Paavo Westerberg

Paavo Westerberg is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed film director, screenwriter, theatre director and playwright.

Westerberg has worked as a screenwriter for the feature films Therapy 2025, The Violin Player 2018, Princess 2010, Frozen City 2006, and Frozen Land 2005, as well as for the 12-episode TV series Fragments 2003. Paavo Westerberg has won the Jussi Award for the best Script in 2007 and 2006 for the films Frozen City and Frozen Land. Westerberg also wrote and directed the 3-episode TV series Latent Heat 2010, which was nominated for the Prix Italia Award.

The Violin Player (2018) was Westerberg’s debut as a major film director. The film has been chosen for over 20 international film festivals and made its international debut in the main competition category in Göteborg film festival in Sweden. The film won the Grand Prix award “Golden Aphrodite” and the Critics’ Guild Award at the 27th edition of IFF Love Is Folly International film festival 2019 in Varna.

Westerberg is one of the leading theatre directors in Finland. He has written and directed almost 25 plays. Westerberg has directed his own adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander (2022) on the big stage of Helsinki City Theatre, the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Lilla Teatern’s stage, 2021) written by Simon Stephens and based on Mark Haddon’s novel, and Arthur Miller’s play The Price (2018) on the small stage of Helsinki City Theatre. Westerberg has directed his plays The Blue Whale (2020) and Possible Worlds (2016), as well as Anton Chekhov’s plays Three Sisters (2018) and Uncle Vanya (2014), for the big stage of the Finnish National Theatre. Other theater works have been e.g. the plays he wrote and directed The next 500 years (Espoo City Theatre, 2017), They don’t live anymore here (2012), Lie (2010), and Home before dark (2006) for the Finnish National Theatre. Westerberg worked as the writer-in-residence of the Finnish National Theatre between 2010 and 2020. In addition, Westerberg has directed several adaptations of classics such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet (2019, Turku City Theatre), and Death of a Salesman (2013, Oulu City Theatre). His latest theatre directions are Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (2025,Tampere Theatre), 2:22 A Ghost Story of Danny Robbins (2024,Helsinki City Theatre), The Art of Yasmina Reza (Nordic Theater Company, 2023). Westerberg has a master’s degree in Theatre (2000) and lives in Helsinki.

Talent

Film Director
Theatre Director
Screenwriter
Playwright

Latest Work

2025 Therapy, feature film, director and screenwriter
2025 Romeo and Juliet, theatre directing
2024, The Ostrobothnians, opera directing

Languages

Finnish (native)
Swedish
English

Interests:

My artistic work has been characterized throughout my career by an interest in people, interpersonal emotions, and works with a strong social perspective. This perspective is often formed through the individual, or by depicting a micro-community, such as a family, as in the TV series Latent Heat or the plays Fanny and Alexander, Home before Dark or The Blue Whale, and on the other hand, social structures, as in the films Frozen Land and Frozen City, or the opera Ostrobothnias.

I am a very text-based director, and I approach film regardless of genre through careful scriptwriting.

As a film director, I am interested in sensitive and precise acting work, and visually carefully conceptualized works. On the one hand, I consider myself actor’s director, but on the other hand, I am also a very visual director. I am interested in film as a complete work of art, where the style is built on the terms of the story and script and genre.

As a theatre director and playwright, I am interested in story, emotion and language. I also approach the play as a linguistic work, as literature. As a director, I am visual, but also respectful of the text and actors.

I believe that film and theater are the forms of work that can reach people in today’s world who live under the pressure of many major concerns. I am interested in writing and directing multiple genres, but my strength lies in drama. I am also interested in crime and thriller genres.

Filmography:

2024 Therapy (Terapia), feature film, drama, director & screenwriter
2018 The Violin Player (Viulisti), feature film, drama, director & screenwriter
2010 The Princess (Prinsessa), feature film, drama, screenwriter
2007 The Apple Drill (Omenapora), short film, director & screenwriter
2006 Frozen City (Valkoinen Kaupunki), feature film, drama, screenwriter
2005 Frozen Land (Paha Maa), feature film, drama, screenwriter

Television:

2010 Latent Heat (Jälkilämpö), 3-episode TV series, drama, director and scriptwriter
2007 The Shore (Ranta), television film, scriptwriter
2007 Gränsfall, television miniseries, crime, scriptwriter
2005, The Crime Detective Doesn’t Sing, television series, crime, dramaturge
2003 Fragments (Irtiottoja), 12-episode TV series, drama, scriptwriter

Theatre directing:

2025 Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, Tampere Theatre, Main Stage.
2024 Madetoja: The Ostrobothnias, The Finnish National Opera, Main Stage.
2024 Robins: 2:22 A Ghost Story, Helsinki City Theatre.
2023 Reza: Art, Nordic Theatre Company.
2022 Bergman/Westerberg: Fanny ja Alexander, Helsinki City Theatre, Main Stage.
2021 Stephens: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time, Lilla Teatern.
2020 Westerberg: The Blue Whale (Sinivalas), The Finnish National Theatre, Main Stage.
2019 Shakespeare: Hamlet,Turku City Theatre, Main Stage
2018 Chekhov: Three Sisters,The Finnish National Theatre, Main Stage.
2018 Miller: The Price, Helsinki City Theatre.
2017 Westerberg: Next 500 years (Seuraavat 500 vuotta), Espoo City Theatre.
2016 Westerberg: Possible Worlds (Mahdolliset maailmat), The Finnish National Theatre, Main Stage.
2014 Chekhov: Uncle Vanya, The Finnish National Theatre, Main Stage.
2013 Miller: Death of A Salesman, Oulu City Theatre, Main Stage.
2012 Westerberg: They Don’t live Here Anymore (He eivät asu enää täällä),The Finnish National Theatre.
2010 Westerberg: The Lie (Valhe), The Finnish National Theatre.
2008 Ibsen: The Wild Duck,The Finnish National Theatre.
2006 Westerberg: Home before Dark (Kotiin ennen pimeää), The Finnish National Theatre.

Achievements in Film and Television:

The Violin Player (Viulisti), 2018:

2018 Göteborg Film Festival, nominee for the best Nordic Film Award, Sweden
2018 Moscow Film Festival, Russia
2018 Singapore, European Film Festival
2018 Sodankylä Midnight Sun Film Festival, Finland
2018 Kaliningrad Baltic Debuts Film Festival, Russia
2018 Love & Anarchy – Helsinki International Film Festival, Finland
2018 Ludwigshafen Film Festival, Germany
2018 Nordic Film Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia
2018 Bridge of Arts IMFF, Rostov, Russia
2018 International Film Festival Mannheim Germany
2019 Finnish Film Days Budabest, Hungary
2019 Mamers in Mars International Film Festival, France
2019 Baku 3rd Eurotolerance Film Festival, Azerbaidzan
2019 29th International Film Festival, Focus Baltic Sea, Germany
2019 Scandinavian Film Festival, Australia
2019 27th International Film Festival Love Is Folly, Varna
2019 Golden Aphrodite Grand Prix Award Varna Film Festival
2019 Critics Award Varna Film Festival

Frozen City (Valkoinen Kaupunki), 2006:

2007 Jussi-award (The Finnish equivalent of the Oscars), 2007: best screenplay
2006 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize
2006 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Label Europa Cinemas
2006 Lubeck Nordic Film Days: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

Frozen Land (Paha Maa), 2005:

2006 Jussi-award (The Finnish equivalent of the Oscars), best screenplay
2005 Athens International Film Festival 2005, best Screenplay
2005 Bergen International Film Festival: Jury Award
2005 Göteborg Film Festival: Church of Sweden Film Award
2005 Göteborg Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize
2005 Göteborg Film Festival: Nordic Film Prize
2005 Leeds International Film Festival: Golden Owl Award
2005 Lubeck Nordic Film Days: NDR Promotion Prize – Honorable Mention
2005 Moscow International Films Festival: Special Jury Prize

Fragments (Irtiottoja) tv series, 2003:

2004 Venla-award: Best drama series
2004 Telvis-award: Best television program