Learning by Doing Together – Interview with Film Director Lauri-Matti Parppei
Uutinen
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, winner of seven Jussi Awards, is one of this year’s standout Finnish films. It is written, directed and with music composed by Rauma-born Lauri-Matti Parppei, and set in the very streets where he grew up – the same places where he first found the courage to get started.
Rauma is easy to recognise on screen. The level crossing, the old Uusilahti care home wing, the Otava pub, and Valtakatu. None of these are random choices.
– These places carry real memories, like the level crossing. At one point I was back in Rauma writing the script and felt completely stuck. I’d just walk around town, trying to figure things out. When the barrier came down at the crossing and physically stopped me, I just broke down. But at the same time I realised that moment had to be part of the film. After that, things started moving again, Parppei says with a smile.
The film was also supported by the City of Rauma. For Parppei, what mattered most was the trust that came with it.
– It was important that the film was backed, even though no one can ever be sure what the end result will be. The city trusted us and gave us space to make it our way, he says.
The City of Rauma awarded Parppei the Ruorimiehet medal on 17 April 2026. His debut film, set in Rauma, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and has been seen as a sincere and heartfelt tribute to the city.
You’ll Find Your Place
As a teenager, Parppei made things with friends on a shoestring budget. Those early experiences stuck. It was important to feel that you could make something truly yours and shape the surroundings in your own way.
Back then, it meant bands and the Klustermus festival, which he put together with his friends.
– The first festival was a bit of a mess, really. We had hardly any money and didn’t know what we were doing, so we just had to figure everything out ourselves. But that’s when you realise that you can actually learn to do almost anything, he says.
That same mindset carried forward.
– It gave me the confidence to try things without overthinking them, like making a film, Parppei says.
If he could say one thing to a young person growing up in Rauma today – or to his younger self – it would be simple:
– You’ll find your place, and people who feel like your own. And it’s worth doing things together – that’s where the best part comes from.
