What PYSTYMETSÄ Oy does

PYSTYMETSÄ Oy is a Helsinki, Finland-based independent film production company founded in 2008, producing documentaries, feature films, and short films with a thematic focus on children, young people, families, education systems, and cross-cultural understanding. The company's core product is international co-produced documentary content, with notable titles including the Oscar-nominated short Instruments of a Beating Heart (2025), the International Emmy-nominated Kouluvuosi Japanissa (2023/2024), VIKA! Keep on dancing (2023), Raise the Bar (2021), and the children's documentary series Mun perhe (2014). Productions are structured as multi-country co-productions, leveraging partners from Japan, USA, France, Iceland, Poland, Germany, and the Nordic region to share cost, rights, and creative input.

The business operates a professional services model within the publicly funded film industry, generating revenue through co-production fees, distribution rights, broadcast licensing (primarily via Yle, NHK, and France Television), and international sales through agents such as AUTLOOK and Deckert Distribution. Public funding from the Finnish Film Foundation and AVEK underpins the production economics, while theatrical distribution runs through Finnkino and festival circuits including Tokyo, Shanghai, HOT DOCS, and Chicago. The team is small (1-10 employees), with producer Outi Rousu as the central operational lead and Sirkka Rousu as team member.

The company's go-to-market relies on festival premieres as the top-of-funnel credibility mechanism, followed by theatrical release, public broadcaster windows, and educational streaming platforms (Koulukino, Yle Areena). Its marketing channel is event-driven and earned-media-led rather than performance-marketed, with festival selections and award nominations (Oscar 2025, International Emmy 2026, IDA Best Short Documentary 2024, EDDAN 2022, ECFA 2022) functioning as the principal brand-building assets. There is no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML capability, no software products, and no disclosed subscription or SaaS revenue stream — the asset base is wholly creative-IP and relationship-driven.

Name

PYSTYMETSÄ Oy

Legal name

PYSTYMETSÄ Oy

Website

https://pystymetsa.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Film Production Co-productions: The company generates revenue through international co-productions, where production costs and rights are shared among partners from different countries (Japan, USA, France, Iceland, Poland, Germany).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PYSTYMETSÄ Oy is a Finnish film production company that produces documentary films, feature films, short films, and children's documentary series, often as international co-productions with partners in Japan, USA, Iceland, Germany, Poland, and France. The company manages the full production pipeline from development through international distribution, with a thematic focus on children, young people, families, education, and cross-cultural understanding. Revenue is generated through co-production fees, broadcast licensing, distribution rights, and theatrical exhibition.

Product overview

PYSTYMETSÄ Oy is a Finnish film production company specializing in documentary, feature, and short film production with a focus on international co-productions and children's content. The company operates as a single unified production services offering, producing films across multiple formats including feature films (e.g., 'Tähtitaivas talon yllä', 'Kohtaamisia'), documentary films (e.g., 'Kouluvuosi Japanissa', 'VIKA! Keep on dancing'), short films (e.g., 'Käy rinnallain'), and children's documentary series ('Mun perhe'). The company frequently collaborates with international partners from Japan, USA, Iceland, Germany, Poland, and France, and has achieved recognition including Oscar and Emmy nominations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Oscar nomination for Best Short Documentary (2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cineric Creative (Japan/Yhdysvallat)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Japanese-American production company and co-production partner for Kouluvuosi Japanissa documentary. Producer Eric Nyari leads the production with director Ema Ryan Yamazaki.
• AUTLOOK SalescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAustrian-based international sales company handling worldwide distribution for Kouluvuosi Japanissa.
• Point du Jour (France)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench co-production partner for Kouluvuosi Japanissa alongside Pystymetsä and Cineric Creative.
• YlecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFinnish national public service broadcasting company - main broadcast partner for multiple Pystymetsä productions including Kouluvuosi Japanissa, VIKA, and Käy rinnallain.
• NHK (Japan)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJapanese public broadcaster and co-production partner for Kouluvuosi Japanissa. Also conducted TV coverage of Finnish premiere events in Tokyo.
• France TelevisioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFrench public broadcaster and co-production partner for Kouluvuosi Japanissa documentary.
• SAGAFILM (Iceland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIcelandic film production company and co-production partner for Raise the Bar documentary film.
• Pegasus Pictures (Iceland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIcelandic co-production partner for Tähtitaivas talon yllä feature film.
• Deckert Distribution (Germany)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman sales agent handling international distribution for VIKA documentary film.
• Pirkanmaan elokuvakeskuscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFinnish regional film center handling domestic distribution for Kouluvuosi Japanissa and Raise the Bar.
• SF StudioscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFinnish film distribution company co-presenting VALO film screenings with Pystymetsä.
• FinnkinocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFinnish cinema chain for theatrical releases including VALO and Kouluvuosi Japanissa premieres.
• My Way Studios (Poland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolish co-production partner for VIKA documentary film alongside Pystymetsä and ma.ja.de.
• ma.ja.de (Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman co-production partner for VIKA documentary film alongside Pystymetsä and My Way Studios.
• RAINA Film Festival DistributionminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFestival distribution partner for Käy rinnallain dance film.
• KoulukinocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFinnish educational streaming platform for Kouluvuosi Japanissa distribution.
• The Finnish Institute in Japan (Suomen Instituutti Japanissa)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinnish cultural institute in Japan supporting Japanese premiere events and Finnish-Japanese cultural exchange for Kouluvuosi Japanissa.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations children's rights organization collaborating on VALO film about children's right to education.
• Oulu International Children's and Young People's Film Festival (Valve)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinnish children's film festival hosting screenings and hosting VALO 20th anniversary screening in 2025.
• Nordic Film Days LübeckminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman Nordic film festival where Tähtitaivas talon yllä and Sydämestä asti competed in documentary sections.
• Hot Docs (Canada)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanadian international documentary festival where Raise the Bar was selected for 2021 program.
• Chicago International Children's Film FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS children's film festival where Sydämestä asti was screened as part of Finnish film programming.
• Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival (Turkey)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTurkish women's film festival where Tähtitaivas talon yllä and Kohtaamisia were screened with retrospective.
• Nordic Panorama (Sweden)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNordic short and documentary film festival in Malmö where Sydämestä asti was screened in Young voices program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Final Cut for Real: Danish documentary production house with a strong festival and international co-production track record — comparable in size, prestige-oriented documentary slate and reliance on Nordic co-production financing.
• Helsinki-filmi: Long-established Finnish documentary and feature film producer with strong Yle and international festival presence — comparable in subject-matter ambition (human-interest, social-issue documentaries) and reliance on Finnish public financing.
• Aamu Film Company: Finnish documentary and feature production company of similar small size, focused on international co-productions, festival-circuit documentaries and public-broadcaster financing — directly comparable in scale, genre focus and go-to-market.
• MRP Matila & Röhr: Finnish film production company spanning documentaries and feature films with international co-production partners — comparable in Nordic co-production model and public-broadcaster engagement, though operating at a larger scale.
• Oy Bufo Ab: Finnish independent production company specializing in documentary, art-house and children's content for festivals and public broadcasters — overlaps with Pystymetsä on documentary genre, children's/family themes and broadcaster-financed distribution.
• Yellow Film & TV: Finnish independent film and documentary producer working with Yle and international co-financiers — comparable in scale, Finnish-broadcaster dependency and documentary/feature-film output.
• MPM Premium: Paris-based independent film production company specializing in documentary and international co-productions, including partnerships with public broadcasters — comparable in international co-financing model and festival-circuit focus.
• Louverture Films: Independent production company focused on socially engaged documentary and fiction with strong international co-financing networks — comparable as a small, prestige-oriented, internationally co-produced documentary producer.

Broad incumbents

• Danish Documentary Production: Established Nordic documentary production entity operating across multiple broadcasters — serves as a regional benchmark for the Nordic documentary co-production model Pystymetsä operates within.
• Nordisk Film Production: Major Nordic film and TV producer and distributor with deep relationships across Nordic public broadcasters — provides the broader market context Pystymetsä operates in, though at far larger scale and with a much broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PYSTYMETSÄ Oy