Jari Olavi Rantala is an experienced screenwriter working for film and television. He was awarded the Jussi-prize for best screenplay for Frozen Land in 2005. Rantala has collaborated with the award winning director Aku Louhimies on five films, including a new film version of Väinö Linna’s epic war novel Unknown Soldier (2017). It was very successful in Finland with over million spectators in theatres. The recent collaboration is a TV-series Conflict.
Rantala is a co-creator and writer of a Nordic Noir series Deadwind released worldwide on Netflix. He is also a creator of the sci-fi thriller series Valhalla Project for director and producer Juha Wuolijoki of Snapper Films. Rantala writes on many genres ranging from period pieces to crime thrillers, comedy and family films.
Rantala is also an author. His recent work is a making-of -book from the shoot of Unknown Soldier. He has also published fiction including a crime novel and a collection of short stories.
Rantala has studied film theory and literature in the University of Turku and Helsinki. He has recently participated in Professional specialization training in film and television dramaturgy in Aalto University. He has served in the Finnish Army and is an active officer in reserve. He has worked also as a TV director, editor, film critic and journalist.
