About Us
Empire Pictures is a Finnish film and television production company founded in 2014 by Saana Räntilä and Annalisa Schmuckli.
We operate between Helsinki, Paris, Juva and Lisbon.
Saana Räntilä
Producer | Screenwriter | Director
Saana has worked in film and television production since 2008, producing TV shows (e.g. “The Mole Finland”, 2019) and co-producing and line producing feature films and short films. Currently living between Helsinki and Lisbon, Saana has gained international experience by working also in Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, Mozambique and Peru, to mention a few. In Cuba, she produced programs for the Cuban national television channel as well as the multi-award-winning short films “Oslo” (2012) and “Buey” (2014).
Saana has graduated as a master of arts from ELO Helsinki Film School/ Aalto University Department of Film and Scenography, majoring in film and television production and screenwriting as her minor. She is also a trained divemaster, using her aquatic working experience in developing productions that include scenes underwater.
+358 45 676 8668 | saana@empirepictures.fi
You can contact Saana in Finnish, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.
Annalisa Schmuckli
Producer | Screenwriter | Director
Annalisa has worked in film and series production and development since 2007 as a writer and producer, working on feature and short films in Finland and abroad (e.g. “Sprain”, France 2018), co-producing and line producing, and developing international tv-series. She has been selected to several international workshops with her projects, such as Rotterdam Lab producer training programme (IFFR), Canal+ Series Lab Poland, and ENGAGE co-production programme funded by EU MEDIA, where she started building her extensive international network .
Annalisa has graduated with a masters degree in film and TV-production from ELO Helsinki Film School / Aalto University Department of Film, Television and Scenography, where she has also later returned as a teacher of production. Aiming to work increasingly among European collaborations, Annalisa currently moves between Helsinki, Paris and Juva in Southern Savonia, Finland.
+358 40 774 3568 | annalisa@empirepictures.fi
You can contact Annalisa in Finnish, English, French or Swedish.