Joutsa Cinema Documentary Saturday: Me and Riikka Purra

“My motivation for making the documentary Me and Riikka Purra was curiosity,” says the screenwriter and director, known as a musician and producer. “I realised I didn’t know a single Finns Party supporter and didn’t understand how they think. I wanted to find out!” Akimof got hold of a camera and spent six months, starting in August 2025, in Purra’s and the Finns Party’s world. The result is a fast-paced, even funny DIY documentary in which an idealistic green-leftist marvels at the everyday realities of doing politics at a shooting range, in Parliament, in Brussels, and out among the people. The film plunges from one crisis into another and also hears from antifascists, leftists and a lone educated conservative. It puts a face to the media grind. “The documentary isn’t ‘slow-paced,’” Akimof laughs. “I wanted to make a film people would have the energy to watch. My documentary’s naïve aim is to reduce the lynch-mob mentality. It’s perfectly OK to debate issues, but wishing each other into gas chambers is not OK.” In addition to Finance Minister Purra, key figures in Me and Riikka Purra include State Secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, spin doctor Matias Turkkila and Member of Parliament Anna Kontula. The film also features, among others, Interior Minister Mari, Prime Minister Petteri, the Swedish People’s Party’s Anders, or Antero, and a whole host of MPs and ordinary citizens.