‘Influencer’ Goes Behind the Scenes at First Social Media Academy

In 2022, the world’s first-ever higher-education program for social media was launched in Tampere, Finland, and Finnish director Jussi Sandhu was given unprecedented access for his feature debut “But I’m No Influencer,” which is part of a showcase of upcoming Nordic projects being presented this week at Helsinki’s Finnish Film Affair.

Sandhu, a veteran editor who’s worked alongside filmmakers including Teemu Nikki (“The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic”) and Håvard Bustness (“Phantoms of Sierra Madre”), was there on day one when the so-called “influencers academy” opened its doors at the Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), the director’s alma mater.

The film, which is currently in development, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the program’s growing pains while examining Finland’s efforts to establish itself as a premium exporter of higher education and exploring the role of social media in shaping how we define ourselves.

“Everything has to be sold in today’s society. People have to make brands about themselves and education, also, has to make a brand about itself. And actually nations have to make brands for themselves like Finland does,” Sandhu told Variety. “We need attention, and we all work under those same rules that social media has [created].”

The English-language program in Tampere was announced to great fanfare in 2021, with Finnish influencer Joalin Loukamaa lending a public face to the course and more than two-dozen foreign students enrolling in the first year.

Within a few weeks, the director began to focus on a Filipino immigrant, Mark, a successful businessman in his home country who was studying in Tampere while trying to bring his family to Finland. Living and working in a foreign land, Mark was also “learning the culture shocks of being Finnish,” a process that — in keeping with his course requirements — he started to document on social media.

Those posts, said Sandhu, became a “brilliant” treasure trove of content that both intentionally and unwittingly got to the heart of what Tampere’s “influencers academy” had set out to do. “They offer us this unique perspective on what is Finland — what the brand is like for [Mark],” said the filmmaker. “And at the same time, we’re looking at how Finland wants itself to be portrayed abroad.”

Even before classes began at TAMK, Sandhu found willing collaborators among the administrators tasked with launching the first-of-its-kind program, who were candid about the uncertain road ahead. “They also were kind of clueless about what was going to happen. They were really open — like, ‘We don’t know yet, but we will find out as we go along. And you can stick around and find out as well,’” Sandhu said. “They were really open about the fact that they were on the brink of something really new and exciting.”

“But I’m No Influencer” is Sandhu’s first documentary feature, following several shorts including “27 First Years,” his directorial debut, which premiered at Nordisk Panorama and won best short film at the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival in 2019, and “Best Possible Life,” which he co-directed with Ville Hakonen, and which competed at Nordisk Panorama in 2020.

Sandhu and Hakonen are the co-founders of Tampere-based Wacky Tie Films, which the duo established in 2012. “But I’m No Influencer” is produced by Pasi Hakkio, who joined the company in 2018.

Sandhu and Hakkio expect to have a busy week during this year’s Finnish Film Affair, which runs parallel to the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival. Sandhu is editing Vesa Kuosmanen’s “Fruitcakes – The Dawn of Drag” and Nina Forsman and Sakari Suuronen’s “Riding With Death,” which are both being presented during the showcase of upcoming documentary projects, while Hakkio is a minority co-producer on Guro Saniola Bjerk’s “In Cod We Trust,” which is produced by Benedikte Bredesen for Norway’s f(x) produksjoner AS.

Finnish Film Affair runs from Sept. 25 – 27 in Helsinki.