn.

Before arriving they had planned to meet with Bonnie Tikkanen, the leader of the town’s historical society. When they met, she gave them a brief history of the town, and then invited them to the annual Variety Show held in the local community center. Being a talent show of sorts, over half the town came together at the Variety Show to support each other in their hobbies and passions, all while joking with each other in the way only true friends know how to. This moment of community spurred them to not only buy a t-shirt but return again someday and make a complete documentary about the town. After receiving encouragement and advice from Lily Obeda, they applied for and received a grant from Finlandia Foundation National with the vision of a thirty minute documentary that fully explained Finland’s history, culture, and legacy through the words of its residents. “We live in a time where there’s not as much focus on rural communities compared to cities”, said Ville on why he was so drawn to Finland. “It’s the first time I felt like I saw a community.”

The final product, first unveiled at 2025’s FinnFest in Duluth, Minnesota, is an impressive display of the town’s culture and the filmmakers’ abilities. The viewer learns that Finland’s story is one of a serenely tight-knit community with a past steeped in Finnish immigration and sisu. Bonnie Tikkanen is fittingly one of the first interviewees featured in the documentary, and she provides an expert insight into the town’s past and how it got its name. Kaare Melby is featured as a homesteader in Finland that understands and appreciates what life was like for the first Finnish immigrants that decided to settle there. Additional interviews from residents like Jeff Mitchell and Mason Buus show the viewer that even new members of the community are welcomed in with open arms and are cared for just as much as long-time residents. Finnish-American band Hauliwood Dreams, featuring accordionist Steve Solkela, singer Maria Voltaine, and 2024 FFN Performer of the Year Miska Kajanus, are also featured and touch upon what makes being Finnish-American so special. “We are a small ethnicity and that makes it feel more like a family”, said Steve in the documentary.

The documentary also has a prominent focus on the town’s 50th celebration of Saint Urho’s Day, a Minnesotan holiday that takes place on the day before Saint Patrick’s Day. “It’s one of the most difficult times of year for the local businesses”, said Kaare Melby about why Finland has this celebration in the first place. A parade with inventive purple and green floats make Finland “the only place in Minnesota that shuts down a state highway for a parade”, as one resident explains. Hauliwood Dreams bring Finnish-American ballads and bops to the St. Urho stage, and provide an outsider’s perspective on the curious celebration. “It’s St. Urho, grasshoppers, something about grapes, and there’s a big parade”, said the group’s Miska Kajanus, a native Finn that knew nothing about the holiday until visiting Minnesota. “This is, in a wonderful way, a very crazy festival that Finnish Americans here just created… Anything is possible.”

For Ville and Isaac, that belief holds true for them as they pursue their future endeavors. It’s clear that their sights are set on utilizing every moment they have as young filmmakers, with Ville saying that he’s “learned a lot of things from this project” but is already thinking about “‘How am I going to one up this?’” The two are now in Finland, Europe to study abroad for a full academic year, and have already submitted their documentary to the Tampere Film Festival. Much like Ville’s first foray into life in Finland, they’re also spending much of their time working on other films, including a documentary about the culture of Salmiakki in Finland and a melancholic music video about loneliness. The biggest project on their mind, however, takes the two back to where it all began: Salolampi. As they officially announced in their Finnposium this October, they will be spending the next two years creating a feature length documentary detailing the history and global impact of Salolampi, interviewing old and current counselors, campers, and leaders on why Salolampi is so important to them. They aim to complete the documentary by the summer of 2027, when Salolampi celebrates its 50th summer.

With all the ambition that comes with a creative mind, it’s easy to forget those that have supported you along the way. Ville and Isaac are different, however, and have made sure to take the time to thank everyone that helped make the film. The first name that shows up at the end of the documentary is Lily Obeda, their Finnish instructor who played a key role in advising the two in telling the story of Finland. They are also incredibly grateful to Finlandia Foundation National, with Ville saying that “this project would not be where it is without the grant money, and ultimately without their name on the project”. He feels “really lucky to be able to put Finlandia Foundation National’s logo and [have] their name attached to the project”, and Isaac believes that “these are the kinds of projects Finlandia does a great job of emphasizing.” Most of all, the two are very grateful to everyone that took the time to watch their documentary. It made, as they explained, “all those hours that went into editing, filming, all of the car rides up, and all the production weekends” worth it, and to every viewer of the documentary they extend a heartfelt “Kiitos”.

If you’d like to follow Ville and Isaac in their future screenings of the documentary, please visit their website finlandminnesotamovie.com

About Daniel Huisentruit

Daniel “Markus” Huisentruit is a university student from Maryland that first fell in love with Finland at Salolampi. He runs the social media for his local Finlandia Chapter (Finlandia Foundation National Capital Chapter) and hopes to keep telling stories from Finnish-America through his passion of filmmaking.

Fun fact: Markus has a deep love of Finnish music and has created a video series “Markus’s Matka” where he explores the music scene in Finland.