Alma P\u00f6ysti to Lead Ferry-Set Romance The Bottom Line

Alma Pöysti will play Iris in The Bottom Line, a romantic comedy from director Jon Blåhed, with William Spetz and Pekka Strang also attached, as reported by Variety.

Pöysti takes the lead role. Iris is 45, a musician who performs aboard the ferry between Vaasa in Finland and Umeå in Sweden. The story stays close to her life on and off that crossing.

The film centres on that route across the Kvarken, the stretch of water between Finland and Sweden. Action takes place in Vaasa, in Umeå and on board the ferry itself. It is a tight geography. Three places, one working life.

Blåhed wrote the script with Helmi Tolonen. Music is built into the story. Markus Krunegård is attached to write original songs for Iris to perform, and Pöysti will sing them herself.

Behind the camera, Mia Welin is producing for Anagram Sweden in co-production with Just Republic in Finland. Anagram Sweden is part of Studio TF1. Scanbox is attached as Nordic distributor, the company lined up to release the film across the Nordic countries.

The project is in development and financing, the stage where producers secure the rest of the budget before shooting can be scheduled. It was developed with support from the Swedish Film Institute and the Amos Anderson Fund.

Buyers and financiers will get their first formal look soon. The Bottom Line will be pitched at the Finnish Film Affair, running Sept. 23-25, according to Variety. The event is the industry programme of the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival, where Finnish projects meet sales agents, distributors and festival programmers.

Pöysti arrives with international profile. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and a European Film Award for Aki Kaurismäki's Fallen Leaves.

What makes this stand out is the setting. A working ferry is not a usual home for a romantic comedy, and a Finnish-Swedish production built around that crossing gives the sales pitch a clear hook.