A Finnish Emigrant's Story by Lars Sund

The film "Colorado Avenue," based on the book by Finnish author Lars Sund (b. 1953), and directed by Claes Olsson (left), made its debut on Friday, November 30, 2007 at the 18th annual St. Petersburg Finnish Film Week .

Set in in 19th century Ostrobotnia (Western Finland), and in the USA, the story follows 18-year old Hanna, who emigrates to America in 1893 determined to make her fortune in the Great West – specifically, Colorado. She does so, and ten years later, ‘Dollar-Hanna’ returns home to her village in Finland with a son (Otto) and a daughter (Ida), but without her husband, who met his death in the American miners’ strike of 1903.

Back home in Finland, flush with American dollars, Hanna buys land and opens a store. Her business is a great success and so is she. Hard work and persistence have paid off for Hanna, but with the onset of prohibition (1919), her son Otto gets caught up in a life of crime, becoming first a bootlegger, and finally, it appears, a murderer.


Interested in seeing the film? Depending on where you live, you may be able to download a copy (for a fee) from http://www.ameibo.com/movie/colorado-avenue/ .

Update: This film screened at the 8th Annual Tiburon International Film Festival (March 19-27, 2009), where "Colorado Avenue" star Nicke Lignell was named "best actor."

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