Prague has become Helsinki for the new Finnish feature film The Kidnapping of a President, which shot across the Czech Republic this summer. Directed by Samuli Valkama, the dark comedy revisits one of the more unusual episodes in Finland’s modern history: the attempted abduction of former president Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg in 1930.
The project brings together a multinational team of producers and actors in a Finnish-Czech-Dutch-Estonian co-production. With its mix of historical events and absurd humor, the film examines a turbulent political period while using Prague and other Czech sites to recreate 1930s Finland. Principal photography began this summer, with release planned for 2026.
Starring Jussi Vatanen as Lieutenant Colonel Eero Kuussaari, the officer who led the plot, the production casts a comedic light on a drunken coup that quickly unraveled. While rooted in real history, the filmmakers emphasize the story’s contemporary resonance.
“When we first looked into the background of President Ståhlberg’s abduction, our initial reaction was astonishment,” Valkama and producer John Lundsten said in a press statement. “The story felt incredibly timely, and the screenplay has been developed carefully and thoroughly.”
Czech locations doubling as Finland
Although set in Helsinki, The Kidnapping of a President filmed entirely in the Czech Republic this summer, where the production found both architectural matches and logistical support. Prague’s Rudolfinum concert hall stands in for Finland’s parliament, while sites in Králův Dvůr and Ralsko replicate the atmosphere of interwar Finland.
One of the most elaborate sequences was recently shot in Terezín, where filmmakers transformed the historic town into bustling Helsinki streets. The scene introduces Vatanen’s Kuussaari alongside his wife Marjatta, played by Ellsa Saisio, against a backdrop of period automobiles, horse-drawn carriages and market stalls. Extras filled the square as newspaper headlines announced political unrest, setting the stage for the botched abduction.
The Czech landscape has frequently stood in for other European settings, with crews citing its versatility and infrastructure. In this case, the combination of preserved architecture and adaptable backlots allowed the filmmakers to recreate 1930s Helsinki with authenticity. Czech producers Jakub Košťál and Vratislav Šlajer of Bionaut coordinated local production.
A multinational effort with historical weight
The film dramatizes events from October 1930, when Kuussaari and fellow officers attempted to seize Ståhlberg, who had retired from the presidency several years earlier. The coup, fueled by nationalist resentment, collapsed almost as soon as it began, thanks in part to the determination of Ester Ståhlberg, the former president’s wife. Despite its failure, the incident highlighted divisions in a country still healing from civil war.
Valkama co-wrote the screenplay with Lundsten, drawing on years of research. The pair have worked together on earlier projects and describe this collaboration as their most ambitious. The supporting cast includes Aku Sipola as Colonel Kurt Wallenius, Elias Salonen as Jukka Janné and Pertti Sveholm as President Ståhlberg.
The project is backed by an array of European funds, including the Finnish Film Foundation, the Czech Audiovisual Fund, the Netherlands Film Fund, the Estonian Film Institute and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond. With Nordisk Film set to distribute the feature in the Nordic region and Copenhagen-based LevelK handling world sales, the production is positioned for wide international reach. The Kidnapping of a President is slated for theatrical release in 2026.
Lead photo: Jussi Vatanen, Aku Sipola, and Pääru Oja in The Killing of a President (2026) © Bionaut / Stanislav Honzík
