Biography
Independent filmmaker / producer Ilppo Pohjola works with the vocabulary of film, examining its structural and social elements in order to create a body of work that pushes the limits of the medium's physical possibilities. He works between the narrative tropes of Hollywood and the deconstructive methodologies of independent film. The cumulative bodies of knowledge in Pohjola's works are noticeable for their crispness of conception and excess of information. Given his interest in the formal elements of filmmaking, the content of Pohjola's works are surprisingly physical and sensual, even if assaultive.
Ilppo Pohjola has studied at the Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies of the American Film Institute and at Media Arts Department of Sheridan College, Toronto. He has graduated from Faculty of Art, Design and Film of Harrow College of Higher Education, London.
Awards:
2000 * Audience Award, Kettupäivät, Helsinki, Finland (work: Routemaster) * Quality Production Award, National Council for Audiovisual Arts, Helsinki, Finland (work: Routemaster)
1999 * Special Prize of the Jury in the National Competition, Tampere Film Festival, Finland (work: Asphalto) * Quality Production Award, National Council for Audiovisual Arts, Helsinki, Finland (work: Asphalto)
1994 * Public Award for Best Documentary Film, Turin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Italy (work: P(l)ain Truth)
1993 * Teddy Bear for the Best Short Film, Berlin International Film Festival, Germany (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Main Prize in the National Competition, Tampere Film Festival, Finland (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Special Prize of the Jury in the International Competition, Tampere Film Festival, Finland (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Audience Prize in the National Competition, Tampere Film Festival, Finland (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Audience Prize in the International Competition, Tampere Film Festival, Finland (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Seta Apple Award, Helsinki, Finland (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Quality Production Award, National Council for Audiovisual Arts, Helsinki, Finland (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Award for Best Experimental Film, Uppsala International Film Festival, Sweden (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Award for Best Short Film, Kettupäivät, Helsinki, Finland (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Public Award for Best Documentary Film, Turin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Italy (work: P(l)ain Truth) * Special Commendation, Prix Futura Berlin, Germany (work: Daddy and the Muscle Academy) * Award for Delivering New Information, National Council for Audiovisual Arts, Helsinki, Finland
1992 * Finnish State Award for Documentary, National Council for Audiovisual Arts, Helsinki, Finland (work: Daddy and the Muscle Academy) * Finnish State Award for Directing, National Council for Audiovisual Arts, Helsinki, Finland (work: Daddy and the Muscle Academy) * Quality Production Award, National Council for Audiovisual Arts, Helsinki, Finland (work: Daddy and the Muscle Academy) * Tupilak Award, Stockholm, Sweden (work: Daddy and the Muscle Academy) * Jussi Award for Best Documentary, Helsinki, Finland (work: Daddy and the Muscle Academy)
