Creative couple Veera W. Vilo and Roope Olenius take a deep and dark look at the figure skating world in their new movie, Free Skate. Based on Vilo’s and her colleagues’ experiences as gymnasts, skaters and ballet dancers and the disturbing stories of female athletes and dancers that have come to light lately. The story is written and produced by Vilo who is also starring in the movie and directed and produced by Olenius. They spoke to us via Zoom about why Free Skate has become such a timely and topical film.

Free Skate is a story about a young and promising Russian figure skater who escapes to Finland. She reconnects with her grandmother and with her help the figure skater tries to re-establish herself and recover from the trauma and inhumane circumstances she went through. Veera, you wrote the script. Can you tell us more about how you got the inspiration and how the writing process was?

I think the first push was the movie Black Swan already. I had just quit gymnastics and I already knew that I wanted to do something with film or acting. And I went to see that in the cinemas, and I felt nauseous and sick after that. But at the same time, I thought it’s a wonderful film. Then years later, when I got my degree in acting in the UK there was a film producer who said, “you should do a sports film because you’ve experienced the world”. And I think that was when I really started to think about writing my own script. I didn’t want to write about gymnastics because it was too close in a way. We were together in the sauna when we realized it had to be figure skating because it’s snow, it’s ice, it’s dangerous. It’s the same as gymnastics, but on ice. 

Roope, you played hockey for 14 years. How does your experience benefit the movie?

The aesthetic sports come from her side and then all the locations in the world where the story is set in is basically where I spend my youth because I spent all the time after school in the locker rooms, ice hockey rinks and stadium.

Veera, you won an Aesthetic Group Gymnastics junior world championship with your team Deltat in 2005, and senior world championship in 2008. What kind of preparation did you do for Free Skate?

I started practicing ice skating from zero in 2014. First, I just took it as a hobby or exercise. I didn’t do it that passionately in the beginning. I knew that this might take time, but I’m going to practice so that I can skate when I need to be on the ice. It helped that I’ve done gymnastics professionally. The aesthetic language is the same. They are both ballet-based sports. But obviously at the beginning it was a hard task just to stand relaxed on ice. I also talked to one of my friends who is a champion level synchronized skater. I asked her for help. And in the end, she became one of the producers of the film.

One of the messages of the movie is: The only way to go forward is to face your past. Veera, how did you face your past and what was the process to overcome the past?

I never thought I was a method actress, but I realized that because I did the same things as I did as a gymnast that I wanted to feel the same things again. I did those extreme weight loss programs and at some point, I noticed I was seeking perfectionism in my skating, and I was thinking about my mistakes weeks later. Somebody said to me, “you’re an actor, you can cheat this. The stunt is coming.”

When I started to open up about my story, it’s been a healing process in a way, and it’s been really good. And now, especially in Finland, there’s a purge going on in gymnastics and figure skating. And I think we’ve been a part of it.

You started to work with the movie before #Metoo. How have people’s attitude changed, Roope?

The movie is about survival and human rights, and then it’s about trying to be the best version of what you can be. And that’s something that we are really connected to both in a way. At least that’s what I wanted to put forward as a director. #Metoo had not burst yet when we started pre-production. Once we got into the filming phase, all these stories started to come out especially related to the sports world. Before we went into the production, people were at least in our country, like, “no, nobody’s going to believe that. Like, that stuff does not happen in Russia” or all that. Several organizations tried to kind of put us down. And then when the news hit, nobody questions it anymore. Human rights have become a major issue.

What kind of feedback have you received?

It’s quite divided and passionate feedback on both sides. We have had Russian trolls attacking us. That’s tough. And then at the same time, we have got secret messages from the ballet world saying, “you’re so close, keep going”. For some it’s been world changing and others hate it so much. People who have gone through similar things are grateful that things were brought up and talked about. But some parents or relatives whose daughter or grandchild is in the sports world are unwilling to face the facts. 

The movie starts with a scene where a young and promising Russian figure skater is found beaten and frostbitten in a lay-by of a motorway in Finland. Veera, why did you choose Russian as the nationality of the protagonist?

It was kind of obvious because Russia is the Mecca of gymnastics, ballet and figure skating. It’s the place to go if you want to be good at it. I was never trained in Russia, but I was trained by Russians who had quite harsh methods. Finland also follows the Russian methods anyway in figure skating and in gymnastics. I’ve seen it, I’ve experienced it. At the same time, we got the idea for the film, there was a scandal in the Bolshoi Ballet. One of the main dancers said that during the daytime they dance and during the nighttime they do other business.

You have been working together since horror-comedy Bunny the Killer Thing in 2015 as an actor and later as well as creative partners. You founded a production company Bright Fame Pictures. How is it working together? 

When we were filming Tuftland, someone told us that they didn’t notice we are a couple. When we are working, it’s all about work. We are able to separate between those somehow. And it is good because we both are so passionate about doing the work and then also somewhat intense also about it. You need to have that trust in the work collaboration beyond family life. We still need to learn to manage time better and lately we hired a few people, and we aren’t doing everything on our own anymore.

Roope, how was it to direct your wife?

Sometimes challenging because she’s quite strong headed, but at the same time I would have not done this with somebody else because there wouldn’t have been the trust to do it. I can trust that she delivers. Even though she doesn’t like as many takes as I might want to do as a director it will not become an issue because we both have the same end goal.

Veera, there’s some difficult scenes in the movie; mental, physical and sexual violence. How was it shooting those scenes and how did you cope?

I wrote and produced the story so in the end I was in charge of it. Nobody forced me to do some terrible things. It was actually quite easy to do.

Roope, this is your second feature film as a director. Your directorial debut film was hillbilly horror Tuftland in 2017. It won several awards, including Best Feature Director at the Other Worlds Austin Sci-fi Film Festival. Free Skate opened in Los Angeles and New York and will be available on a number of digital and cable platforms in North America, starting February 28th. How did you get both of your films recognized in the United States?

I studied film and fine arts in New York and Los Angeles. That and my business studies have given me a bit more business-like approach to the industry than maybe some other people in Finland. Our production company’s goal is to go outside of Finland. Having the film go abroad is natural evolution for us. And of course, we’re really grateful for all the opportunities.

Veera, you studied acting in the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. How did that experience shape you?

As a gymnast I traveled a lot. So being abroad wasn’t a new thing for me and it was kind of obvious for me to study abroad. When I got into the university, obviously it was a culture shock at first but then quite quickly I started to think of it as my home. The studying was intense and good. And at the same time, I did some acting gigs secretly. I think those experiences gave me courage to think about international markets. And when I wrote this film, I thought immediately that I want to do it in English because it’s a bigger language and gives more opportunities.

You have a busy production company and besides that your individual acting jobs and three small kids. How do you unwind?

We found Transcendental Meditation and that really changed the game. And we live near the seaside, so we do long walks with the kids by the ocean.