Director Rosa Karo´s debute feature-length film The Italian Key nabbed prizes in the US. The film´s score was awarded with gold medal and the Director´s Choice Award at Park City Film Music Festival in Utah. The festival is the first festival in US to specialize on film scores. It is a sub-festival of the famous Sundance-festival, held in January in Park City. The Film Music Festival was held in May 20-30 2011.
The film score is composed by Tuomas Kantelinen. As the festival catalogue states: "The photography and luxurious film score create an engaging gem of a movie. The filmmaker takes her time revealing the lovely story making for a very satisfying film."
The Italian Key has attended the film markets both at Berlinale and Cannes. It has already been acknowledged at various smaller festivals. In Los Angeles The Italian Key was screened as the feature-length fiction of the month at New Filmmakers festival in May 27. Before this and the success at the Park City Film Music festival, The Italian Key was awarded in Honolulu with Aloha Accolade award and at the Las Vegas Film Festival with Silver Ace award.
This Finnish-American-Italian romantic feelgood fairytale has been shot in Italy, India and UK. The film is in English with actors from Italy, US and Sweden. Finland is represented with Mikko Leppilampi in a supporting role. The Italian Key is a story about a 19-year-old orphan who receives, as her sole inheritance, an antique key that unlocks both an old villa in Italy, leading her into the mysteries of her family history.
Tuomas Kantelinen has composed film score for over 30 feature-length films and has been awarded with Jussi award for his music for Olli Saarela´s films The Redemption (Lunastus) and Ambush (Rukajärven tie). His latest works include film scores e.g. for Arto Halonen´s Princess (Prinsessa), the Swedish Arn - The Knight Templar films and Sergei Bodrov´s Mongol, which was nominated for Academy Awards.
The Italian Key is supported by the Finnish Film Foundation and produced by Harmaa Media Oy.
